TCU 2023

[outlaw]

2023 TCU Horned Frogs

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2023 Roster

Zoe Hall #1 Junior MB/OH	Riley Buckley #2 Sophomore S	Samiyah Abdur-Rahim #3 Freshman OH	Sarah Sylvester #4 Sophomore MB	Jalyn Gibson #5 Sophomore OH
Taylor Raiola #6 Senior OH	Bri Green #10 Grad+ MB	Julia Adams #12 Grad+ OH	Audrey Nalls #15 Grad+ OH	Jaylen Clark #16 Freshman DS/L
Megan Walsh #17 Freshman DS/L	Eryn Jones #18 Freshman OH	Lily Nicholson #21 Freshman S	Ashlyn Bourland #22 RS Sophomore S	Melanie Parra #23 Junior  OH
Alyssa Gonzales #24 Freshman OH	Lydia Seymour #25 Freshman MB	Riley Weigelt #33 Sophomore DS/L	Cecily Bramschreiber #35 Junior DS/L

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Losses:	Additions:
Carlee Pharris (FR) - S - Texas State	Riley Buckley (SO) - S - Mizzou
MyKayla Myers (SR) - MB - Kansas	Samiyah Abdur-Rahim (FR) - OH
Lyric Stewart (SO) - OH - Retirement	Bri Green (GR+) - MB - Denver
Madilyn Cole (RS JR) - MB - Retirement	Jaylen Clark (FR) - DS/L
Sabrina Sustala (SR) - DS/L - Graduation	Megan Walsh (FR) - DS/L
Keagan Polk (FR) - DS/L - Beach Only	Eryn Jones (FR) - OH
McKenzie Nichols (SR) - S - South Carolina Beach (Grad)	Lily Nicholson (FR) - S
Afedo Manyang (SR) - OPP - Georgia Tech	Melanie Parra (JR) - OH - Texas
Callie Williams (SR) - S - Graduation	Alyssa Gonzales (FR) - OH
Gabi Maas (FR) - DS/L - Wichita State

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Roster By Position Depth:

Setters	Middle Blockers	Pin Hitters	Defensive Specialists
Riley Buckley (SO) - 6'1" Lily Nicholson (FR) - 5'11" Ashlyn Bourland (RS SO) - 5'9"	Bri Green (GR+) - 6'1" Sarah Sylvester (SO) - 6'3" Lydia Seymour (FR) - 6'3" Zoe Hall (JR) - 6'3"	Audrey Nalls (GR+) - 6'1" Melanie Parra (JR) - 5'11" Jalyn Gibson (SO) - 6'2" Julia Adams (GR+) - 6'3" Taylor Raiola (SR) - 6'0" Alyssa Gonzales (FR) - 6'1" Eryn Jones (FR) - 6'0" Samiyah Abdur-Rahim (FR) - 6'2"	Cecily Bramschreiber (JR) - 5'9" Riley Weigelt (SO) - 5'9" Megan Walsh (FR) - 5'9" Jaylen Clark (FR) - 5'7"

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Coaching Staff:

Jason Williams Head Coach

Morgan Thomas Assistant Coach/RC

Kyle Luongo Assistant Coach

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Recruits:

2024 Name (Position) - Height, Club, Hometown	2025 Name (Position) - Height, Club, Hometown
Mikala Young (OH/OPP) - 6'0", TAV, Dallas, TX Evan Hendrix (OH) - 5'9" - RVA, Scottsdale, AZ Bryn Shankle (MB) - 6'4", Mizuno LB, Manhattan Beach, CA Alice Volpe (L/DS) - 5'6", HJV, Cypress, TX	Reese Wilburn (S/DS) - 5'5", EVA, Benton, AR Olivia Lenz (DS/L) - 5'7" - AZ Storm Elite, Phoenix, AZ Anna Rice (OH/OPP) - 6'2", Oklahoma Charge, Newcastle, OK McKenzie Berg (OH/OPP) - 6’2” NRG, Midlothian, TX

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Quick Facts/Notes:

Final 2022 AVCA Ranking: RV NCAA Tournament Finish: Second Round L (0-3) to Wisconsin 2022 Record: 17-11 (11-5) Notable Win: 3-1 Victory over Washington in opening round of NCAA tournament Interesting Fact: 10/11 B12 Victories went at least 4 sets

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[outlaw]

The Rise of the Hypnotoad

        The TCU Horned Frogs enter the 2023 season 4th in the B12 Preseason Coaches Poll after their 3rd place finish in 2022. Finishing 17-11 overall and 11-5 in conference play (first winning conference record since 2015), the Horned Frogs look to solidify their standing among the top 4 of the now 13 team conference. Likely one of the more active off-seasons for Williams & Co. with 9 new faces (3 transfers, 6 frosh) and 10 departures (5 transfers, 5 grads/retirements), this TCU team has completely new feel. Key departures include starting Libero Sabrina Sustala (graduation), starting setter Callie Williams (daughter of HC Jason Williams, graduation), and starting MB Mykayla Myers (graduate transfer to Kansas). Key additions include Sophomore Setter Riley Buckley, who finished 8th in Assists/Set in the SEC in her freshman campaign at Mizzou, Denver Graduate Transfer First Team All Summit League MB Brianna (Bri) Green, who (in 2022) was 9th in Hitting % and 1st in Blocks/Set, and infamous Texas transfer Melanie Parra, a 5'11" Junior OH with experience on the Mexican National Team and holder of the single season ace record at Texas with 60 service aces (2021). 
       
