TCU
Utah
Frogs sweep Utah for win No. 20
11/2/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 2, 2007
FORT WORTH, Texas - For the third time in the last five seasons, the TCU Horned Frog volleyball team tallied at least 20 wins on the season. All three 20-win seasons have come under the direction of Head Coach Prentice Lewis. The Frogs won No. 20 in high-swinging fashion as they defeated Utah 3-0 (34-32, 30-25, 30-24) Friday night at the University Rec Center. Lauren Otto was on fire in the match as she notched her 10th double-double of the season with 16 kills and 11 digs.The Horned Frogs were firing on all cylinders in the match as they racked up 53 kills and hit .228 for the match. Along with Otto's 16 kills, LeMeita Smith dropped in 12 followed by a season-high 10 from Devon Kirk. The blocking game also came up huge for the Horned Frogs as they racked up 10 blocks led by four each from Kourtney Edwards and Kirk.
Calli Corley pitched in a match-high 19 kills to lead four Frogs with double-digits in digs. Hampton completed her seventh double-double with 14 digs and 36 assists. Otto dug 11 balls and Katelyn Blackwood came up with 10.
Game one set the tone for the match as the Frogs battled hard the entire way to earn the 34-32 win. The Utes totaled 17 errors in the set, including five service errors that came at crucial times.
Utah took a 21-18 lead late into the game only to see the Frogs storm back to eventually get the game knotted at 25. A Kirk/Smith denial on a Lori Baird attack got the game tied.
The Utes responded with a 3-0 run to get to game-point, 29-26, but from there it was all Frogs. Kirk stepped behind the service line and was aided by kills from Otto and Christy Hudson to tie the game at 29. A service error by the Utes gave the Frogs their first set point.
A back-and-forth battle ensued and after the teams traded service errors before a Smith kill gave the Frogs set point. Otto sealed the deal with an ace.
Game two was a battle of runs and the Frogs came out on the good side of the run column as they held on for the 30-25 victory.
TCU looked poised to race out to a commanding 2-0 match lead as it led 13-5 early in the set. The Utes used both of their timeouts and couldn't find an answer for Otto, Kirk or Smith. Timely digs from Hampton kept rallies alive for the Frogs as they continued to build on their lead. Utah had an answer in Kathryn Haynie behind the service line as she served the Utes back into the set.
With the game tied at 23, Smith broke a tie with a loud kill down the middle and the Frogs never trailed from there. Corley served the Frogs to a 28-25 lead and a Smith kill gave the Frogs set point. A bad set by the Utes closed out the 30-25 victory for TCU.
Out of the intermission, the Horned Frogs kept the momentum going as they gunned for the sweep. Tied at 18, Smith put the Frogs in front for the final time with a lucky kill off that just cleared the tape and dropped over on the Ute side. Back-to-back aces from Otto gave them a three point lead and they sailed from there.
Kills from Hampton and Otto along with a strong blocking effort gave the Frogs the 30-24 win in game three.
TCU improves to 20-10 on the season and 7-6 in conference play. The Frogs will hit the road next week for their final two road matches of the season. They will square off against San Diego State on Nov. 9 at 9 p.m. (CST).
