TCU upsets Washington in first round of NCAA tournament, advances to play Wisconsin
Audrey Nalls registered 25 kills on 45 attempts as TCU pulled off the upset over No. 25 Washington 25-18, 24-26, 25-20, 25-21 during the first round of the NCAA volleyball tournament on Friday night at Wisconsin.
TCU (17-10) advances to the Round of 32 and plays regional host No. 3 Wisconsin at 6 p.m. on Saturday. It’s TCU’s first trip to the big dance in six years and the win was only the Horned Frogs’ third win in the NCAA tournament.
Nalls, a Waxahachie graduate and a TCU senior, set a program record in the NCAA tournament with her 25 kills. She had nine kills in the fourth and final set, which also marked a season-high for her.
Nalls added nine digs and a 0.267 hitting percentage. Jaylyn Gibson finished with 11 kills on 0.360 hitting and Julia Adams and Zoe Hall finished with seven and six kills, respectively.
Callie Williams led TCU with 44 assists and Sabrina Sustala led with 17 digs.
Tied at 6 in the opening set, TCU then scored seven of the next nine points to take a 13-8 lead. A kill from Gibson and blocks by Gibson and Mykayla Myers helped push the Frogs to a five-point edge. Washington pulled within 20-18 before TCU scored the final five points, which included a Nalls kill on set point to give the Frogs a 1-0 lead.
After the Huskies tied the match at 1, TCU opened the third set with the first three points. A Sustala ace made it 3-0. The Huskies would cut it close, but never tied it or took the lead. Leading 13-10, TCU went on a 7-0 run. TCU got three straight blocks for points and McKenzie Nichols served up an ace during the run.
Nichols is a graduate from Southlake Carroll.
The Huskies would get as close as 24-20 before Gibson finished off a Williams assist to give TCU a 2-1 lead.
Washington scored three in a row for an 11-10 lead in the fourth, but that was answered with four straight from TCU, including two kills from Nalls. Another 4-0 TCU run pushed the Frogs to a 21-16 lead.
Adams picked up three kills during that stretch. A Nalls kill made it 22-17 and two more Nalls kills set TCU up on match point before Washington had a service error to send the Frogs to the victory.
Wisconsin (26-3) has won 19 in a row after the Badgers beat Quinnipiac in straight sets on Friday.
