TCU
Wyoming
Frogs do it again, top Wyoming in five
9/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 16, 2006
FORT WORTH, Texas - For the third time this season the TCU Horned Frogs rallied from a 0-2 deficit to earn a 3-2 victory. The Frogs opened up Mountain West play with a thrilling five-game victory over Wyoming (24-30, 25-30, 30-23,30-18, 15-8). Three Frogs, Emily Allen, Lauren Otto and Nirelle Hampton posted double-doubles in the win.For the match, the Frogs hit .293 and tallied 14 blocks. Vaughn led the squad with 16 kills and seven blocks. Defensively, Calli Corley pitched in with 23 digs. Otto set a new career high with seven aces as the Frogs picked up 16 in the match.
The Frogs let game one slip away as they opened up an early 9-2 lead forcing the Cowgirls to call a timeout. After the timeout, Wyoming got back on track and took a 20-17 lead behind the serving of Carissa Lee. A LeMeita Smith kill stopped the bleeding and pulled the Frogs back within two, 20-18, but the Cowgirls kept the pressure on and continued to build their lead. A block by Lauren Scott and Tasha Weishahn gave Wyoming the 30-24 game one win.
Wyoming kept the momentum going in game two as they pulled out to an early 3-1 lead. TCU battled back to knot the game at three on a Smith blast from the outside. The back-and-forth affair continue as they battled through 15 ties and eight lead changes. Wyoming grabbed the lead at 23-22 on a Rachel Smith kill and went on to the 30-25 victory. Despite tallying more kills, 15, than the Cowgirls, 14, the Frogs hit just .122 in the game.
A different Frog team appeared on the court following the intermission. TCU stormed out to an early 7-2 lead in game three, capped by a Vaughn and Smith denial on the outside attack by Scott. With the Cowgirls rallying, the Frogs blocking came alive. Holding a four point advantage, 15-11, Otto slammed the ball to the ground. Back-to-back aces by the freshman extended the lead out to 18-11.
Wyoming got as close as 21-19 in the match, but Edwards killed the momentum with a loud kill down the middle to give TCU the 22-19 lead. A triple block by Hampton, Vaughn and Otto put the Frogs in control with a commanding 27-22 lead. Two kills by Hampton and another by Vaughn gave TCU the 30-23 win.
TCU hit a blistering .423 in the game and came up with 5.5 blocks. The Cowgirls hit just .152 in the game and committed 11 errors.
Game four played out much the same way as game three as TCU grabbed another early lead. Allen served the Frogs to an 8-2 advantage with help from kills by Hampton, Vaughn and Otto. The lead kept growing as again the Frogs hit an astounding .450 in the set. A Vaughn smash gave TCU the 30-18 win.
In game five the Frogs opened up a 9-2 lead. Four kills in the game by Vaughn and three blocks helped the Frogs to the 15-8 win. A triple block by Allen, Kourtney Edwards and Otto sealed the Frogs comeback.
The Frogs improve to 12-2 on the season and 1-0 in Mountain West Conference play. They will hit the road next week as they head to Colorado for two league matches. The road trip begins Friday night at Air Force and continues Saturday against Colorado State. Match times are slated for 8 p.m. (CST).
