TCU
UNC Asheville
Volleyball opens with sweep of UNC-Asheville
8/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 24, 2007
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The TCU Horned Frogs needed just three games (30-7, 30-27, 30-22) to defeat UNC-Asheville and win their first match of the season for the second straight year. Strong performances from Lauren Otto on the offensive side along with great defensive play from Loren Barry and Calli Corley frustrated the Bulldogs as they hit just .053 in the match."We were tested in all ways as far as being able to overcome individual issues," remarked Head Coach Prentice Lewis. "Overall, this couldn't have been a better first match for us."
A crisp start to game one propelled the Frogs to a 14-3 lead early on. TCU opened up a 7-0 run behind three kills from Lauren Otto, a Loren Barry ace and two Bulldog errors. The lead continued to grow as Kourtney Edwards made some noise down the middle and the Bulldog errors continued to grow. A Devon Kirk kill force UNC-Asheville to call a timeout.
Out of the break, the Frogs kept firing on all cylinders as they went on a 10-1 run to open up a 24-4 lead. LeMeita Smith tallied two kills and teamed with Kirk to stuff a bulldog attack. The Bulldogs strung together three straight points before the Frogs were able to close the game on a 6-0 run for the easy 30-7 victory.
TCU had just two hitting errors for a .417 hitting percentage, while the Bulldogs combined to commit 13 errors in the match and hit -.057 for the set. Otto paced the Frogs with six kills. Calli Corley dug eight balls, followed closely by Barry's seven.
A much tighter affair in game two greeted the Frogs. The Bulldogs kept the game close, never letting the Frogs open up a big league. UNC-Asheville eventually worked its way to a 15-14 lead and from there the two teams battled back and forth. With the game knotted at 19, freshman Irene Hester drilled the ball down the line for a loud kill. Hampton followed with another kill to force a timeout.
The Frogs rattled off three straight points to open up a 24-19 lead coming out of the timeout. Hampton and Edwards provided the loud block to stretch the lead to five.
UNC-Asheville had some fight left in them as they took six of the next seven points to tie the game at 26. A Hampton dump and a hitting error by the Bulldogs gave the Frogs a two-point cushion. Smith put the Frogs on her back and closed out the game with two solo blocks to give TCU the 30-27 win and the 2-0 match lead.
In game three, the Frogs, again, had a battle all the way to the end to ensure the victory. The took control of the set early on and opened up an 8-3 lead behind kills from Edwards and sloppy play on the other side of the net. The Bulldogs matched their effort from game two and climbed back into the match, but made crucial errors when it counted most, enabling the Horned Frogs to keep their lead.
The Bulldogs got the score to 18-17 before back-to-back errors made them call a timeout. Otto rejected a Bulldog attack when play resumed to give the Frogs a commanding four-point advantage. However, back-to-back Horned Frog errors made it a two-point game again.
Christy Hudson made her collegiate debut and served the Frogs to a 26-19 lead with help from kills by Edwards and Barry along with her first collegiate ace. A Smith solo block gave the Frogs the 30-22 game three victory and secured the sweep.
For the Frogs, TCU was led by Otto's 10 kills. Edwards pitched in with eight kills and Smith totaled four blocks, three of which were solo. On the defensive side, Corley dug 19 balls and Barry recorded 16 digs in the match. Hampton had a game-high 25 assists in the match.
