Saturday, November 12
Fort Worth, Texas
2 PM
TCU
13-10,8-4Big 12
3
vs
1
Baylor
21-5,10-3Big 12
1
2
3
4
F
Baylor
23
27
20
10
1
TCU
25
25
25
25
3
TCU Upsets No. 10 Baylor in Four Sets to Earn Program-Defining Victory
11/12/2022 7:19:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Horned Frogs picked up their first top-25 win in six years
FORT WORTH – Perhaps with the passage of time, Nov. 12, 2022, will manifest as a date forever referenced in the tallest tales of TCU volleyball lore.
A day and a match symbolic with a changing of the guard across the Big 12 landscape and the program's fortunes.
TCU defeated No. 10 Baylor in four sets, 25-23, 25-27, 25-20, 25-10, to earn a statement win in the 2022 campaign.
An announced crowd of 3,236 spectators were on hand to witness the Horned Frogs' first victory over a top-25 opponent – and Baylor – in six years.
For the first time in TCU's Big 12 era, the Horned Frogs (13-10, 8-5) boast an undefeated conference home record with one contest within the friendly confines of Fort Worth remaining.
With Saturday's triumph, the Horned Frogs now need just one more win to guarantee a winning record and top-four finish in Big 12 play for just the second time in 11 years of conference membership.
To get to this point, the present slipped into the past.
Saturday's win required TCU head coach Jason Williams to take out a program he helped transform into a national powerhouse. Williams spent his last seven years in Waco working alongside Baylor head man Ryan McGuyre, steering the Bears to a string of six straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
And in the future, a cold reckoning greeted the team clad in green and gold.
TCU pestered the Bears into a season-high 42 combined errors. The Horned Frogs held their central Texas rival to .160 hitting – Baylor's lowest clip in Big 12 play – and finished the match with a 13-6 edge in blocks. The Bears averaged just 8.5 kills per period in sets three and four.
The Horned Frogs, though, steadily progressed throughout the matinee. TCU connected at a combined .350 hitting clip in the conclusive third and fourth sets. The Horned Frogs averaged 15.4 kills per set over the final three frames.
Set four was particularly decisive. TCU doubled up the Bears in kills 12-6 and converted on 80 percent (8-10) of its side out opportunities. On the other side of the net, the Horned Frogs stifled the Bears' attack to the tune of a -.111 hitting clip.
TCU concluded the match with the edge in points (73-56), kills (57-50), assists (52-44), digs (46-43) and blocks.
Audrey Nalls proved to be Baylor's judge and executioner once more. She led all players with 22 kills – the same tally she reached during the teams' first meeting on Sept. 21 – on the strength of a .364 hitting percentage. Nalls has now eclipsed 20 kills eight times this fall. TCU is 7-1 when Nalls hits the threshold.
Julia Adams joined Nalls in double figures with 10 kills. Adams, who boasts 1,061 career kills, moved to 10th on TCU's career records list in the category with the performance.
Jalyn Gibson and Zoe Hall kept pace with their positional counterparts, landing finishing with nine kills and eight, respectively.
Setting the table was a player who proved to be the stone in Baylor's shoe.
Callie Williams, who played three seasons for the Bears alongside her father, Jason Williams, from 2019-2022, delivered a 44-assist, 11-dig effort to notch her ninth straight double-double and 11th of the fall. Williams, the reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, led all players in assists and passing percentage (.449).
Defensively, McKenzie Nichols joined Williams in double digits in digs with 10 while Mykayla Myers finished with the match-high in blocks (five).
A gritty effort in set one staked TCU to a 1-0 match lead. Neither team led by more than three points in a frame that featured 13 ties. The Horned Frogs were out-landed in kills 15-11 but rode a 4-2 advantage in blocks and 13 Baylor errors to a two-point win and 1-0 match lead.
TCU never trailed in the frame by more than one point. The Horned Frogs gained their first bit of separation at 11-8 off an ace by Adams and block by Myers on consecutive plays. Nalls' third kill of the set pushed the lead to 14-12. TCU maintained a two-point lead as late as 20-18. Baylor, though, responded with three straight points to regain the lead and prompt Williams to signal for time. Nalls promptly responded with a block – TCU's fourth-and-final – to pull the Horned Frogs even. A Bears error, paired with another kill from Nalls, gave the Horned Frogs the lead for good at 23-22. A kill by Myers, followed by a Baylor attack error, on the final two plays locked up the set win.
