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Frogs stun No. 17 Colorado State in five
Nov. 15, 2007
FORT WORTH, Texas - A total team effort by the TCU Horned Frogs led them to an upset victory of No. 17 Colorado State on Thursday night at the University Rec Center. Five Frogs reached double-figures in kills, with four of them notching double-doubles. Nirelle Hampton tallied a career-high 25 digs to lead the Frog defensive attack. Senior LeMeita Smith recorded 17 kills in the match. Trailing 27-23 in game four, the Frogs got a little help when, during a timeout, the lights in the gym went out. Following the brief delay, the Horned Frogs used the momentum to storm back into the set. Christy Hudson started the rally with a kill and Lauren Otto pulled the Frogs within two with a loud kill on the outside. A Hudson/Kourtney Edwards denial on the outside made it a one-point contest. TCU eventually knotted the game at 28 on an Edwards/Otto block and another attack error from the Rams. Hudson served out the set, aided by kills from Edwards and Otto to push the match the distance. In game five, the Frogs had to battle through some tough situations to prevail, but prevail they did, winning 18-16 to clinch the victory. Both teams fought through 12 ties and five lead changes before a 2-0 run behind the serving of Katelyn Blackwood finally ended things. First an attack error by Tanya Mokelki gave the Frogs match point and Edwards sealed the victory with her 12th kill of the night. Colorado State claimed the early 1-0 match lead as they won 30-22. The Rams hit an astounding .350 in the set with 17 kills and only three errors. The difference in the game was a 6-0 run by the Rams to close out the game when the Frogs were trailing by just two, 24-22. TCU returned the favor in game two, handing Colorado State and identical 30-22 loss to tie the match at one. The Frogs racked up 17 kills and 21 digs, while limiting the Rams to just a .186 hitting percentage in the set. The Frogs never trailed and weathered two ties in the set. Tied at 12, TCU opened up a three-point lead on an Edwards blast down the middle. The lead would continue to grow, reaching four-points, 23-19, on a solo denial in the middle from Otto. Devon Kirk served the Frogs to game point, beginning the run with her lone ace of the match. Back-to-back errors by the Rams made it 29-20. A Ram service error sealed the game two victory. Out of the intermission, Colorado State dominated in game three, notching another 30-22 victory. The Rams racked up 23 kills in the set and limited the Frogs to just 10 to claim the 2-1 match lead. Hudson recorded her third double-double with 10 kills and 10 assists. Otto finished the night with 16 kills and 13 digs for her 11th double-double of the season. Hampton finished with 50 assists and 25 digs in the match to go along with three aces, which moved her into second all-time on the career aces chart. Defensively, the Frogs were also led by a 25-dig performance from Corley. Edwards was the blocking star with five on the evening. The win locks up the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Mountain West Conference tournament and gives the Frogs a 22-11 overall record to go along with a 9-7 mark in conference play. The Frogs will open up play on Thanksgiving day in Las Vegas.
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