TCU
Minnesota
TCU Battle Hard in 3-1 Loss to #8 Minnesota
9/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 19, 2008
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The TCU Horned Frogs dropped a hard fought match to No. 8 Minnesota Friday night as they opened up play in the Gopher Invite. Minnesota defeated TCU, 3-1 (20-25, 20-25, 25-21, 14-25) to drop the Frogs to 10-2 on the season. TCU was led by Lauren Otto's 15 kills and Katelyn Blackwood's 16 digs.Nirelle Hampton tallied 34 assists on the night to go along with four kills and four digs. Devon Kirk led the way with three blocks and six kills. Megan Munce came off the bench and contributed two aces and four digs. Irene Hester was second on the team with eight kills.
Game one was a spirited affair as TCU matched Minnesota point for point. The teams struggled early on to score points on their serve and the Frogs were the first to accomplish the feat on a hitting error by the Gophers. Minnesota went on a 3-0 run but the Frogs responded with a 4-0 run of their own to open up a 9-7 lead. Lauren Otto dropped in two kills around a blast from Devon Kirk and an ace from Katelyn Blackwood.
But from there, the Gophers went on a run to regain the lead for good. TCU was able to tie the game at 12 on another kill from Otto, but an 8-2 run put the Frogs in a deep hole. Nirelle Hampton stopped the Gopher rally with a dump to an open spot on the court and the Gophers hit a ball long to pull the Frogs back within four, 20-16. The Gophers held off the Frogs rally as they took game one by a score of 25-20.
The Frogs faced an early deficit in set two, but battled back to eventually take the lead. After trailing 6-2, TCU went on a 5-1 run to erase the deficit. Kourtney Edwards dropped in two kills and Blackwood mixed in her second ace of the night to tie the set at seven.
After the Gophers had briefly reclaimed the lead, TCU rallied with a 3-0 run on kills from Kirk, Otto and Christy Hudson to take a 10-9 lead. Hudson pushed the lead to two, 14-12, but three straight kills in the middle from Lauren Gibbemeyer erased the deficit and spurred a 9-1 run that gave the Gophers a commanding 21-15 lead.
TCU rallied with a 4-0 run on kills from Kirk and Otto, but the lead proved too big to overcome. Minnesota closed out the set two victory by an identical 25-20 score to take a commanding 2-0 match lead.
The Frogs stormed out to an early lead in the third set. An attack error by the Gophers got the Frogs rolling. Irene Hester dropped in an ace and Otto and Kirk pitched in with kills to help the Frogs build a 6-4 lead. The lead continued build behind the serving of Megan Munce as she helped the Frogs push the lead to five, 13-8. A solo denial of Gibbermeyer in the middle by Kirk gave the Frogs a 16-12 lead.
TCU continued to stave off attacks from the Gophers and got Munce back behind the service line. More solid serving from the freshman helped the Frogs push the lead to 22-16. Otto gave TCU set point and then sealed the victory as the Frogs held off a furious rally by Minnesota to win 25-21.
The rally at the end of game three ignited a fire under the Gophers as they dominated the fourth set from the first point. TCU showed fight as they got back within one, 10-9 on a kill from Hester, but a 6-0 run put the Frogs down 16-10. Minnesota closed out the game on a 6-1 run to take a 25-14 set four win.
The Frogs fall to 10-2 on the season. Two matches await TCU on Saturday as it wraps up tournament play for the 2008 season. The Frogs will square off against North Carolina at 10 a.m. and wrap up tourney play against Winthrop at 5 p.m.
