TCU Volleyball Splits Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge

Coming off a close loss to sixth-ranked Wisconsin, the Horned Frogs roared back on Saturday to steal a competitive match against No. 18 Minnesota.

TCU Volleyball celebrates a victory over Minnesota in the Big 10/Big 12 challenge on September 7, 2024. / X: @TCUVolleyball

TCU traveled to Waco, Texas to compete in the Big Ten/Big 12 challenge this weekend. The Frogs were met with stiff competition going up against two top 20 teams in the country.

The first matchup was against No. 6 Wisconsin. Last year in this tournament, the Frogs were swept by the Badgers. This year, the Frogs made it much more competitive but unfortunately couldn't pull out the win, losing in five sets.

The Frogs won their first set ever against the Badgers in set two winning 29-27. 24 ties and eight lead changes made this a gutsy win for TCU. All tied at 27, Alexis Roberson and Melanie Parra delivered two kills and the win. They carried the momentum and confidence into a third set victory. They never trailed and the defense held strong. Unfortunately, Wisconsin pulled away in the final two sets for the win.

The loss didn't alter the attitude heading into Saturday. TCU bounced back in a big way picking up a five set victory over 18th ranked Minnesota. They dominated the first set behind the efforts of the reigning Big 12 player of the week, Melanie Parra. She had seven of the 18 kills in the set which led to a 25-21 victory.

Jalyn Gibson and Becca Kelley were terrific in set two stifling the Gopher defense. The Frogs led 24-19 late but Minnesota stormed back to tie it. The Frogs narrowly escaped courtesy of Parra and Sarah Sylvester.

However the Gophers were able to find some consistency as they took the final two sets to force a decisive fifth set. There was plenty of drama in the final set. Minnesota looked well on their way to pull off a reverse sweep jumping out to a 9-4 lead. The Frogs flipped a switch and eventually tied things up at 11. A kill by Parra and a block by Gibson finished things off.

don't call it an upset 🤫#gofrogs pic.twitter.com/vEW0dZ2ipd

— TCU Volleyball (@TCUvolleyball) September 8, 2024

It was a big night for many Frogs in the win. Parra was tremendous leading the way with 30 kills on a program-record 92 swings. The defensive effort was huge as Gibson finished with 23 digs to go along with four blocks. Lily Nicholson contributed a career high 56 assists to go with 21 digs.

This marks the sixth win versus a ranked opponent in the Jason Williams era. His ability to turn this program around so quickly has been incredible to watch. If you haven't bought stock in this TCU volleyball program yet, now is the time.

TCU will look to carry the momentum into the weekend as they'll be at home for the first time this season. The Fight in the Fort begins on Thursday where they'll have a double header. They'll play Texas A&M Commerce at 1 p.m. and Prairie View A&M at 7 p.m. On Friday, they'll square off against UCLA at 6:30 p.m.

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