Baylor
Sam Houston State
Volleyball Blanks Sam Houston St. to Claim Title
9/11/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 11, 2004
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Baylor junior outside hitter Stella Odion (Houston, Texas) led the Bears with 12 kills and nine digs as they swept host Sam Houston State, 3-0 (30-28, 30-26, 30-21), to capture the Sam Houston State Tournament title Saturday night at Johnson Coliseum. The Bears have now won five straight, their longest winning streak since Sept. 2002.
Sophomore middle blocker Desiree Guilliard-Young (Berkeley, Calif.) was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player and hit .357 with eight kills and eight blocks (three solo) against SHSU. Junior right-side hitter Nicole LeBlanc (Tampa, Fla.), who was named to the all-tournament team, and junior outside hitter Kelly Spriggs (Houston, Texas) each had nine kills for the Bears (6-3). Junior libero Maggie Chlebana (Calgary, Alberta) and freshman defensive specialist Kristen Schramek (San Antonio, Texas) led Baylor with nine digs each.
SHSU never trailed by more than four points in game one and outhit Baylor, .205-.194. The Bears had their largest lead of the game at 28-24, but the Bearkats cut the led to one at 29-28. LeBlanc finally put the game away with a kill, 30-28.
Junior setter Emily Huston (Santa Rosa, Calif.) got game two off on the right foot with her 100th career service ace, which ranks her 10th all-time at Baylor. After SHSU took a 2-1 lead, Baylor scored eight straight points, including three aces by Odion. The Bears led by as many as six before closing out the game 30-26 to take a two-game advantage, despite being outhit again, .289-.238.
SHSU jumped out to a 4-1 lead, but Baylor came right back to tie it, 5-5. With game three tied at 11, Baylor took the lead and never looked back. The Bearkats got as close as 16-14, but the Bears once again went on an eight-point run, including three aces from freshman middle blocker Amanda Modglin (Houston, Texas), to put the match out of reach and eventually close out the match, 30-21.
Alisha Fowler led SHSU (4-3) with 11 kills, while Emily Orlowski had a match-high 13 digs.
The Bears return to action when they host Texas in the Big 12 Conference opener Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.
