TCU
San Diego State
Volleyball wins big, sweeps San Diego State
9/30/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 30, 2006
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU Horned Frogs came away with an exhilarating 3-0 (30-18, 30-22, 38-36) win over San Diego State Saturday night at the University Rec Center. After winning easily in games one and two, the Frogs faced seven game points in the final set and came away with the 38-36 victory to earn their third conference win. LeMeita Smith matched a career-high with 20 kills, while Nirelle Hampton finished two kills shy of a triple-double with eight kills, 38 assists and 10 digs.TCU opened up a huge lead in game one and never looked back as they claimed the 30-18 victory. Hampton notched five aces in the game alone as they hit a blistering .438 in the set. With the Frogs in control at 19-11, Hampton strung together four aces in five serves to propel the Frogs to a 22-12 advantage. A ringing triple-block by Emily Allen, Smith and Kourtney Edwards gave the Frogs the 1-0 advantage.
Smith and Anna Vaughn had five kills apiece for the Frogs, while the defense posted 15 digs and three blocks. They limited the Aztecs to a .171 (12-6-35) hitting percentage and only nine digs.
The Aztecs opened up an early 3-0 lead in game two, but the Frogs were equal to the task as they stormed back. They eventually took the lead at 10-9 on an attack error by Melanie Greene. The Frogs would battle through 12 ties in the set, but never relinquished the lead. With the score tied at 18, the Frogs went on a 12-4 run to close out the set. Another loud block, this time from Vaughn and Allen, put San Diego State in a 0-2 hole.
Smith was once again big in the second game as she led all hitters with six kills. Three more blocks and 19 digs by the defense limited the Aztecs to a .100 (10-6-40) attack percentage.
Out of the intermission, the Aztecs were fired up as they opened up a 7-1 lead. TCU weathered the storm and eventually evened things up at 10 on a Vaughn solo block. The Frogs worked their way to a four-point advantage thanks to back-to-back kills by Smith, forcing an Aztec timeout.
The timeout was beneficial, as San Diego State got back in the match and eventually gained a 22-20 lead. The Frogs battled back to tie it at 22 on a block by Smith and Vaughn, but the Aztecs would again rally to regain a two-point advantage at 26-24. A Loren Barry ace tied the game again at 26 and from there the teams battled through multiple side-outs. The Aztecs had seven game points but were unable to capitalize.
With the game knotted at 35, a Greene hitting error gave the Frogs their first lead since the 28-27 mark. The back-and-forth affair continued before a Lauren Otto kill gave the Frogs a 37-36 lead and Smith sealed the victory with a blast from the outside, her ninth of the set, ending the marathon with a 38-36 Frog win.
Otto posted her ninth double-double of the season, finishing with 10 kills and 11 digs. Calli Corley led the Frogs with 13 digs on the night. Vaughn finished with 10 kills and six blocks. For the match, TCU hit at a .298 (55-19-121) clip.
The Frogs equal their conference win total from a year-ago and now stand at 14-4 overall and 3-2 in conference play. They will hit the road next weekend as they head west to face two ranked opponents. Friday night, the Frogs will square off against BYU, followed by a Saturday evening affair at Utah. Match times are set for 8 p.m. (CST).
