Volleyball Opens 2019 Preseason Camp
8/10/2019 5:36:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
FORT WORTH -- With the 2019 season opener 20 days away, the TCU volleyball team has officially begun organized team practices. Preseason camp will feature heavy practice days, often containing both morning and afternoon sessions, as the Horned Frogs prepare for the 26-match regular season ahead of them.
"It's great to be back in the gym with this team," head coach Jill Kramer said. "Everyone came in eager, hungry and ready to go. We got to begin to build off of our trip from the summer and continue to grow our gym culture that we established back in June."
THE EURO FROG EFFECT
With eight incoming freshmen joining the roster, learning the system and establishing team chemistry would seem to be the natural goals at the start of camp. But today, the message from the coaching staff was to simply get back into the rhythm established during the team's two-week trip through Europe in June.
The team played six matches over the course of 12 days in Europe, going against local club teams as well as members of the Italian and Dutch national youth programs. TCU finished with an impressive 5-1 record, taking. The time spent abroad provided the young Horned Frogs roster with a chance to work competitively within coach Kramer's system and grow together as they adapted to the challenges that come with playing unfamiliar opponents an ocean away from home.
The familiarity in the team could be immediately noticed at the beginning of camp as the team works to establish its identity for the season and live up to the preseason expectations.
A CULTURE OF CONSISTENT CONFIDENCE
Kramer, the program record holder in kills, kills per set and total attacks, knows what it takes to win at TCU. Her message to the team is simple, play the game at TCU standards and the results will take care of themselves.
"The first session is always a great time to get the rust off and continue to establish our standards in the gym," Kramer said. "We want to establish a consistent TCU culture of high-level communication on-court, putting forth our best effort in everything we do and always pursuing the ball and today was a great tone setter for the rest of the season in accomplishing that."
HORNED FROGS RECORD-SETTING SUMMER
The summer was kind to TCU as the program set multiple records between the months of June and July.
Volleyballmag.com recognized the incoming freshman class as the fifth-best in the nation and best in the Big 12, marking the first Top 5 recruiting class in program history and the first time TCU has collected the best inbound class of the conference.
That point was reflected later in June, when the Big 12 coaches awarded freshman outside hitter Audrey Nalls preseason Big 12 freshman of the year honors, making her the first Frog in history to claim the prize. Sophomore outside hitter élan McCall was also named unanimous first team all-conference by the coaches.
That news came as McCall was off in Anaheim training with the U.S. Women's Collegiate National Team in Anaheim. A prestigious honor for the 2018 AVCA Honorable Mention All-American.
In July, sophomore outside hitter Katie Clark was invited to train with the U.S. Women's Junior National Team in Colorado Springs, where she earned a spot on the roster to compete for Team USA at the 2019 FIVB Women's U20 World Championship, in Mexico. Clark became the first member of TCU volleyball to represent the United States in international competition.
All of these factors played a part in TCU being voted to finish third in the Big 12 preseason poll. The best ranking the team has received since joining the conference.
PURPLE & WHITE SCRIMMAGE
Fans will get their first peak at the 2019 team in the annual Purple & White Scrimmage on Saturday, August 24 at 3:00 p.m. inside The Rickel.
LOOKING AHEAD
TCU opens the season with eight non-conference home matches across three weekends. Kramer has enjoyed plenty of success in home, non-conference matches, where she holds a 16-2 record in four seasons, including a current 10-match win streak.
The schedule opens August 30, with a 7:00 p.m. (CT) match against High Point as the first match of the Cowtown Classic. TCU will play Lipscomb and Villanova on Saturday and Sunday respectively to complete the weekend, before welcoming Colorado State (9/6), FAU (9/7), Florida State (9/8), Miami (9/13) and Auburn (9/15) into The Rickel to complete the homestand.
