Preview: at West Virginia
9/19/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 19, 2017
FORT WORTH, Texas - The 2017 Big 12 Conference season for the TCU volleyball team will kick-off on the road as the Horned Frogs travel to Morgantown, W. Va., to face West Virginia on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 5 p.m., CT, inside the WVU Coliseum.
The match between the Frogs (8-3) and the Mountaineers (11-2) will stream for free on Mountaineer TV. Both teams are riding winning streaks with TCU taking victories in the last four matches, while WVU is on a nine-match winning streak.
Quick Hits
-This season marks the third under the helm of alumni and Director of Volleyball Jill (Pape) Kramer
-Kramer (1996-99) was the first scholarship volleyball player on the inaugural team in 1996 and still holds the single-season and career school records in kills and total attacks
-Kramer has led TCU to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA tournament and has totaled over 100 career wins in her coaching career
-The Horned Frogs opened the season at home for the third straight year and won its home season opening tournament for the third consecutive season
-TCU is now 8-3 on the season after going undefeated in the final preseason tournament before league action is set to begin
-With the start of Big 12 play, TCU is looking to begin league action with a victory for the third time in the six-year history of being in the conference
-The Frogs' best start came in 2012 when they went 2-0 to start conference action with wins over West Virginia (3-2) and Texas Tech (3-0)
-Ashleigh Martin and Dani Dennison were named to the All-Tournament team at the SMU Doubletree Classic after leading the team with 4.62 kills per set and 5.75 digs per set, respectively.
-Eight of the current nine true or redshirt freshmen have seen action this season with Dani Dennison and Sarah Swanson seeing action in all 11 matches and all 38 of the 39 sets
-Ashleigh Martin has started a `Marty Party' this year as the junior leads the team with 3.28 kills per set and double-digit kills in seven of the last eight matches
-Walsh is becoming one of the most efficient hitters in the Big 12 as the junior hit above .300 in four of the last five matches and six matches this season
-Guiding the offense is two experienced setters in seniors Lamprini Konstantindou and Kaylee Smith who are dishing out 6.08 and 5.08 assists per set, respectively
-Dennison has been the anchor in the backrow and is ranked second in the Big 12 with 5.08 digs per set after leading the league through the first two weekends of action
-Dennison has picked up double-digit kills in 10 of the 11 matches played this season and 20+ in four
-The highest ranked recruit to ever enroll at TCU in Abigail Buckingham has slowly made her way onto the court and is good for 2.77 kills per set when she sees action
Scouting the Opponent: West Virginia
-West Virginia is riding a nine-match winning streak headed into Big 12 action with wins over Akron (3-0), Army (3-2) and Providence (3-1) in its final weekend of nonconference action
-The Mountaineers are led by Payton Caffrey with 3.09 kills per set while fellow outside hitter Katelyn Evans is putting down 3.05 kills per set
-Caffrey is also helping pace the defense from the back row with 2.45 digs per set while also leading the conference in service aces with 0.50 per set
-Erin Slinde is dishing out the assists as the sophomore is putting up 10.42 assists per set to go along with 0.37 service aces per set and 1.63 digs per set
-Mia Swanegan is the one of the most efficient hitters for the Mountaineers with a .302 hitting clip and also leads the team with 1.31 blocks per set
-As a team, the Mountaineers are shutting down at the net with 2.44 blocks per set
Recap: SMU Doubletree Classic
-In its final preseason tournament, the TCU volleyball team went 2-0 with four-set victories over SMU and Sam Houston State in the SMU Doubletree Classic
-Ashleigh Martin led the way with 4.62 kills per set to go along with 2.12 digs per set
-The junior was dominant in both matches leading the team with 18 kills against SMU and a season-high 19 kills against Sam Houston State
-Dani Dennison paced the defense with 46 digs and 5.75 digs per set through the two matches to finish second in the Big 12 for the week
-The 28 digs that Dennison picked up against SMU is tied for the most in a four-set match this season in the Big 12 and was also a season-high for the freshman
-Anna Walsh (2.88 k/s), Allye Beth Deaton (2.50 k/s) and Sarah Swanson (2.12 k/s) were also crucial to the offense that put down 14.75 kills per set in the two matches
-For their efforts, Martin and Dennison were both named to the all-tournament team which marked their second honors of the season
