TCU
Air Force (MWC Championship)
Frogs defeat Falcons in four
11/23/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 23, 2005
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The TCU volleyball team defeated Air Force in four games (23-30, 34-32, 30-23, 30-17) on Tuesday night in the opening round of the Mountain West Conference tournament. Sophomore Talaya Whitfield recorded her seventh double-double of the season and a new career high in kills, posting 19 kills and 10 digs. Freshman Nirelle Hampton also posted a double-double in the match with 37 assists and 10 digs.
TCU came out slow in game one and Air Force took full advantage, hitting .333 while the Frogs hit just .028. Making her first appearance since an Oct. 28 match versus BYU, junior Anna Vaughn tallied four kills while hitting .375 in game one. The Horned Frogs attempted to rally after the slow start, but the Falcons put the game away to take a 1-0 match lead.
The Purple and White were in danger of going down 2-0, but Whitfield and sophomore LeMeita Smith got going and combined for 11 of the Frogs 15 kills in the game. Air Force was able to weather the Frogs attack and took a 28-24 lead, but the young Frogs battled again and took the game victory and momentum.
With the full momentum in the match, the Frogs continued to pound the Falcons as Whitfiled slammed down four more balls and senior Erin Estep got into the action, making four kills. TCU also out blocked Air Force 2.0-0.
TCU refused to let off the pressure and finished the Falcons off in game four.
Vaughn finished the match with 11 kills.
Junior Calli Corley finished the match with 17 digs, falling just one short of her career-high that she set on Sept. 10 at Denver.
Hampton's double-double is her second significant output versus Air Force this season. On Oct. 7, the Gainesville, Fla., product totaled 41 assists, 15 digs and 11 kills for her first career triple-double.
With the win, TCU improved to 16-17 on the season and advances to face BYU on Thursday afternoon. Match time is slated to begin at 4 p.m. (MDT).
