‘Our expectations are very high.’ Why TCU volleyball sees good things ahead in 2019
Berklie Baker has high hopes for this year’s TCU volleyball team.
“We have one of the strongest teams that we’ve ever had, at least while I’ve been here,” said Baker, a junior libero/defensive specialist out of Trinity Christian Academy.
“We have a deep roster. Anyone is ready to play anytime. It’s very competitive.”
All of it gets going Friday night with the season opener against High Point at 7 p.m. at TCU’s Recreation Center to kickoff the Cowtown Classic. TCU faces Lipscomb at 2 p.m. Saturday, and Villanova at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
TCU will play 10 non-conference games before the Big 12 opener at Oklahoma on Sept. 25.
As Baker put it, expectations are high for this year’s team.
The Frogs were picked to finish third in the Big 12 preseason poll. This is a program that has posted a winning record in league play just once (2015) since joining the Big 12. The Frogs went 15-12 overall and 7-9 in Big 12 play last season.
“It’s a lot trying to balance living up to expectations, but not worrying about it too much,” said Baker, who led TCU with 18 double-digit dig matches last season.
There’s no question TCU has the talent level for a successful season.
Sophomore outside hitter Élan McCall is the star player, earning a number of accolades and being named an All-Big 12 player as a freshman last season.
As Baker described McCall, “She’s so amazing at volleyball, but you would never think she is. She has this alter ego on the court where she’s all fierce and stuff. But, off the court, she would never be the type of person to talk about her stats and how well she did.”
Fellow sophomore outside hitter Katie Clark of Arlington also flashed during her freshman season. And the Frogs have a strong incoming freshman class.
Coach Jill Kramer called Southlake Carroll product McKenzie Nichols one of the best setters of her tenure.
“She’s a very high-level setter,” Kramer said. “No disrespect to anyone who’s been here before, but technically and her touch on the ball is ahead of any other setter I’ve coached here.”
Fellow freshman Irem Ucar out of Turkey is another high-level setter, Kramer said.
Kramer has liked what she’s seen from other freshmen such as middle blocker Afedo Manyang out of Everman, and outside hitters Julia Adams and Audrey Nalls. Nalls, a Waxahachie product, was named the Big 12’s preseason player of the year.
“I expect for us to do some really awesome things some times,” Kramer said. “And then we’re pretty young, so we might have some times where we trip up every once in a while. What I expect is we get back up and we get going pretty quick. We understand that’s the game of volleyball. We’re going to make some errors, and so is the other team. We’re also going to do some really great things.
“We want to keep a really competitive mindset. We want to be passionate about what we do.”
In the end, Kramer is excited to see what this season has in store. The team took a trip to Europe this summer, playing six matches over 14 days in three different countries, and developed a tighter bond.
The hope is it translates on the court and produces a memorable season.
“This group knows how to push themselves and they know how to work hard,” Kramer said. “They are very driven. They push each other really well and they bring out the best in each other. That’s what I’ve enjoyed the most about them.”
This story was originally published August 29, 2019 at 12:00 PM.
