Sept. 7, 2001

Stats

WACO, Texas - Baylor's women's volleyball team improved to 6-0 for just the third time in school history here Saturday as the Bears defeated North Texas and Rhode Island in first-day action of the Baylor Classic. BU knocked off UNT 30-20, 30-23, 30-21 and followed that with a 30-23, 30-23, 30-27 triumph over URI.

This year's team joins the 1993 squad and the 1999 squad as the only Baylor teams in the program's 24-year history to win at least their first six matches. In 1993, the Bears opened 7-0, while the 1999 edition of the Green and Gold topped that by winning its first eight matches. This season, Baylor has lost just one of 19 games during the winning streak.

Baylor dominated North Texas offensively. The Bears tallied 53 kills to the Eagles' 27, Baylor also hit at a .283 clip while holding UNT to .086. No North Texas player reached double figures in kills, and the Eagles' leader in kills, Brieanna Fowler, had nine against eight errors. UNT was also out-dug 52-32, out-blocked 9.5-7.0 and out-aced 10-6.

Stevie Nicholas led the way for Baylor, putting away 15 kills and grabbing 12 digs for her fifth-consecutive double-double, she also had four blocks. Sunny Nicholas posted her second straight errorless match, going 9-0-15 (.600) with 12 digs.

Tisha Schwartz added seven kills and a season-high eight blocks, while Tatiana Kenon had nine kills and nine digs. Dana Chuha hit .444 (5-1-9) with 42 aces and three blocks. Stevie Nicholas and Kenon each had three service aces.

Against Rhode Island, Stevie Nicholas pounded 18 kills and hit .448 with four blocks, she narrowly missed her sixth-straight double-double, collecting nine digs. Chuha added six errorless kills in 12 attempts to go along with 48 assists and three blocks. Schwartz had eight kills and six blocks, while Kenon posted 10 kills with nine digs and hit .368.

However, the story of the match was Sunny Nicholas, who hit an eye-popping .611 with 13 kills against only two errors in 18 swings. She started the match 10-0-12, capping a run of 29 errorless kills in a stretch of 45 attempts over the Bears' last three matches. Since the season opener, Sunny Nicholas is hitting .511 with 51 kills and just five errors in 90 attempts.

Baylor hit .359 against the Rams, the highest three-game percentage since Sept. 9, 2000 when the Bears hit .388 against New Mexico State. That figure was boosted by a .538 percentage in the second game, in which Baylor pounded 24 kills against only three errors in 39 attempts. Stevie Nicholas led the charge going 7-0-8 (.875). Also during the second game, Laura Daniela Lloreda tied the Big 12 record for consecutive points served at nine.

In other first-day action of the Baylor Classic, North Texas defeated Texas-Pan American 30-24, 30-22, 30-14. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also picked up a pair of wins to join Baylor as the only undefeated teams remaining in the round-robin event. The Mustangs escaped Rhode Island 28-30, 30-23, 26-30, 30-25, 15-12, and then topped UTPA 30-16, 30-20, 30-22.

The Baylor Classic will conclude Saturday. Action begins at 11 a.m. with Rhode Island taking on UTPA, followed by Cal Poly against North Texas. Baylor's first match is scheduled for 3 p.m. against UTPA. North Texas and Rhode Island will square off at 5 p.m., while Baylor and Cal Poly will wrap up the tournament at 7 p.m.