TCU
UNLV*
Frogs drop tightly contested match to Rebels, 3-1
10/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 28, 2006
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The TCU Horned Frogs dropped a tough match at UNLV Friday night in Las Vegas, Nev. They fell 3-1 (24-30, 25-30, 30-25, 26-30). Anna Vaughn led the Frog attack with 15 kills, LeMeita Smith finished with 13, while Lauren Otto and Emily Allen pitched in with 12. Otto set a new career-high with 20 digs for her 11th double-double of the season and Calli Corley matched a career-high with 26 digs.After taking an early lead in game one, the Frogs couldn't hold on as UNLV went on an 11-5 run to open up a 15-10 advantage. A Nirelle Hampton kill ended the Rebel rally, but TCU was unable to string together multiple points to get back in the game.
UNLV went on another 4-0 run, but a LeMeita Smith denial on the outside killed the rally. The Frogs began to creep back in the match and got as close as 25-21. Two kills by Smith and a block by Allen and Kourtney Edwards helped the Frogs get back into the match, but the Rebels called a timeout, effectively killing the Frogs momentum. UNLV went on to win game one 30-24.
A much tighter affair greeted both teams in game two. The lead see-sawed back-and-forth as neither team could get more than a two-point advantage until late in the game. The Rebels had the early advantage but the Frogs took a 6-4 lead thanks to a 6-1 run. An Edwards kill got the ball rolling for TCU. A Hampton solo block gave TCU its first lead of the game and Vaughn made it 6-4 with a loud kill down the middle.
From there the battle ensued. TCU took an 11-10 lead with two consecutive blocks by Edwards, but the Rebels responded with a 3-0 run to take a 14-12 lead. Back-to-back kills by Otto tied the game at 14and the Frogs took at 16-15 lead on an ace by Otto.
The Rebels responded with a 6-0 run to take a commanding 21-16 lead. The Frogs again attempted to climb back into the match with a 3-0 run late in the set, but the lead was too big to overcome as the Rebels won the set, 30-25.
The Frogs were fired up out of the break as they grabbed an early 7-4 advantage, capped by a Loren Barry kill. The Rebels reeled off five straight points to take a 9-7 lead, but the Frogs had an answer as they battled back to take a 10-9 lead on a UNLV attack error.
The back-and-forth affair continued before the Frogs took control with the game tied at 24. A UNLV attack error gave TCU a lead it would never relinquish. Allen and Edwards stuffed a Rebel attack and back-to-back kills by Smith gave TCU a 28-24 lead. Smith ended the set with a kill to give TCU the 30-25 game three win.
The Frogs had an early 6-3 advantage in game four thanks to kills from Hampton and Smith and a solo block by Vaughn, but the Rebels turned things around behind the serving of Jada Walker. She led them on a 9-0 run to open up a 14-7 advantage. Brittani Lumsden was huge in the set for the Rebels as she tallied four kills in the Rebels first 16 points.
TCU put together a 5-1 rally to get the deficit back to three, 17-14, but the Rebels stuffed the rally with a kill from Samantha Noland. UNLV's lead grew to 20-16, but the Frogs had another rally in them and they got to within one, 23-22. Edwards and Allen teamed up on a block and Hampton had a perfectly placed dump to help the rally. A miscue by the Rebels forced them to call a timeout, which ended the Frog run. UNLV closed out the match on a 7-4 run and won game four 30-26.
The Frogs fall to 17-8 on the season and 5-6 inn conference play. They return to the court on Sunday afternoon when they travel to San Diego, Calif. to take on the San Diego State Aztecs. Game time is set for 2 p.m. (CST).