        Key returning Horned Frogs include Junior MB Zoe Hall, who has consistently started since returning from injury her Freshman year, Graduate OH pair Audrey Nalls and Julia Adams, who both found themselves in the Top 10 in Kills/Set in 2022 (B12), and breakout Sophomore OPP Jalyn Gibson, who solidified herself as a starter by the third quarter of the season. Senior Taylor Raiola shared some of the playing time off the bench both in the front row and back.

        If you are suspecting a logjam at the pins, you are spot on. Williams & Co. do not roster any players as OPP or RS, but rather group all pin attackers as OH. There are 8 OH on roster for 2023 (9 if you count Zoe Hall, who is listed as MB/OH). All 3 starting 2022 pins return, and Parra joins the mix. Competition for 3 spots will be as tight as any in the conference, if not the country. I would not be surprised to see a revolving door at the pin with the exception of Nalls, who I think has solidified herself as a core member of the starting 6 (along with Hall). 

        Zoe Hall is a likely lock for 1 of the 2 MB slots, with Bri Green somewhat safely assuming the second. Sophomore Sarah Sylvester (say that 3 times fast) played in 16 of 28 matches in 2022 as a Freshman, including TCU's loss to Wisconsin in the NCAA tournament.

        I would imagine that Junior Cecily Bramschreiber will be a lock in the Libero jersey for the Horned Frogs, with Sophomore Riley Weigelt readily available as a DS.


Current 2023 Lineup:

S: Nicholson
OH: Nalls
OH: Parra
MB: Sylvester
MB: Green
OPP: Gibson
L: Bramschreiber
             

[bluepenquin]

This team is going to be a lot of fun this year. Very deep - it will be interesting to see who plays (and who can stay healthy). A team that lost a lot from last year's team but did great in the transfer portal and have a couple key players coming back from injury.

[slxpress]

Aug 15, 2023 15:26:20 GMT -5 bluepenquin said:

This team is going to be a lot of fun this year. Very deep - it will be interesting to see who plays (and who can stay healthy). A team that lost a lot from last year's team but did great in the transfer portal and have a couple key players coming back from injury.

Super impressed with the job Jason Williams did in his first year, too. It helps to have a 5th year talented setter daughter to transfer in. That said, I don’t think I had the proper awareness until I read your Big 12 preview a month or so ago how much last year’s TCU team overcame and how improved they became over the course of the year. Year 2 is always a critical time in any head coach’s tenure, so we’ll see how it goes.

I’ve also watched a couple of open mic features with Jason Williams and he comes across great in them.

[nakakagigs]

Do you think they should have gotten into the avca preseason top 25?

[nellynel]

I was at the Texas Spring game and was impressed with Jayln Gibson. Not sure how much time she will get but she stood out in the match. Wonder who will play RS?

[katn]

i'm curious if parra will start or get quality playing time this season?

[slxpress]

Aug 15, 2023 15:55:42 GMT -5 katn said:

i'm curious if parra will start or get quality playing time this season?

If she doesn’t start there will be pitchforks and torches. Nothing personal, Horned Frogs. I’m honestly expecting a Pilar Victoria at Arkansas type impact.

[anOPINionATEDbeACH(hookemboo)]

Aug 15, 2023 15:37:03 GMT -5 nakakagigs said:

Do you think they should have gotten into the avca preseason top 25?

If usc got voted in then TCU definitely got snubbed.

[anOPINionATEDbeACH(hookemboo)]

Aug 15, 2023 15:39:39 GMT -5 nellynel said:

I was at the Texas Spring game and was impressed with Jayln Gibson. Not sure how much time she will get but she stood out in the match. Wonder who will play RS?

Was she not playing RS ?

[uofaGRAD]

oh, i just had Adams and Parra on the outside and Nalls on the right side locked in in my head for whatever reason. all playing 6ro and helping in SR, although Parra and Nalls are the better of the passers, by a wide margin iirc

[nellynel]

Aug 15, 2023 16:18:37 GMT -5 anOPINionATEDbeACH(hookemboo) said:

Aug 15, 2023 15:39:39 GMT -5 nellynel said:

I was at the Texas Spring game and was impressed with Jayln Gibson. Not sure how much time she will get but she stood out in the match. Wonder who will play RS?

Was she not playing RS ?

Maybe she was and I just don’t remember. Lol

[JT]

Would love to see someone with more insight than I have opine on a starting lineup (plus the “regular” back-row subs).

[outlaw]

Aug 15, 2023 17:05:05 GMT -5 JT said:

Would love to see someone with more insight than I have opine on a starting lineup (plus the “regular” back-row subs).

Working on my write up sorry for delay

[VolleyballMag]

Chuck Curti has written a TCU feature that will post on VolleyballMag.com in a few days.