Volleyball’s Season Comes to a Close in NCAA Second Round

Saturday, December 6

College Station, Texas

7 PM

TCU

21-11,10-8Big 12

Texas A&M

25-4,14-1SEC

TCU

Texas A&M

Volleyball’s Season Comes to a Close in NCAA Second Round

12/7/2025 12:39:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

COLLEGE STATION – Fighting for a spot in the Sweet 16, No. 20 TCU came up just short against No. 6 Texas A&M in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night in Reed Arena.

The Horned Frogs (21-11, 10-8 Big 12) put up quite the fight, leaving it all out on the court for the final time in 2025. A rematch of September's five-set thriller, TCU nearly forced a fifth set again against Texas A&M (25-4, 14-1 SEC), this time in a hostile environment of over 5,000 Aggie fans.

"We showed up knowing it was going to be a battle," said head coach Jason Williams, who has led TCU to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament in all four of his seasons with the program. "Everyone saw a pretty good battle out there. Obviously disappointed with the loss because we felt as if we gave it away at the end. I wish we were still playing right now, but A&M figured out a way to win, but we'll use this as a fire for next year."

Evan Hendrix continued to shine in the postseason. She lit up the Aggies, going off for 26 kills on a .323 clip and added nine digs and three blocks. The sophomore finished her season as one of the most prolific scorers in TCU volleyball history, with 592.0 points and 543 kills, the second and third most all-time in their respective categories for a single season. Further, Hendrix's 543 kills this year rank eighth nationally.

TCU also got a major offensive spark from junior Lauren Murphy. She finished with 13 kills, matching her total from the Frogs' previous meeting with Texas A&M earlier this season. Murphy also tallied five blocks and a pair of aces. Becca Kelley rounded out the top scorers with her 24^th 10-plus kill match of the year.

Defensively, the Frogs out-blocked the Aggies 14-11. Senior captain Sarah Sylvester played a large role in that, finishing with seven stuffs, giving her 153.0 on the year, the fourth most in a single season in program history. One of the most prolific blockers to ever wear a TCU uniform, Sylvester ended her career with 482.0 blocks, the second most all-time. Alice Volpe tallied 14 digs, and her teammate Jaylen Clark finished with a career-high 11 digs.

Also playing in the final match of her career that spanned five years over the course of TCU and Marquette was setter Ella Foti. She guided the offense to a .260 hitting percentage while recording 31 assists and 10 digs for a double-double.

Texas A&M came out aggressive, serving up a pair of aces in the first five points to secure an early lead. The Frogs, however, settled and silenced the crowd with a 7-1 run to take an 11-8 lead. Hendrix helped TCU carry the three-point advantage into the media timeout, but out of the break, the Aggies used runs of their own to tie the set back up at 23 all. Unfazed, Hendrix put down another kill to give the Frogs set point, and Foti sealed the opening set 25-23 with a block to put TCU up 1-0 in the match.

The Frogs fell behind 3-10 to start the second set. They slowly chipped away at the deficit, pulling within one point at 19-20, but ran out of steam, as Texas A&M evened the match with a 25-22 set victory.

Tied at one set apiece, the third set was pivotal. Both teams battled back and forth, trading points as the set featured 11 ties and eight lead changes. A 3-0 stretch put the Aggies ahead 15-13, but moments later, TCU flipped the script on them with a 3-0 run to take a 19-17 lead. Down the stretch, a pair of miscues helped A&M tie the set at 22 and close it out with three unanswered points to win 25-23.

Needing to win the fourth set to keep their season alive, the Frogs took a commanding 9-3 lead with Murphy at the service line. The Aggie crowd helped pump energy back into the team as Texas A&M capitalized on a 4-0 and 5-0 stretch to take a 14-13 lead. TCU stayed focused, responding with a stretch of six unanswered points, including five in a row from Hendrix, to take back the lead.

On the verge of forcing a fifth set, the Aggies fended off five TCU set points to stay alive and spoiled TCU's chances of extending the match with a 29-27 set win.

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