TCU Battles in loss to Baylor

Saturday, October 12

Fort Worth, Texas

1:00 PM

TCU

6-9 (1-4)

Baylor

15-0 (5-0)

Baylor

TCU

TCU Battles in loss to Baylor

10/12/2019 6:27:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

The Horned Frogs forced Baylor to 34 points in the final set, eventually losing, 3-0.

FORT WORTH – TCU volleyball pushed No. 1 Baylor to the brink in the third set before ultimately losing to the top team in the nation, 3-0 Saturday afternoon inside The Rickel: 25-18, 25-20, 34-32. It was the first time this season that a Big 12 opponent has forced Baylor beyond 30 points in a set.

"First of all, I'd like to thank our fans for coming out," head coach Jill Kramer said. "Great rivalry match. Baylor was playing well. We battled at the net, especially in the second and third set. Kenz [McKenzie Nichols] did a great job distributing the offense, we challenged the block well, took some great swings and took some good shots. It wasn't our strongest serving match, I would have liked us to be a lot better from the service line, but we did a great job passing and battling today."

TCU NOTABLES:

This was the 11th sellout crowd of the 2019 season, continuing the program record set back in September. 1856 fans witnessed the match today, the 21^st consecutive sellout.
Freshman setter McKenzie Nichols, fresh off a Big 12 Rookie of the Week award, posted her third career double-double, posting 35 assists and 10 digs.
It was her third consecutive match with 30+ assists. She is averaging 11.45 assists/set in that span.
For the second straight match, the TCU offense was led by sophomore Katie Clark and redshirt-junior Ashley Waggle. Both delivered 12 kills today.
For Waggle, it was her third double-digit kill performance in her last four matches. She is averaging a stellar 3.33 kills/set in that period.
Clark meanwhile has hit 10+ kills in each of the last three matches in which she has played significant time on a 3.75 kills/set clip.
Freshman outside hitter Audrey Nalls continues to showcase consistent effort. She finished with nine kills and has now delivered at least eight kills in all 15 of her matches this season.
Sophomore élan McCall earned the start at libero, where she led the team with 12 digs in three sets, her best mark of the season.
Freshman middle blocker Afedo Manyang made a significant impact off the bench. After entering the match in the first set, Manyang led the team with three blocks while adding in four kills on a team-best .400 hitting.
Junior middle blocker Sarah Swanson delivered a strong effort as well, finishing with seven kills on .294 hitting, her best kill total in Big 12 play this season.

Set 1 (BU, 25-18): The Horned Frogs managed a 5-5 tie in the opening points thanks to three early kills from Swanson. But Baylor responded with a sustained run, claiming the opening set by seven points. Clark turned on her offensive game near the end of the set, claiming three kills in the final points to bring her set total to a team-best four kills. McCall was making plays in the back row all set, she finished with five digs.

Set 2 (BU, 25-20): Baylor led the set from the jump, never allowing TCU to tie it beyond a 2-2 score line. The Horned Frogs brought the deficit to two off a 6-1 run, 17-19. But Baylor held on to take the set by five points. Swanson and Clark each delivered a kill and a block in the run. Clark ended up with a strong offensive set, delivering four kills on .800 hitting but it wouldn't be enough to undercut the Baylor attack.

Set 3 (BU, 34-32): TCU came out with renewed energy and passion to begin the third set. The offense was clicking, the sold-out crowd was roaring and the Frogs seized a 5-2 lead. Baylor would stick around, but the fourth kill of the set from Nalls forced a Baylor timeout as TCU claimed its largest lead of the match, 13-8. The Bears responded and would tie the set at 20-20 later before TCU forced its first set-point, 24-23. From that moment on each team would take turns attempting to close out the match. TCU defended four match points, off kills from Clark and Waggle as well as errors from BU. The Frogs couldn't capitalize on five set-points and eventually, Baylor claimed the set and the match, 34-32. Waggle emerged as the leader of the offense when the going got tough, finishing with seven kills in the set, four of which came after the score was tied, 20-20. Nalls came alive as well delivering five kills, including one in the clutch to give TCU a 31-30 lead. Defensively, TCU was operating on maximum effort, finishing with 19 digs in the set, five from McCall, four from Nichols and three more from Dani Dennison and Waggle. Manyang and Nalls led the team with two blocks each, but the Bears would steal the set away for their 15th win of the season.

UP NEXT:
The Horned Frogs head out on the road next week for a pair of Big 12 road contests. The first comes Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. against Iowa State, followed by a Saturday afternoon contest against Kansas, in Lawrence.

For more information on TCU Volleyball visit GoFrogs.com and follow @TCUVolleyball on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.