TCU
Utah*
TCU Stumbles in 3-0 Loss to Utah
10/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 2, 2008
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU Horned Frogs faltered in a 3-0 (22-25, 23-25, 19-25) loss to Utah Thursday night at the University Rec Center. The Frogs were led on the court by Nirelle Hampton, who finished with a double-double (32 assists, 12 digs). She also tied Lauren Otto for the lead with eight kills.An early deficit proved to be the downfall of the Frogs in the first set as Utah grabbed the early momentum. With Utah holding a 4-3 lead, Abby Simmons stepped behind the service line and rolled off a 6-0 run to open up 10-4 lead.
The Frogs showed life as they went on a run of their own to pull within two, 13-11. Kills from Devon Kirk and Lauren Otto spurred the rally. With Kirk serving, the Frogs tallied five straight point helped along by kills from Sarah Joeckel and a block from Hampton and Kourtney Edwards.
After another Ute run, the Frogs again battled back and got the set tied at 22. Hampton pitched in two kills in the run as did Otto. But a kill from Cinthia Silva led to a 3-0 run that locked up the 25-22 set victory for Utah.
The second set played out much the same as the first. TCU fell into an early deficit and had to fight back. The Frogs did so with Hampton serving, getting the set tied a nine. Hampton served up two aces along with two kills from Christy Hudson.
The Utes used a 3-0 run to build a 14-11 lead and held on as the set worked its way to 21-18 in favor of Utah. Katelyn Blackwood took the ball and the Frogs were able to get the match tied at 21 on back-to-back attack errors by Utah. Again, Utah held serve as it pushed the set to game point and a kill from Emillie Toone gave Utah the 2-0 match lead with the 25-23 win.
TCU kept the third set close as it tried to get back in the match. Trailing 18-14, Blackwood again served the Frogs back in the set, getting them as close as 19-17. A loud denial by Kirk and Hampton in the middle spurred the rally.
The rally was short-lived as Utah closed out the match victory on a 6-2 run to win the third set 25-19.
TCU falls to 13-4 on the season and 2-2 in league play. It returns to the court on Saturday afternoon to host No. 21 BYU. Match time is set for 1 p.m. and admission is free.
