Dec. 5, 2009

AUSTIN, Texas - The TCU volleyball team saw their magical season come to an end in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in a 3-0 (15-25, 14-25, 18-25) loss to No. 2 Texas Friday night. The Frogs completed the best-ever season in school history with a 27-7 record. Four seniors played in the final game of the season in Lauren Otto, Kourtney Edwards, Katelyn Blackwood and Victoria Hernandez.

Otto paced the team with 10 kills and finished with seven digs. Megan Munce led TCU defensively with eight digs and tallied 25 assists. Edwards pitched in with six kills, while Irene Hester, Christy Hudson and Kristen Hester all finished with five apiece. Blackwood picked up five digs in her final match.

The Longhorns used a 5-1 run early in the first set to build an 8-4 lead and held off the Frogs as they tried to rally. Two kills from Irene Hester and a Longhorn hitting error brought the Frogs back within two, 14-12, but another 3-0 run by the Longhorns made it a five-point set, 17-12.

A mini 2-0 run by TCU on kills from Irene Hester and Otto made it just a four-point set, 18-14. The Longhorns answered with a devastating 5-0 run that gave them a commanding 23-14 lead. Hudson tried to swing the momentum back to the Frogs with her second kill of the set, but two straight hitting errors by TCU gave Texas the 25-15 first set victory.

In the second set, the Frogs again tried to keep the set close in the early goings. After Texas took a 2-1 lead, a blast from Hudson tied the set at two. Twice more Texas would take a one-point lead, but Edwards and Otto had an answer in the form of kills.

The Longhorns found their groove and went on an 8-1 run to open up the set. TCU tried to rally with a 3-1 run of their own on kills from Kristen Hester and Edwards, but another 3-0 run gave Texas a 16-8 lead. Another mini 2-0 run by the Frogs, highlighted by an Otto blast, kept the set within reach at 16-10, but the Frogs were unable to string together multiple points the rest of the way and Texas took the 25-14 set two victory for the commanding 2-0 match lead.

Texas stormed out to an early 5-1 lead, but the Horned Frogs held strong as they fought their way back into the set. Otto got things rolling with her ninth kill of the match and back-to-back hitting errors by the Longhorns made it a two-point contest, 6-4. The Frogs worked hard to keep the deficit at two as the Longhorns committed two more hitting errors and Hudson dropped in her fourth kill of the match to make it just a 9-6 contest.

Another 5-2 run by the Longhorns stretched the lead out to five, but strong defensive play brought the Frogs back within three. Edwards dropped in a kill and Irene Hester notched solo block to make it 14-11. After a Longhorn service error, Kristen Hester slammed a kill off a back court defender to make it a 16-13 contest.

After Texas opened up a 22-14 lead, the Frogs showed their fight with a 4-2 run to cut into the lead. Irene Hester notched a kill and served up an ace, while Hudson knocked down a kill, but Destinee Hooker's 21st kill of the match locked up the 25-18 set three win for Texas.

TCU ends the 2009 season with a 27-7 record.