No. 22 TCU Knocks Off No. 14 Baylor, 3-1

Sunday, October 6

Fort Worth, Texas

2 PM

TCU

11-3,3-1Big 12

Baylor

10-4,2-1Big 12

Baylor

TCU

No. 22 TCU Knocks Off No. 14 Baylor, 3-1

10/6/2024 8:38:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Horned Frogs top Bears in front of second-largest crowd in program history

FORT WORTH – Playing in front of a packed crowd on national television, No. 22 TCU volleyball picked up a key conference victory, knocking off No. 14 Baylor 3-1 on Sunday afternoon in Schollmaier Arena.

The Horned Frogs (11-3, 3-1 Big 12) dominated rival Baylor (10-4, 2-1 Big 12) for their second victory over a ranked team this season and fourth straight win over the Bears under head coach Jason Williams. TCU defended its home court thanks to the second-largest crowd in program history, as over 4,094 fans piled into Schollmaier to watch the ranked matchup.

TCU outhit the opposition by nearly .100, with a .261 clip compared to Baylor's .165, led by Melanie Parra. The star from Sinaloa, Mexico, eclipsed the 20-kill mark for the eighth time this season and second straight match, totaling 25 on a .295 clip. Teammates Jalyn Gibson and Becca Kelley each added 14 to the offense, proving to be too much for the Bears to handle.

The Frogs were stingy on defense, racking up 77 digs. Freshman Alice Volpe led the way with a career-high 17 digs. Gibson, Lily Nicholson and Parra all followed with 10-plus digs to record double-doubles. At the net, Sarah Sylvester totaled six blocks of the team's nine blocks to hold the Bears to their third-lowest hitting percentage of the season.

What was a close match early in the opening set quickly went sideways for Baylor. Tied at seven, Parra crushed an overpass at the net and sent Schollmaier into a frenzy. It highlighted a 5-0 run, forcing the Bears to call a timeout down 11-7. While the break helped Baylor side out, the Frogs went right back on the attack, doubling up the Bears as Parra led a 6-0 run at the service line with a pair of aces. TCU held the lead for the remainder of the set, but Baylor didn't make it easy. The Bears clawed back within one at 24-23, but Parra slammed down her ninth kill of the set to give the Horned Frogs a 1-0 lead.

Baylor responded to even the match in a hard-fought second set. TCU battled from behind early, using a 5-0 run to take a 12-11 lead. From there, both teams battled to 20 points. Just when the Frogs thought they had tied the score at 21-all, a Baylor challenge erased the point and swung the momentum to the Bears, who closed the second set out with a 5-1 run.

After evening the score, TCU and Baylor found themselves deadlocked at 16 in the third set. The two teams traded points back and forth after 13 ties and six lead changes up to that point. Looking for separation, a kill from Parra put the Frogs up one before back-to-back blocks by Sylvester and Gibson brought the house down and forced Baylor to take a timeout. There was nothing the Bears could do as TCU went on to score nine unanswered points to dominate set three 25-16.

Ready to close things out, the Frogs quickly jumped out to an early lead. TCU cruised past Baylor in the fourth, never trailing and leading by as many as 10. Gibson and Kelley caught fire in the final set, combining for 12 of the team's 20 kills, putting them both in double-figures. The Bears fought off six set points, but there was never any doubt as Parra fittingly called game with her 25^th kill of the afternoon.

No. 22 TCU gears up for a tough three-match road swing beginning with Utah and No. 20 BYU on Oct. 10 and 12, respectively. The Frogs round out the trip with a midweek matchup in Lubbock before returning home on Oct. 19.

For all the latest TCU volleyball news, follow the Frogs on X at @TCUVolleyball, on Instagram at @tcuvolleyball and on Facebook at TCU Volleyball.