The Horned Frogs narrowly missed out on an opportunity to assume a 2-0 match lead. TCU built a 7-3 advantage to begin set two and maintained a multi-point lead at 10-7. An 8-1 Baylor run swung the scoreboard in favor of the visitor's 15-12. Nalls' 10th kill of the match snapped Baylor's scoring spurt and pulled the Horned Frogs within two points of the Bears 17-15. Back-to-back kills by the senior later evened the scoreboard 23-23 to punctuate TCU's rally. Her third straight kill staved off set point to keep the scoreboard label at 24-24. Hall then lasered home a kill from the left pin two plays later to keep TCU afloat. Two straight Baylor kills, however, forced a 1-1 match tie.
Nalls landed eight kills in set two. TCU concluded the set with 18 kills to Baylor's 16. The Bears hit .371 in the set.
The Horned Frogs arguably weathered Baylor's best shot to find some sort of offensive rhythm in the third set. TCU nursed its way to a 12-11 head start. Both teams had nine kills apiece and were connecting above .500 at that time.
Baylor stayed within a point of TCU at 16-15, but it was as close as the Bears would come to touching the Horned Frogs the rest of the way. TCU closed the show with a 9-5 extended scoring run.
A 3-0 surge, fueled by a kill from Adams and a pair of Baylor errors, swung the pendulum for good. TCU then stayed in front by a trio at 21-18 after outlasting the Bears on an extended volley that unofficially spanned 47 seconds. Nalls' 17thkill of the afternoon on the following play forced Baylor to burn its last timeout. Gibson went cross-court from the right pin two plays later to stretch the lead to 23-19. Nalls threaded a touch kill with her non-dominant left hand through two Baylor blockers three plays later to cinch the set.
TCU's 15-point margin of victory in set four was its largest in a set this season. The Horned Frogs never trailed.
Myers set the tone with an emphatic block solo to stake the Horned Frogs to an early 4-1 lead. Gibson and Nalls then bookended kills around a Baylor attack error to push the lead to 7-2 and prompt McGuyre to whistle for time. Nalls bombed in consecutive kills to widen the gap to 9-3. An ace by Adams doubled up Baylor at 13-6 and forced McGuyre to burn his final timeout of the match.
It was a done deal from there, as three straight Baylor errors stretched TCU's lead to 17-7. TCU rattled off five straight points, aided by kills from Adams and Gibson and three Baylor errors, to serve for match point at 24-9. Nalls sounded the upset alarms via a kill from the right pin that Baylor was unable to corral.
Five of TCU's last six victories have come against teams ranked in the top-70 of the NCAA RPI. The Bears were ranked 13th ahead of Saturday's showdown.
TCU now turns its attention to a midweek trip to Morgantown, West Virginia to face the Mountaineers at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday.
A day and a match symbolic with a changing of the guard across the Big 12 landscape and the program's fortunes.
TCU defeated No. 10 Baylor in four sets, 25-23, 25-27, 25-20, 25-10, to earn a statement win in the 2022 campaign.
An announced crowd of 3,236 spectators were on hand to witness the Horned Frogs' first victory over a top-25 opponent – and Baylor – in six years.
For the first time in TCU's Big 12 era, the Horned Frogs (13-10, 8-5) boast an undefeated conference home record with one contest within the friendly confines of Fort Worth remaining.
With Saturday's triumph, the Horned Frogs now need just one more win to guarantee a winning record and top-four finish in Big 12 play for just the second time in 11 years of conference membership.
To get to this point, the present slipped into the past.
Saturday's win required TCU head coach Jason Williams to take out a program he helped transform into a national powerhouse. Williams spent his last seven years in Waco working alongside Baylor head man Ryan McGuyre, steering the Bears to a string of six straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
And in the future, a cold reckoning greeted the team clad in green and gold.
TCU pestered the Bears into a season-high 42 combined errors. The Horned Frogs held their central Texas rival to .160 hitting – Baylor's lowest clip in Big 12 play – and finished the match with a 13-6 edge in blocks. The Bears averaged just 8.5 kills per period in sets three and four.
The Horned Frogs, though, steadily progressed throughout the matinee. TCU connected at a combined .350 hitting clip in the conclusive third and fourth sets. The Horned Frogs averaged 15.4 kills per set over the final three frames.
Set four was particularly decisive. TCU doubled up the Bears in kills 12-6 and converted on 80 percent (8-10) of its side out opportunities. On the other side of the net, the Horned Frogs stifled the Bears' attack to the tune of a -.111 hitting clip.
TCU concluded the match with the edge in points (73-56), kills (57-50), assists (52-44), digs (46-43) and blocks.
Audrey Nalls proved to be Baylor's judge and executioner once more. She led all players with 22 kills – the same tally she reached during the teams' first meeting on Sept. 21 – on the strength of a .364 hitting percentage. Nalls has now eclipsed 20 kills eight times this fall. TCU is 7-1 when Nalls hits the threshold.