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on TCU Volleyball visit GoFrogs.com and follow @TCUVolleyball on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
"It's great to be back in the gym with this team," head coach Jill Kramer said. "Everyone came in eager, hungry and ready to go. We got to begin to build off of our trip from the summer and continue to grow our gym culture that we established back in June."
THE EURO FROG EFFECT
With eight incoming freshmen joining the roster, learning the system and establishing team chemistry would seem to be the natural goals at the start of camp. But today, the message from the coaching staff was to simply get back into the rhythm established during the team's two-week trip through Europe in June.
The team played six matches over the course of 12 days in Europe, going against local club teams as well as members of the Italian and Dutch national youth programs. TCU finished with an impressive 5-1 record, taking. The time spent abroad provided the young Horned Frogs roster with a chance to work competitively within coach Kramer's system and grow together as they adapted to the challenges that come with playing unfamiliar opponents an ocean away from home.
The familiarity in the team could be immediately noticed at the beginning of camp as the team works to establish its identity for the season and live up to the preseason expectations.
A CULTURE OF CONSISTENT CONFIDENCE
Kramer, the program record holder in kills, kills per set and total attacks, knows what it takes to win at TCU. Her message to the team is simple, play the game at TCU standards and the results will take care of themselves.
"The first session is always a great time to get the rust off and continue to establish our standards in the gym," Kramer said. "We want to establish a consistent TCU culture of high-level communication on-court, putting forth our best effort in everything we do and always pursuing the ball and today was a great tone setter for the rest of the season in accomplishing that."
HORNED FROGS RECORD-SETTING SUMMER
The summer was kind to TCU as the program set multiple records between the months of June and July.
Volleyballmag.com recognized the incoming freshman class as the fifth-best in the nation and best in the Big 12, marking the first Top 5 recruiting class in program history and the first time TCU has collected the best inbound class of the conference.
That point was reflected later in June, when the Big 12 coaches awarded freshman outside hitter Audrey Nalls preseason Big 12 freshman of the year honors, making her the first Frog in history to claim the prize. Sophomore outside hitter élan McCall was also named unanimous first team all-conference by the coaches.
That news came as McCall was off in Anaheim training with the U.S. Women's Collegiate National Team in Anaheim. A prestigious honor for the 2018 AVCA Honorable Mention All-American.
In July, sophomore outside hitter Katie Clark was invited to train with the U.S. Women's Junior National Team in Colorado Springs, where she earned a spot on the roster to compete for Team USA at the 2019 FIVB Women's U20 World Championship, in Mexico. Clark became the first member of TCU volleyball to represent the United States in international competition.
All of these factors played a part in TCU being voted to finish third in the Big 12 preseason poll. The best ranking the team has received since joining the conference.
PURPLE & WHITE SCRIMMAGE
Fans will get their first peak at the 2019 team in the annual Purple & White Scrimmage on Saturday, August 24 at 3:00 p.m. inside The Rickel.
LOOKING AHEAD
TCU opens the season with eight non-conference home matches across three weekends. Kramer has enjoyed plenty of success in home, non-conference matches, where she holds a 16-2 record in four seasons, including a current 10-match win streak.
The schedule opens August 30, with a 7:00 p.m. (CT) match against High Point as the first match of the Cowtown Classic. TCU will play Lipscomb and Villanova on Saturday and Sunday respectively to complete the weekend, before welcoming Colorado State (9/6), FAU (9/7), Florida State (9/8), Miami (9/13) and Auburn (9/15) into The Rickel to complete the homestand.
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on TCU Volleyball visit GoFrogs.com and follow @TCUVolleyball on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballTCU Volleyball | Big 10/Big 12 Challenge Win Over No. 18 Minnesota
Tuesday, September 10
Taylor Raiola talking about her time with TCU Volleyball
Thursday, June 20
TCU Volleyball NCAA Tournament Hype - It's Time to Show the World
Thursday, May 09
Frog Time - Episode 1 feat. Bri Green
Thursday, May 09
