2023 TCU Women’s Volleyball Recap: Hitters & Blockers (2024)

The TCU women’s volleyball team turned in a winning record for the second consecutive season under head coach Jason Williams in 2023, finishing 17-15 overall and 8-10 in the Big 12 Conference. TCU reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament once again, taking down Florida State in the first round. The Horned Frogs leaned on a fusion of returning players, as well as two key newcomers, to anchor the front line on offense and defense.

One of those newcomers was former Texas outside hitter Melanie Parra, who shined in her first season with TCU, earning All-Big 12 First Team, AVCA First-Team All-Southwest Region and AVCA Third-Team All-American honors. Parra set a new school record for kills in a match with 34 and concluded the season with 482 kills, 266 digs, 70 blocks and 47 aces. Her 569 total points set another program record for the most points in a single season. Parra, who led the Horned Frogs in kills and aces, will return for her senior season this coming fall.

Another newcomer who filled a big role in 2023 was former Denver middle blocker Brianna Green, who finished second on team with 134 blocks in her lone season with the Horned Frogs. Green, who played 118 sets and started 30 matches, is one of three front-row players who will depart from the 2023 roster after competing as graduate students. The other two are outside hitters Audrey Nalls and Julia Adams, who each concluded their respective careers as two of the best outside hitters in program history. Nalls, who received All-Big 12 honors in each of her last two seasons, ranks sixth on TCU’s all-time kills list with 1,253. Adams ended her time as a Horned Frog with 1,154 kills to rank seventh on the all-time list.

Joining Parra on the outside for the 2024 campaign will be outside hitter Jalyn Gibson, who ascended to AVCA First-Team All-Southwest Region and All-Big 12 Second Team honors in her sophom*ore season last fall. Gibson started 28 matches and ranked second on the TCU team with 366 kills and a team-best .259 hitting percentage during the 2023 season. The Horned Frogs also made a splash in the transfer portal this offseason, signing former Oregon outside hitter and Texas native Becca Kelley. The 6-foot-3 redshirt freshman should factor into the 2024 plans for the Horned Frogs, who are losing both Nalls and Adams as well as senior hitter Taylor Raiola, who appeared in 27 matches with 12 starts in 2023.

Middle blocker Sarah Sylvester made headlines over the winter, when she earned a spot as a walk-on with the TCU women’s basketball team, which held open tryouts due to a slew of injuries to key players. Sylvester, who led the TCU women’s volleyball team with 138 blocks, started all 32 matches for the Horned Frogs and should return as the program’s top middle blocker for the 2024 campaign. TCU did lose some depth at the position this offseason, though, as Lydia Seymour transferred to Georgia Southern and Zoe Hall is no longer listed on the roster. The Horned Frogs could look to rising sophom*ore Samiyah Abdur-Rahim, who is now listed as a middle blocker after playing the 2023 season as an outside hitter.

TCU’s 2024 recruiting class is rich with hitting talent, as the Horned Frogs are set to bring in two outside hitters in Mikala Young and Evan Hendrix as well as one middle blocker in 6-foot-4 Bryn Shankle. Hendrix was the StadiumTalk No. 1 Arizona Volleyball Player and Bryn Shankle is the daughter of Greg Shankle, who played volleyball at Pepperdine and was a member of the 1992 NCAA National Championship squad. Young was a four-time Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) First Team All-District selection at Prestonwood Christian High School. Ranked as the No. 48 player in the country by Prep Dig, Young guided her team to back-to-back TAPPS State Championships in 2022 and 2023.