Volleyball: No. 25 TCU wins three matches at Fight in the Fort

The Horned Frogs, ranked for the first time ever, defeated three schools including UCLA.

The TCU volleyball team became ranked for the first time in program history after upsetting No. 18 Minnesota and taking two sets from No. 6 Wisconsin during the annual Big 12/Big Ten Challenge last weekend. TCU celebrated with a return home for the Fight in the Fort, where the No. 25 ranked Horned Frogs blew through three opponents including Texas A&M Commerce, Prairie View A&M and UCLA. TCU (5-2, 0-0 Big 12) will host UT-Arlington on Tuesday before hosting the Horned Frog Invitational this coming weekend, when the team will battle Rice and Denver in a four-team tournament that includes UT-Arlington.

Thursday: TCU 3, Texas A&M Commerce 0

The Horned Frogs had no trouble in the first of their two matches on Thursday, cruising over the Lions 25-15, 25-21, 25-19. TCU rallied behind its star attacker Melanie Parra, who posted a team-high 23 kills while finishing with a .444 hitting percentage. Parra’s performance was historic, as she became the new record holder for kills in a three-set match at TCU. Jalyn Gibson and Becca Kelley combined for 19 kills, while Lily Nicholson sent out 43 assists and Sarah Sylvester blocked four shots. The TCU defense blocked 13 shots and recorded 47 digs without a blocking error or a ball handling error and only one receiving error.

Thursday: TCU 3, Prairie View A&M 0

The Horned Frogs concluded the first day of tournament action with a 25-17, 25-11, 25-16 win against the Panthers. TCU limited Prairie View A&M to an .063 hitting percentage, notching 10 total blocks from the front line and 39 digs from the back row. Melanie Parra led the attack with 17 kills, while Jalyn Gibson posted 11 kills and Becca Kelley followed with eight kills. Lily Nicholson distributed 30 assists with nine digs and former LSU transfer Alexis Roberson earned three blocks to anchor the TCU front line in the middle.

Friday: TCU 3, UCLA 1

Melanie Parra nearly tied her own record for kills in a four-set match, scoring 33 kills with a .373 hitting percentage as the Horned Frogs took down the Bruins 25-19, 23-25, 28-26, 25-21. Parra, who added nine digs and two service aces, was named the AVCA Player of the Week. Lily Nicholson dished out a tournament-best 51 assists and Jalyn Gibson notched a double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs. Becca Kelley aided the TCU attack with 10 kills, while back-row defenders Cecily Bramschreiber and freshman Alice Volpe combined for 30 digs. Sarah Sylvester led the front-row defense with four blocks for the Horned Frogs, who capitalized on 10 service errors and 23 hitting errors by the Bruins in the match.