FORT WORTH, Texas — The postseason for college beach volleyball is as selective as it gets. Only eight teams make it to the NCAA tournament. TCU became the first Texas school to step foot in the sand of Gulf Shores, Ala. But the No. 8 seed Horned Frogs ended the greatest season in program history when they fell to No. 1 UCLA (3-0) and No. 4 LSU (3-1) in the NCAA Championship.
“It’s very special to be the first Texas team to make the tournament,” said head coach Hector Gutierrez. “No one can take that away from us anymore."
It’s clear a line has been drawn in the sand. No longer are the TCU Horned Frogs the doormat of college beach volleyball. They are now one of the country’s elite.
“Our coaches have started this program from the bottom up and it’s been a testament to their hard work of recruiting players who want to come here,” said sophomore Caroline White.
It’s a program that’s had some rough stretches since the team's inception in 2015. TCU posted an 0-11 record in its inaugural season. Yet, with steady improvement over the last seven years, the Horned Frogs clinched a bid to nationals.
“That was the biggest challenge. To tell the players we are not here to play beach volleyball. We are here to win and to get to nationals,” Gutierrez said.
The Horned Frogs reached that summit and they did so with a young, talented squad. Over half of TCU’s match wins in 2021 came from freshmen pairings. In fact, TCU was the youngest group in the NCAA tournament.
“That statistic is so awesome and truly telling because that means the younger players we do have are so confident and skilled,” said Gutierrez.
But where does all the confidence and skill come from?
“We’re confident because we have belief,” said senior Olivia Blackburn. “We just had it in the back of our minds. Like, alright NCAA’s, we want it, that’s our goal. It’s ever been done before. And we just kept winning. Finally we got to a point where we had a chance."
Blackburn and Hailey Brockett became the first Horned Frog pairing to win a match at the NCAA Championship when they defeated LSU at No. 2, 21-18, 21-14.
“It was a war. We went after the top teams like we go after any other school,” said Gutierrez. “We are not scared of anything. As I always tell my players, the letters on the jerseys don’t win games.”
The threads don’t but the players do. TCU won a lot of games this season. In fact, the Horned Frogs ended the year with an overall match record of 113-62, which is the most wins and highest winning percentage in program history.
