TCU throws scare into No. 14 Baylor in Williams' return to Waco

Wednesday, September 21

Waco, Texas

7 PM

TCU

5-7,0-1Big 12

Baylor

11-2,1-0Big 12

TCU

Baylor

TCU throws scare into No. 14 Baylor in Williams' return to Waco

9/22/2022 12:29:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Horned Frogs handed Baylor largest margin of defeat in a set this season

WACO – TCU volleyball is inching closer to a breakthrough.

That much was made clear during the Horned Frogs' 2022 Big 12 debut against No. 14 Baylor on Wednesday inside the Ferrell Center.

The Bears won the match 3-1 (13-25, 27-29, 25-15, 19-25) to spoil the finale of a homecoming for head coach Jason Williams' and several other members of the program. But TCU demonstrated it will be a tough out for any conference foe in defeat.

"I'm encouraged," Williams said. "I joke with people at TCU that I feel like we've turned a corner, but our jerseys are stuck to that nail on the corner. We just can't pull away yet. There's still a lot of conference [games] left."

TCU (5-7, 0-1 Big 12) made the Bears, who entered riding an eight-match unbeaten streak, uncomfortable for the first time in three weeks.

The Horned Frogs' 10-point victory in the third frame snapped a 27-set unbeaten streak for Baylor and was the Bears largest margin of defeat in a set this year.

The third-set thrashing could easily have staked TCU to a 2-1 match lead. Following a first set that shall not be spoken of, TCU clawed back from a four-point deficit midway through set two to assume a 22-19 lead. The Horned Frogs then twice served for set point at 24-23 and 27-26.

Even as Baylor (11-2, 1-0 Big 12) assumed control of the final set – the Bears built a 16-9 lead – TCU refused to bow out quietly. The Horned Frogs responded by ripping off a 10-3 that made the stretch run interesting and prompted a timeout from the hosts.

TCU led the Bears in most major statistical categories, including points (66-65), kills (58-49), assists (54-46) and digs (54-49).

Too many free points for Baylor came back to bite TCU. The Horned Frogs suffered from a combined 43, attack, service and reception errors, ultimately contributing to more than two-thirds of Baylor's points scored.

"With them not having their full lineup, it gave us some opportunities," Williams said. First set, they completely won the serve-and-pass part. Second set, I think we kind of gave it away. We had our opportunities before it got into extra points. I think if we were to make a couple plays in the second set, we'd probably be finishing the fifth set. I'm happy with some of the things we've really been focusing on in terms of offense. Our kill percentage is still okay. We just can't error ourselves out of matches against good teams."

Audrey Nalls and Julia Adams accounted for 37 of the Horned Frogs' kill tally. Nalls racked up a match-high 22 on .315 hitting to register her second 20-kill effort of her senior year. The Waxahachie native is averaging 16 kills per set over TCU's last seven contests.

Adams kept pace with 15 of her own to reach double figures for the ninth time this fall.

Fellow senior McKenzie Nichols recorded her third double-double in four games with a 20-assist, 13-dig effort.

Callie Williams, who helped Baylor to three NCAA Tournament berths from 2019-2021, led TCU in assists with 28 dimes.

Keagan Polk, also a member of the 2021 Bears volleyball team, tallied a team-high 15 digs while donning the libero jersey for the 11tth straight match.

In many ways, the match was a symbolic intersection of past individual success and the future of TCU volleyball.

The welcome home party began with a post-practice visit on Wednesday morning from Baylor head coach Ryan McGuyre, whom Jason Williams helped to six NCAA Tournaments as an assistant coach 2015-2022.

Both he and Callie Williams, along with volunteer assistant coach Preslie Anderson, who concluded her playing career at Baylor form 2020-2021, were bombarded with hugs and handshakes from Baylor's administrative and coaching staff and former teammates upon walking through the loading dock on the east end of the Ferrell Center.

Jason and Callie Williams received audible ovations from the announced 1,366 spectators when their names were announced during lineup introductions – Callie as TCU's starting setter and Jason as the fourth head coach in program history.

McGuyre mouthed, "Go get 'em" to Williams when the two shook hands at center court. It marked the first time McGuyre faced a former assistant coach on the other side of the net as a head coach. He earned his 500^th career coaching win on Wednesday. Williams was present for 154 of the victories.

TCU now returns home to open a two-match homestand vs. Iowa State (8-5) at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Schollmaieer Arena in its conference home-opener.

Stat of the Match

8 – Nalls moved to eighth in the Big 12 in kills per set (3.2) with Wednesday's performance.

Notable

MyKayla Myers led the match in hitting percentage (.583) among players with at least 10 attacks. She has now hit .300-or-better on six occasions in 2022.
Taylor Raiola returned from a monthlong injury absence on Wednesday to make her season debut. She checked into the match midway through set four.
Zoe Hall finished with six kills on a .312 hitting clip
Afedo Manyang tallied five kills for the second straight match
The Horned Frogs took their largest lead of the night at 19-8 in set three

Coach's Corner
"We're really making some strides. There are some players who are untrained, so it takes a little bit of time. It's a little bit different of a system, so it's taking time to sink in. But there's some parts of our game that are really good. We've just got to get better at some of the deficiencies."
- - Jason Williams