Aug. 27, 2005

Box Score

RUSTON, La. - Playing in only her second career match, Baylor senior Melanie Hamerly (Orange, Texas) led three Baylor players with double figure kills as she posted 12 in a 3-0 sweep of Louisiana Tech, 30-22, 30-25, 30-22, in the Bears second match Saturday at Thomas Assembly Center. Junior Nicole LeBlanc (Tampa, Fla.) and senior Stella Odion (Houston, Texas) each added 11 kills.

Junior Deja Sweeney (Sacramento, Calif.) led the Bears (2-0) defensively with 11 digs, while senior setter Emily Huston (Santa Rosa, Calif.), Leblanc and sophomore libero Kristen Schramek (San Antonio, Texas) each had 10 digs.

Baylor jumped out to a 7-2 lead which it maintained throughout the game. Louisiana Tech threatened with three straight points to cut the lead to one at 19-18, but the Bears quickly responded with four of their own to push the lead back to 23-18. The Bears closed out the game 30-22 by scoring the final four points, including a pair of kills by Hamerly. Baylor hit .200 for the game, while Louisiana Tech hit only .029.

The Bears won the first six points of game two, but the Lady Techsters rallied back to within one on several occasions before tying the game at 22. Baylor then scored six points in a row, including a pair of aces from Odion, before winning the game, 30-25.

The third game was close nearly the entire way with neither team leading by more than three until the Bears scored seven of eight to go up 23-18. Baylor cruised from there, clinching the match, 30-22.

Baylor hit .228 for the match, while holding Louisiana Tech to .076.

The Bears return to action in their home opener Saturday, Sept. 3 against North Texas at 11 a.m. and McNeese State at 3 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.

Baylor 3, Northwestern State 0

Baylor junior outside hitter Nicole LeBlanc (Tampa, Fla.) hit .414 with 15 kills and six digs to lead the Bears to a 3-0 sweep over Northwestern State, 30-15, 30-27, 30-18.

Senior outside hitter Kelly Spriggs (Houston, Texas) added 10 kills, while senior middle blocker Stella Odion (Houston, Texas) hit .467 with nine kills and senior middle blocker Melanie Hamerly (Orange, Texas) added nine kills in her volleyball debut. Senior setter Emily Huston (Santa Rosa, Calif.) had six kills, 13 digs, 44 assists and three aces, while sophomore libero Kristen Schramek (San Antonio, Texas) led the Bears with 14 digs. Junior Deja Sweeney (Sacramento, Calif.) had a solid match passing with nine digs.

After trading points early in game one, Baylor took control with an 8-1 run, including two aces from Huston, to take a 17-10 lead. The Bears coasted the rest of the way, getting a pair of kills each from LeBlanc, Huston and Hamerly, the first two of her career, to put the game away 30-15. The Bears hit .351 for the first game with 17 kills and only four errors.

Baylor jumped out to an 8-4 lead in game two when it received a big scare as junior All-Big 12 middle blocker Desiree Guilliard-Young (Berkeley, Calif.) fell to the floor with an apparent knee injury. Humid conditions inside the arena were causing condensation on the floor, which caused her to slip and the match was delayed 20 minutes so the cooling system could help return the air to normal. When play resumed, sophomore Amanda Modglin (Houston, Texas), who replaced Guilliard-Young, slammed down her first kill of the season and LeBlanc followed with a kill to push the lead to 10-4. Northwestern State started to take advantage of Guilliard-Young being out and battled back to tie the game at 16 and scored four straight to take a 23-22 lead. After stopping the rally, the Bears answered by scoring three in a row to go up 26-24, but the Demons tied the game at 26. Baylor scored three straight to get to game point and held on for a 30-27 win. The Bears hit .256 for the game, while holding the Demon to .103.

The Bears always remained one step ahead of the Demons in game three behind the inspired play of LeBlanc and Spriggs. Baylor got out comfortably after a four-point run gave it a 16-10 lead. The Bears pushed the lead to 12 with four straight to get to match point and clinched the match by the same margin, 30-18.

Baylor hit .357 for the match, while holding Northwestern State to .128. Juliana Abreu led the Demons with eight kills, while Megan Jordan had a match-high 15 digs.

Guilliard-Young's knee injury may not be serious, but she will miss the Louisiana Tech match as a precaution until she can be re-evaluated in Waco. She was hitting .571 with four kills and no errors when she left the match.