TCU Volleyball: Day 1 in Aggieland - TCU Goes Toe-to-Toe with UNI

Playing in the Texas A&M Invitational, the Frogs lost to Northern Iowa, 3-2.

TCU Volleyball got the Texas A&M invitational started in College Station on Thursday as they took on the defending Missouri Valley Conference Champions, the Northern Iowa Panthers. UNI won the match 3-2.

Coming off back-to-back wins to finish the Coastal Carolina Tournament, the Horned Frogs faced a worthy opponent in UNI. The Panthers were coming off one of the best seasons in program history in 2022, where they finished the season 27-8 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. 

After TCU jumped out to a 5-2 lead early in the first set, the Panthers responded with a run of their own, as they quickly made it 5-12 in their favor in what seemed like the blink of an eye. From there on out, it was all Northern Iowa as they dominated the rest of the set and cruised to a 25-15 first-set victory behind seven kills from star outside hitter Emily Holterhaus. 

Early in the second set, it was evident the Horned Frogs had settled in, as they were able to go back and forth with UNI for most of the early going. Late in the set, TCU capitalized on several UNI mistakes to go on a 5-0 run and take the lead 24-19. Following a UNI point, the set was capped off by a Jalyn Gibson kill, the 15th kill of the set for the Horned Frogs. 

This momentum was carried over into the third set as TCU seized control early on and never looked back as they added a 25-15 win of their own, making it 2-1. The Frogs were able to take command of the blocking up front in this third set, stifling the Panther offense into several errors. 

TCU's Third Set Winning Point:

In the fourth set, it looked to be much of the same, as TCU continued their excellent blocking and had countless kills. However, Northern Iowa just wouldn't go away as they stayed within striking distance for much of the set before going on a run and taking the lead 16-15. Several kills from UNI outside hitter Kira Fallert and Holterhaus would cost the Frogs, as UNI went on a run and took the set 25-21, sending the match to a winner-take-all fifth set. 

Once again, the two teams battled back and forth to begin the set, but errors by TCU proved costly as the Panthers built an 8-14 lead. The Frogs then had a rally of their own, but it would be short-lived as Olivia Tjernagel ended the game at 11-15 with a kill that deflected off TCU and went out of play. 

UNI's Fifth Set Winning Match Point:

The Horned Frogs won't have to wait long to avenge the loss, though, as they take on another team coming off an NCAA Tournament berth in the Utah State Aggies on Friday. The game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., once again, at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas. 

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