TCU
Air Force*
TCU Sweeps Air Force for Win No. 20
11/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 15, 2008
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The TCU Horned Frogs notched win No. 20 on the season with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-22) victory over Air Force Saturday night. This marks the fourth 20-win season in school history and the second straight. Devon Kirk paced the Horned Frog attack with 12 kills, while Katelyn Blackwood tallied a match-high 14 digs.A 5-0 run in the first set by the Frogs helped propel them to the early 1-0 match lead. Christy Hudson and Kourtney Edwards dropped in two kills in the run that gave the Frogs a commanding 6-1 advantage. The lead continued to grow as the Frogs were hitting on all cylinders. Along with Hudson, Irene Hester and Kirk got in on the action to give the Frogs a 10-5 lead, forcing a Falcon timeout.
The break did nothing to slow down the Frogs offense as they went on a 6-4 run to build a 16-9 advantage. The Falcons would rally, however, and pull back within four, 18-14, but Kirk had an answer with two kills to maintain the Frog lead. A 5-0 run by the Frogs closed out the 25-16 first set victory. Lauren Otto finished things with her second kill of the set.
The Frogs hit a blistering .394 with 16 kills in the set, while the Falcons were held to just 10 kills and hit only .200. Kirk led all hitters with five kills.
Another fierce run by the Frogs to open up a set paved the road to victory. Trailing 3-2, the Frogs went on a 6-0 run that was highlighted by kills from Nirelle Hampton, Hudson, Hester and Kirk. Mixed in with that was a solo denial by Hester in the middle.
After Air Force had closed to within two, 9-7, the Frogs went on another 5-0 run to regain the big advantage. Otto pitched in two kills around another blast from Kirk in the middle. The lead grew to 19-8 behind a solo block from Edwards and kills from Hampton and Otto.
With a 24-11 lead, the Falcons staved off six straight set points before Megan Munce was able to seal the 25-17 victory with her first kill of the match. The Frogs racked up 14 more kills in the set and tallied 24 digs.
A different lineup took the court for the Horned Frogs as they cleared the bench to get everyone playing time. Kristen Hester started the Frog offense with a blast from the outside and Hannah Fort followed with a kill to give TCU a 2-1 lead. Kylie Pont stretched the lead to 6-2 with a kill and two kills from Sarah Joeckel made it an 8-5 contest.
Following an Air Force timeout, the Falcons went on a 8-2 run to take its first lead of the match, 13-11. The Frogs responded with a 3-0 run to regain the lead, helped along by a blast from Fort. The set settled into a back-and-forth affair as the score reached 16-all.
TCU finally took control of the set following a Falcon service error. Hampton and Kirk teamed on a block to keep the Frogs rolling. Otto gave the Frogs a four-point cushion, 22-18 with her sixth kill of the game. A hitting error by Air Force locked up the 25-22 set three win.
TCU improves to 20-9 overall and 9-6 in conference play. The Frogs will head to Albuquerque, N.M. for their final conference match of the season next Friday. Match time is slated for 8 p.m. against New Mexico.
