TCU Volleyball Falters In 3-1 Loss To UNLV

FORT WORTH, Texas – The TCU Horned Frogs (16-3, 3-2) suffered a 3-1 (20-25, 25-21, 17-25, 14-25) loss to UNLV Saturday afternoon. Stephanie Holland paced the Horned Frogs with 13 kills.

Kristen Hester tied Holland with 13 kills and added seven digs and two blocks. Megan Munce dished out 37 assists and tallied 11 digs to complete the double-double. Jordan Raines pitched in with seven kills, while Yvonne Igodan totaled six to go along with four blocks. Holland added four blocks to her afternoon. Mattie Burleson tallied two blocks and three kills. Sarah Joeckel paced the Frogs with 12 digs.

In the first set, the Frogs took an early 4-1 lead on a kill by Igodan, but the Rebels responded with a 5-0 run that put them on top 6-4. TCU would work the set back to even on two occasions, but could never get back on top. Tied at 13, Makenzie Moea’I put the Rebels in front to stay.

The Frogs kept the set close, trailing by one, 17-16, after a Rebel error, but a 4-1 run gave the Rebels a 21-17 lead. Back-to-back kills from Holland and Hester and a blast from Munce made it a 22-20 contest. The comeback was not to be as the Rebels closed out the 25-20 set one win to take the early match lead.

TCU fought hard in the second to even the match at one and the effort paid off in a 25-21 victory. UNLV controlled the set early, pushing its lead to four, 13-9, before the Frogs called a timeout and began the comeback.

Following the break, Hester put the Frogs back on the offensive with a kill. TCU propelled the blast into a 9-4 run that put the Frogs on top 18-17. Maddy Brown dropped in two kills and Holland fired off a pair of her own to aid in the rally. Holland broke a 21-all tie and a hustle play gave the Frogs set point. A Rebel attacking error locked up the 25-21 win.

A tight third set saw both teams battle to a 16-16 tie. Neither team led by more than two as the teams fought for the 2-1 match lead. Holland and Hester knocked down kills, while both paired with Igodan and Burleson on blocks to highlight the Frogs early push.

Stephanie Thelen broke the tie to put the Rebels in front to stay. UNLV rattled off seven straight points to open up a 23-16 lead. Daryn Glenn put the Rebels in front with a blast, locking up the 25-17 set three win for UNLV.

In the fourth, the Frogs took an early 4-1 lead, but it didn’t hold as the Rebels fought back to tie the set at seven. Thelen gave UNLV a lead and the Rebels would hold it as they ran away with the 25-14 win to take the 3-1 match victory.

TCU falls to 16-3 on the season and 3-2 in league play. The Frogs will hit the road for the next two matches. Thursday’s match-up against Wyoming is set for 8 p.m. (CST).

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