The TCU Horned Frogs advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for a fourth straight season this year, but the team was unable to break through to the quarterfinals. After taking out Stephen
F. Austin in the first round Friday evening, TCU battled Texas A&M in College Station on Saturday evening, with the Aggies fending off the Horned Frogs in four sets. The sixth-seeded Horned Frogs, who conclude their season with a 21-11 overall record and a 10-8 mark in the Big 12, went nearly point for point in a 25-23, 22-25, 23-25, 27-29 defeat.
All-Big 12 First Team outside hitter Evan Hendrix once again led the TCU attack, posting a team-high 26 kills on a .323 hitting percentage while adding nine digs and three blocks against Texas A&M, the home team and the No. 6 ranked team in the country. The Horned Frogs held narrow advantages in hitting rate (.260 vs. .258), blocks (14 vs. 11) and errors (24 to 20), while Texas A&M edged out TCU in assists (60 to 55), aces (6 to 4) and kills (66 to 59). Lauren Murphy aided the TCU offense with 13 kills on a .345 hitting rate while adding five blocks and five digs. Becca Kelley chipped in 10 kills and Ella Foti notched a double-double with 31 assists and 10 digs.
Rosemary Archer dished out 13 assists for the Horned Frogs, who had two back-row players, Alice Volpe (14 digs) and Jaylen Clark (11 assists), record double-digit digs in the match. Sarah Sylvester and Alexis Roberson united for 12 blocks on the front line, with Sylvester posting seven blocks to lead the team. Both sides finished with nine service errors and Texas A&M had four receiving errors, while TCU finished with six in the match.
