The TCU women’s volleyball team suffered a rare defeat on Saturday to West Virginia University, getting swept 3-2 (23-25, 25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 15-11) at the WVU Coliseum.
The Horned Frogs saw positives, though, in the senior duo of Stephanie Holland and Mattie Burleson who both had career-days (12-7,2-3 Big 12) with 22 and 13 kills, respectively, against the Mountaineers (12-7, 2-3 Big 12).
Junior Alexia Heist also had a career-high of 52 assists and landed her own double-double with 11 digs. Sophomore Ashley Smith had her own double-double of 12 kills and 12 digs.
TCU started the match lagging behind 2-0, but a kill from Ashley Smith and an error from WVU tied up the game 2-2. The teams tied four more times before an ace and a kill from sophomore Regan McGuire combined with another WVU error gave the Frogs a 10-7 lead.
After a timeout, the Mountaineers had two straight kills, but Smith turned up the heat and picked up multiple kills to stretch the lead 13-10. An ace from junior Macy Capen and errors by the Mountaineers capped a 6-3 run to land the Frogs a lead of 19-14.
The Mountaineers kept the pressure on with a 5-1 run to close the gap 20-19.
Holland and Heist picked up kills to give TCU a 22-20 lead, but WVU notched a kill and block to tie the game up again at 22-22. Holland gave the Frogs the drive they needed as she struck down two straight kills before Blaire Pickens sealed the win with her own kill at 25-23.
TCU led the second set 3-1 with two kills from Burleson and blocks from the senior and Capen. However, TCU didn’t hold the reigns long. WVU took control with a 4-3 lead after three straight kills. The Mountaineers’ offense picked up and ran to a 10-7 lead. TCU couldn’t recover despite hitting .423 for the set, and fell in the second set 25-20.
Burleson helped The Frogs run out to a 4-1 lead with multiple kills for the beginning of the third set. The Mountaineers had a 4-0 run to take a 12-8 lead, forcing TCU to timeout. Burleson notched another 2 kills and a block to help TCU go on a 7-1 run.
The Frogs stayed ahead 15-13 when the mountaineers battled for the lead until they tied it up 17-17. WVU allowed the frogs to score three more points, but seized a 25-20 victory for the match.
The Frogs staged a comeback in the fourth set as they began behind 8-4. After a kill and an ace from Capan, TCU went on 3-0 run to bring the set to 19-18.
The Mountaineers gained a 21-28 advantage with back-to-back kills. However, TCU didn’t stay down for long. Holland notched five straight kills to give the Frogs their first lead of set at 24-23.
Mia Swanegan sealed the Mountaineers’ victory with a block solo to send the match into defensive fifth set. Burleson notched the first kill in the set, but the Mountaineers had a 5-0 run, putting WVU at a 5-1 lead. The Frogs were unable to close in as 3 straight kills by WVU sealed off the final set 15-11.
TCU heads home for a “Pink Out” game against Kansas State on Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 6:30 p.m.