Julia Adams joined Nalls in double figures with 10 kills. Adams, who boasts 1,061 career kills, moved to 10th on TCU's career records list in the category with the performance.
Jalyn Gibson and Zoe Hall kept pace with their positional counterparts, landing finishing with nine kills and eight, respectively.
Setting the table was a player who proved to be the stone in Baylor's shoe.
Callie Williams, who played three seasons for the Bears alongside her father, Jason Williams, from 2019-2022, delivered a 44-assist, 11-dig effort to notch her ninth straight double-double and 11th of the fall. Williams, the reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, led all players in assists and passing percentage (.449).
Defensively, McKenzie Nichols joined Williams in double digits in digs with 10 while Mykayla Myers finished with the match-high in blocks (five).
A gritty effort in set one staked TCU to a 1-0 match lead. Neither team led by more than three points in a frame that featured 13 ties. The Horned Frogs were out-landed in kills 15-11 but rode a 4-2 advantage in blocks and 13 Baylor errors to a two-point win and 1-0 match lead.
TCU never trailed in the frame by more than one point. The Horned Frogs gained their first bit of separation at 11-8 off an ace by Adams and block by Myers on consecutive plays. Nalls' third kill of the set pushed the lead to 14-12. TCU maintained a two-point lead as late as 20-18. Baylor, though, responded with three straight points to regain the lead and prompt Williams to signal for time. Nalls promptly responded with a block – TCU's fourth-and-final – to pull the Horned Frogs even. A Bears error, paired with another kill from Nalls, gave the Horned Frogs the lead for good at 23-22. A kill by Myers, followed by a Baylor attack error, on the final two plays locked up the set win.
The Horned Frogs narrowly missed out on an opportunity to assume a 2-0 match lead. TCU built a 7-3 advantage to begin set two and maintained a multi-point lead at 10-7. An 8-1 Baylor run swung the scoreboard in favor of the visitor's 15-12. Nalls' 10th kill of the match snapped Baylor's scoring spurt and pulled the Horned Frogs within two points of the Bears 17-15. Back-to-back kills by the senior later evened the scoreboard 23-23 to punctuate TCU's rally. Her third straight kill staved off set point to keep the scoreboard label at 24-24. Hall then lasered home a kill from the left pin two plays later to keep TCU afloat. Two straight Baylor kills, however, forced a 1-1 match tie.
Nalls landed eight kills in set two. TCU concluded the set with 18 kills to Baylor's 16. The Bears hit .371 in the set.
The Horned Frogs arguably weathered Baylor's best shot to find some sort of offensive rhythm in the third set. TCU nursed its way to a 12-11 head start. Both teams had nine kills apiece and were connecting above .500 at that time.
Baylor stayed within a point of TCU at 16-15, but it was as close as the Bears would come to touching the Horned Frogs the rest of the way. TCU closed the show with a 9-5 extended scoring run.
A 3-0 surge, fueled by a kill from Adams and a pair of Baylor errors, swung the pendulum for good. TCU then stayed in front by a trio at 21-18 after outlasting the Bears on an extended volley that unofficially spanned 47 seconds. Nalls' 17thkill of the afternoon on the following play forced Baylor to burn its last timeout. Gibson went cross-court from the right pin two plays later to stretch the lead to 23-19. Nalls threaded a touch kill with her non-dominant left hand through two Baylor blockers three plays later to cinch the set.
TCU's 15-point margin of victory in set four was its largest in a set this season. The Horned Frogs never trailed.
Myers set the tone with an emphatic block solo to stake the Horned Frogs to an early 4-1 lead. Gibson and Nalls then bookended kills around a Baylor attack error to push the lead to 7-2 and prompt McGuyre to whistle for time. Nalls bombed in consecutive kills to widen the gap to 9-3. An ace by Adams doubled up Baylor at 13-6 and forced McGuyre to burn his final timeout of the match.
It was a done deal from there, as three straight Baylor errors stretched TCU's lead to 17-7. TCU rattled off five straight points, aided by kills from Adams and Gibson and three Baylor errors, to serve for match point at 24-9. Nalls sounded the upset alarms via a kill from the right pin that Baylor was unable to corral.
Five of TCU's last six victories have come against teams ranked in the top-70 of the NCAA RPI. The Bears were ranked 13th ahead of Saturday's showdown.
TCU now turns its attention to a midweek trip to Morgantown, West Virginia to face the Mountaineers at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday.
Team Stats
Baylor
TCU
Kills
50
57
Errors
27
20
Attempts
144
128
Hitting %
.160
.289
Points
56
73
Assists
44
52
Aces
0
3
Blocks
6
13
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
22
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
10
Aces
2
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
5
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