TCU Volleyball: One-on-One With Audrey Nalls

The 5th year senior and unanimous selection to the 2023 All-Big 12 Volleyball Preseason Team looks ahead to the coming season.

Coming off the first NCAA tournament run in seven years, TCU Volleyball has lofty expectations for the upcoming season as they look to expand on what was a successful first year for head coach Jason Williams in Fort Worth. A key contribution to that success was senior Audrey Nalls, who had a breakout year for the Horned Frogs, leading the Big 12 in kills while also being named to the All-Big 12 First Team. Nalls, a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team for the 2023-24 season as well, took the time to sit down and talk about the upcoming season, which will be her fifth and final year at TCU.

The League Is On Notice 🤫@audreynalls32 has been tabbed to the 2023 All-Big 12 Preseason Team!

📰 https://t.co/EVulnvtXlG#GoFrogs pic.twitter.com/tfNndGN5wc

— TCU Volleyball (@TCUvolleyball) July 11, 2023

The choice to take this fifth year of eligibility (thanks to Covid) was seemingly an easy one, as Nalls said, “There were a lot of perks, and I thought, why not take this opportunity. It’s a great group of girls, I love being around the coaches, TCU is an awesome environment, and I get to stay and get my masters. It was my best route in the moment when I made the decision, and now looking back, I think I made the right choice, it was a no-brainer.”

The Frogs can run it back for a second season with Coach Williams, who received high praise from his outside hitter, saying, “He’s turned volleyball upside down for me, Jason has been everything plus some. He is a great father figure, a great coach, mentor, and leader. He’s super easy to be around and has all the dad jokes but is also very knowledgeable about volleyball and wants the best for all players and staff. Jason holds us to a high standard and expects nothing but getting into the tournament and competing with the best.”

Nalls found massive amounts of success with Williams as she “Enjoyed the greatest single season turnaround of any Power Five conference volleyball player,” according to GoFrogs.com. She attributed this success to the new coaching staff, saying, “They really worked with me one-on-one and brought out the abilities that I thought I might have coming into college. I appreciate the coaches believing in me and pulling out what I had deep down, and getting the best out of me. The girls are also responsible for a lot of my success, if we don’t have passers in the back row, or we don’t have blockers, or we don’t have a setter, then none of that is happening for me or any of the girls.”

TCU volleyball enjoyed its best season since 2016 last year as they took down quality opponents such as Baylor and Iowa State en route to an 11-5 finish in the conference. With several key performers on that team returning for the upcoming season, the question was raised about what needs to be done to maintain that success. To which Nalls replied, “We absolutely must grind as hard and put in as much effort as we did last year, but now we need to do it times two. We need to be getting the extra reps, watching more film on opponents so we know what their best attack is, just all the little things. Obviously, we had a great season, and we want to continue that this season. So, to me, it means we need to double what we did last year.”

Despite all the success in the 2022-23 season, the team was unable to get over the hump and contend with the best teams in college volleyball, like top-ranked Texas, and second-ranked Wisconsin, the latter of which eliminated the Horned Frogs in the NCAA tournament. To take down powerhouses such as Texas and Wisconsin, Nalls believes a lot of it is in the game plan, saying, “We run our offense Frog fast, and most teams like Wisconsin and Texas can’t necessarily defend the super-fast offense because it’s difficult to read. So, if we keep it fast and don’t give them anything easy, then that’s going to give us our best shot.”

The Frogs will be able to test this game plan right out of the gate as they open the season against Minnesota University, another perennial powerhouse in college volleyball. The summer preparations for not only the Minnesota game but the season as a whole have Nalls feeling “confident” as she explained, “We’ve been doing workouts all summer, morning lifts as a team, and then after that a bit of player-led open gym. A lot of June was used to focus on myself and improve my own game, and then July has been more team oriented so that we’ll be ready when the coaches are ready to start in August. Obviously, Minnesota is one of the big dogs, so it’s always going to be a competition, but overall, I feel pretty good about it.”

With it being the final year for Audrey at TCU, she expressed that there is a lot to reflect on and be thankful for, saying, “The amount of people that I have met, the amount of life-long relationships that I’ve built, and the atmosphere have all been awesome. My teammates have become like family, I’ve traveled with them constantly, I’m always in the gym for hours upon hours with them, and I pretty much do everything with them. The relationships that I’ve built, even with the athletic trainers, strength trainers, and professors, have been great. Everyone is there to help you, and it’s been pretty cool to see that.”

TCU has allowed Audrey to prepare for the next chapter after volleyball as well as she explained, “I found a few things during college that I love to do, but I think ultimately, I want to pursue being a home editor or organizer and potentially have my own company. I have found my niche with that, and it’s something I really enjoy. But we’ll see where the wind blows me once I graduate and go from there.”

Finally, when it comes to leaving a mark on the university and being someone who can be considered a leader, Audrey expressed pride in “leaving a legacy,” something her new coaches have made important from the start. She went on to say, “It’s all about what legacy can you leave for younger teammates, and to me, that means I have to exemplify discipline, time management, and just be an all-around good teammate on and off the court. I have to take charge and lead my teammates down the right path no matter how difficult, and that, to me, is what being a leader is.”

The year ahead is an exciting one for TCU Volleyball as the girls led by Jason Williams look to make a trip back to the tournament, and Audrey Nalls looks to have her best year yet. Throughout her personal success in the past year, she has made it clear that none of it would be possible without the high-caliber teammates and coaches.

After opening the season in Minnesota on August 25, the Horned Frogs will play in tournaments in Myrtle Beach and College Station before returning home for the Fight in the Fort on September 14 at Schollmaier Arena.

---

Want to join the discussion? Click here to become a member of the Killer Frogs message board community today!

Follow KillerFrogs on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest TCU news! Follow KillerFrogs on Facebook and Instagram as well. Download the KillerFrogs app on Google Play or in the Apple App Store.