TCU
Air Force
Frogs ground Falcons, win second straight
10/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 18, 2007
USAFA, Colo. (Oct. 18, 2007) - The TCU Horned Frogs opened the second half of conference play with a 3-0 (30-14, 30-25, 30-15) victory over Air Force Thursday night. The win improves the Frogs to 5-4 in league play. Irene Hester led the Frogs posting her second career double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs.
The Frogs used an efficient attack to defeat the Falcons as they hit .327 for the match and limited the Falcons to a .078 attack percentage. LeMeita Smith was the other Frog who tallied double digits in kills with 11. Kourtney Edwards finished with seven kills and five blocks.
The Horned Frogs took control of game one early on as they took advantage of three straight Air Force errors and a Kourtney Edwards solo block to gain a 9-5 lead. Irene Hester doubled up the Falcons with a loud kill off the block, forcing the Falcons to call a timeout. Nirelle Hampton and Hester kept the Frogs rolling as they pushed the lead to 12-5.
Back-to-back kills from LeMeita Smith made it an 18-9 contest and the Frogs rolled from there. Christy Hudson took the ball behind the service line and served the Frogs to a 28-12 lead and Edwards finished off the set with a kill down the middle for a 30-14 TCU game one win.
In game two, the Frogs opened up an 11-3 lead helped along by a Smith ace and two kills from Hester. The lead continued to grow as the Falcon errors mounted. A Nirelle Hampton gave the Frogs a double-digit lead at 15-5.
With the Frogs in control at 19-9, the Falcons showed some life as they went on a 9-3 run to pull within four, 22-18. A Falcon error killed their momentum and Devon Kirk extended the lead to six with a kill forcing an Air Force timeout.
Leading 28-20, the Frogs withstood another furious rally from the Falcons and Christy Hudson gave the Frogs set point. Katelyn Blackwood finished the set with her second ace of the match, sealing the 30-25 game two victory.
Air Force stayed close in game three as the Frogs led by just three points, 12-9 early in the set. From there, the Frogs went on a run as they opened up a double-digit lead. A Hampton kill forced a Falcon timeout. The Falcons closed within four, 14-10 on a Caroline Kurtz kill, but Smith squashed any Falcon hope for a rally with a loud kill off the block.
Kirk and Hudson teamed up to push the lead out to seven with a block on the outside. Back-to-back kills from Kirk and Hester made it 20-11 and a Falcon attack error gave the Frogs a 10-point lead.
With the game firmly in control, Hudson served out the match as the Frogs closed out the victory on a 7-0 run. Smith provided to kills and Edwards threw in a solo block to spur the Frogs. A Falcon error sealed the Frog victory.
The Frogs improve to 18-7 on the season and 5-4 in conference play. They will head to Laramie, Wyoming for a match-up with the Cowgirls on Friday night. Match time is set for 8 p.m.
