Tournament-host TCU women's volleyball defended their home turf on day one of the Nike/Molten Invitational Friday with two wins.
The Frogs (5-3, 0-0 Big 12) started the weekend tournament with a 12 p.m. match against Stephen F. Austin. The Frogs topped the Ladyjacks (6-3, 0-0 Southland) in four sets (25-17, 25-19, 20-25, 25-16).
Sophomore outsider hitter Macy Capen finished with a career-high 11 kills and freshman libero Shane Peters set a record of her own with 17 digs. Freshman outside hitter Ashley Smith recorded 10 kills and senior middle blocker Yvonne Igodan tallied 12 kills and five blocks in the match.
The Frogs took the first set handedly with six blocks and a team hitting average of .467. SFA bounced back in the second set, but strong serving gave TCU another large lead. The Ladyjacks tried to claw back into the set, but offense by Capen and serving errors ended the set.
Stephen F. Austin had different ideas in the third set, though, when junior outside hitter Jill Ivy took over for the Ladyjacks. TCU almost evened the match within one at 19-18, but a run by Stephen F. Austin finished out the set at 25-20.
The Frogs regained focus in the fourth set with a run of their own, holding the Ladyjacks to a .091 hitting percentage. TCU only recorded one hitting error in the set alongside Igodan's 5-for-5 balanced attack and finished out the match with a 25-16 set win.
The Horned Frogs (6-3, 0-0 Big 12) continued their winning ways into the evening match against Houston (7-2, 0-0 American), beating the Cougars in four sets (25-23, 25-16, 25-18, 25-18).
Both teams played the first set point for point, with Houston and TCU tied at 19-19. The Cougars closed the match with a kill from redshirt sophomore right-side hitter Kadi Kullerman, an ace from junior defensive specialist Natalie Keck and a block.
Houston came out slowly in the second set as TCU took an early 7-1. The Frogs extended the lead with TCU reaching a match-high .406 hitting percentage with 15 kills and two errors to win set two 25-16.
The teams battled to gain a lead in the third set as the score tied seven times. Houston hitting errors, kills from junior right-side hitter Stephanie Holland and a block from Capen and freshman middle blocker Regan McGuire helped TCU to reach a 25-18 set three score.
The Cougars couldn't stifle TCU's momentum as the Frogs finished off the match easily 25-18 in a four-set win.
Igodan led the attack for the Frogs for the second match in a row with 12 kills and two errors. Holland posted her first double-digit kill match of the season with 10. Sophomore setter Alexia Heist recorded a double-double with 25 assists and 10 digs. The Frogs recorded 11 total blocks in the match, with McGuire finishing with five, Igodan with five and Burleson and Holland each adding four.
TCU will take on Grambling St. at 2 p.m. and Ole Miss at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday in the University Recreation Center.
