TCU
Air Force
TCU Grounds Air Force In 3-1 Win
10/31/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 31, 2009
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The TCU Horned Frog volleyball team ran their win streak to six matches as they defeated Air Force 3-1 (25-15, 25-20, 23-25, 25-11) Saturday afternoon. The Frogs improve to 10-2 in league play, the first time they have reached 10 league victories since joining the Mountain West. Kourtney Edwards established a new school record for hitting percentage in a match at .867 (13-0-15).Along with Edward outstanding day at the net, Christy Hudson finished with a team-high 14 kills. Irene Hester finished with 10 kills. Edwards paced a Frog defensive effort that produced 10 blocks with four. Kristen Hester served up three of the Frogs 10 aces and tallied three blocks to go along with seven kills. Lauren Otto racked up eight kills and tallied 10 digs. Katelyn Blackwood notched a team-high 17 digs to go along with two aces.
The Horned Frogs stormed out of the gates to take a commanding 15-5 lead in the first set. The Frogs were up 8-4 before a blast from Otto spurred a 7-1 run that forced a Falcon timeout. Edwards and Munce pitched in with kills around a block on the outside from Edwards and Irene Hester. Otto capped the run with an ace.
Air Force attempted to get back in the set with a 7-4 run of its own, but again Otto quelled the Falcon momentum with a kill. The trio of Edwards, Otto and Hudson put the Frogs up 23-13. A service error by Air Force gave the Frogs set point and Edwards finished it with her third kill of the set.
A much tighter affair in the second set saw Air Force jump out to an early 5-2 lead. The Frogs chipped away and eventually knotted the score at eight on an ace from Blackwood. Irene Hester and Kristen Hester teamed on a block to give the Frogs a two-point advantage, 10-8 and force a Falcon timeout after which, TCU continued to build on its lead. The Frogs worked it to 15-11 on kills from Kristen Hester, Irene Hester and Edwards.
The Falcons continued to battle and pulled back within one, 17-16 but back-to-back kills from Irene Hester and Kristen Hester gave the Frogs breathing room. Holding a 20-19 lead, back-to-back errors by the Falcons helped spur a 4-0 run that gave the Frogs set point. Hudson sealed the 25-20 win with her sixth kill of the match.
Similar to the second set, the Falcons jumped out to the early lead, but couldn't hold off a Frog rally. Back-to-back blasts by Hudson on the right side pulled the Frogs within one, 7-6 and a kill from Otto pulled the Frogs even at 9-all. Air Force responded with a 6-4 run that would give it a 15-13 lead. A kill from Kristen Hester stopped the Falcon rally and turned the deficit into a lead as she capped a 4-0 run with an ace.
TCU battled to take a 22-20 lead on a kill from Edwards, but Air Force responded with a 4-0 run to give it set point. Hudson picked up a kill to try and get the Frogs back on track but Grace Konstanzer finished off the 25-23 Air Force victory in set three.
In the fourth set, Air Force again raced out to a 5-2 lead, but it would be all Horned Frogs from there. The Frogs offense was firing on all cylinders as they outscored the Falcons 23-6 to close out the match.
The Frogs pounded out 16 kills, five of which came from Edwards in the middle. Hudson pitched in with four, while Blackwood, Irene Hester and Victoria Hernandez combined to serve up four aces. Edwards 13th kill of the match locked up the 25-11 victory for Frogs.
TCU improves to 21-5 overall and 10-2 in conference play. The Frogs will return home for two key league matches as they host BYU Thursday night and Utah Saturday afternoon. First serve on Thursday is set for 7 p.m.
