The women’s beach volleyball team saw plenty of success over the 2023-24 season, earning a sixth-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The TCU Women’s Beach Volleyball team enjoyed a successful season—winning 29 matches, and losing only eight. The Horned Frogs finished the season ranked ninth in the Final AVCA Collegiate Beach Poll. The women’s squad won every contest at home (12-0) and completed the season with a 2-2 record away, and a 15-6 mark on a neutral court. Despite nearly winning 30 matches, this past season was TCU’s worst record since 2021. The Horned Frogs combined to go 76-8 over the past two seasons.
The women began play in mid-October, in the TCU Fall Challenge. Four schools competed in the event including the Horned Frogs—Houston Christian, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and the University of Texas. The event occurred over two days, with TCU placing first in its first four matches. On day two, the Horned Frogs’ pairing of Hailey Hamlett and Tara Patton starred. The duo was unbeaten to begin the season, going 4-0 through the TCU Fall Challenge.
Following the Horned Frogs’ inaugural tournament, the women departed for the west coast. TCU sent three pairs to the AVCA Collegiate Pairs Qualifiers in Manhattan Beach. Anete Namike and Patton placed the highest in the tournament of the three duos—finishing ninth in the gold bracket. The remaining duos of Emma Glagau and Josie Sek; Keagan Polk and Alex Parkhurst didn’t fare as well. The former duo played in the consolation pool, losing all three matches while the latter pairing was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
After TCU’s so-so showing in California, the Horned Frogs won gold at the AVCA Pairs National Championship. The duo of Hamlett and Anhelina Khmil were the stars of the tournament, winning all eight matches to bring home the gold medal. Hamlett and Khmil defeated the University of Louisiana Monroe, Washington, and Stetson. The Horned Frogs duo’s success carried over into the second day—defeating both opponents emphatically. The pairings’ final two matches were nail-biters. TCU beat UCLA in three sets in the semifinals before knocking off Stanford in the championship match. Besides the tournament-winning duo, Sutton MacTavish and Ana Vergara placed second in the 25th bracket.
The TCU Women’s Beach Volleyball team saw a winter hiatus that lasted from early November to late February. Upon return, the Horned Frogs competed in the Third Coast College Classic. TCU won each of its four matches, against Washington, Central Arkansas, LSU, and Houston Christian. Two of TCU’s four wins came against ranked opponents—the 15th-ranked Huskies and the 6th-ranked Tigers.
TCU competed in the Battle of the Bay at Stanford a week after their first-place appearance in Houston. On the first day of the competition, the Horned Frogs lost a hard-fought affair against the second-ranked Stanford Cardinals, 3-2. Following the first match, TCU swept the Oregon Ducks 5-0 in dominating fashion. On the second day, TCU matched up against Saint Mary’s and UC Davis. The Horned Frogs defeated the Gaels 3-2 before sweeping the Aggies later in the afternoon.
After leaving the state of Texas for a weekend, the women’s volleyball team came home to Fort Worth to host the Horned Frogs Challenge. The Horned Frogs began the day by extending their home winning streak to a miraculous 43 consecutive matches. TCU defeated both Stephen F. Austin and Tulane. The Horned Frogs continued their winning ways on Fort Worth, downing UC Davis (for the second time in as many weeks), and UAB. The duo of Hamlett and Khmil remained undefeated through the weekend, as they managed to win their 12th straight match.
For the first time in the season, the Horned Frogs traveled to Florida to take part in the FAU Beach Invitational. Yet again, TCU was up for another challenge, with top-ranked USC among the participants. The women’s beach volleyball squad knocked off 16th-ranked FAU and Florida Golf Coast University to kick off the invitational. The second day proved to be a pivot point in the Horned Frogs’ season. TCU defeated Palm Beach Atlantic, 4-1, before squaring off against the eventual national champion USC Women of Troy. TCU lost its first three matches against USC. The first win came from MacTavish and Parkhurst, who only needed two sets to defeat the vaunted Women of Troy. Not even Hamlett and Khmil could come away victorious, as the duo lost their first match of the season.
Coming off a difficult defeat, the Horned Frogs stormed through the self-hosted Fight in the Fort. TCU triumphed over three ranked opponents that weekend, taking down FIU, Washington, and Arizona State. The momentum was short-lived, as TCU traveled to Baton Rouge to compete in one of the most rigorous tournaments of the year—the Death Volley Invitational. The Horned Frogs looked for revenge against USC, but came up short for the second time of the season, losing 0-5. The unfortunate streak continued into the afternoon when the Horned Frogs battled the second-ranked UCLA Bruins. The beach volleyball team lost 0-5 once again. The next day wasn’t much better, TCU lost a close contest to Stanford, 2-3, but defeated sixth-ranked California 3-2. The newish pairing of Hamlett and MacTavish went 2-0 on the day to propel the Frogs.
The Horned Frogs returned to Texas to compete in the TCU Invitational. Two familiar foes competed in the tournament—Houston Christian and Texas. The Horned Frogs notched their 50th and 51st consecutive victories on the day, over HCU and 11th-ranked Hawaii. On the second day of the tournament, senior day, a perfect home season was completed. Four seniors were celebrated, Sutton MacTavish, Alex Parkhurst, Tara Patton, and Keagan Polk. The seniors led the way in taking down Hawaii (again) and the Longhorns.
A week later, TCU ventured to California for the first time since early March. The Horned Frogs started off hot, defeating seventh-ranked Long Beach State and sweeping Pepperdine. The second day wasn’t so kind to the Frogs. TCU dropped both matches against top-6 schools USC and Cal Poly. Besides a victory from freshman duo, Olivia Clines and Emma Glagau, the Horned Frogs looked hapless—losing nine of 10 sets.
With one more tournament before the NCAA Championships, the Horned Frogs traveled back to Louisiana to compete in the Conference USA Championship. TCU decimated the competition, winning 12 sets and only losing one to the Owls. The Horned Frogs won the CUSA Championship for the second straight season. MacTavish’s victory on the second day of the tournament also marked her 100th win of her beach volleyball career.
Unfortunately for the Horned Frogs, their season came to a crashing halt in early May. As a six-seed in the NCAA Tournament, TCU was defeated by 11th-ranked LSU. The Horned Frogs lost their chances of moving on in a tight-knit fashion. Hamlett and Khmil began the day by winning their match—2-0. The pairing’s win-loss record ended up being 23-3 on the season. Next up, the duo of Patton and Morgan Williams were defeated 2-1. The third pairing of the day to compete, MacTavish and Parkhurst took the Tigers to a third set before narrowly losing 14-16. With the season on the line, Clines and Namike came back from a first-set loss to triumph over the Tigers, forcing a fifth match. In the fifth and final battle, Glagau and Vergara fell in a three-set affair—the final set was decided by only three points.
Despite an unfortunate ending to a great season, the Horned Frogs had much to look back on. The beach volleyball team has seen continued success and it doesn’t appear to be slowing anytime soon.