By Luke Blount
On November 3, 1999 Baylor defeated No. 12 Texas 3-2 (15-9, 14-16, 13-15, 15-8, 15-13) at the Ferrell Center. The victory marked the Bears first in 42 tries versus the Longhorns and their third consecutive versus ranked opponents.
Baylor quickly took the lead in the first game 3-0, but the match remained close until the Bears turned a 5-5 tie into a 12-8 lead. Baylor never looked back on their way to a 15-9 win.
In the second game, Baylor once again started hot, going up 5-1 before Texas came back to tie the game at 5-5. The Bears then went on a run to go up 10-6, but the Longhorns returned with a run of their own to take their first lead 13-12. Baylor couldn't quite come back, falling 16-14.
The Bears weren't phased in the third game, opening with a 4-0 lead, but the Longhorns again roared back to tie the game at 11-11 before going ahead 13-12. The Longhorns pulled away to a 15-13 victory behind 11 kills by Erin Aldrich and eight by Kathy Tilson.
Game four started off much the same as Baylor took a commanding 10-2 lead. After a Texas timeout, the Longhorns again stormed back to pull within four points at 12-8, but that would be as far as they got as the Bears won 15-8.
In the decisive game, the Bears started off slow as Texas took a 3-1 lead. But Baylor fought back with four consecutive points to claim a 5-3 lead, forcing a Texas timeout. The Horns kept it close until an 8-8 tie when the Bears ripped off two points to take a 10-8 lead. Texas couldn't recover as the Bears won the 15-13.
The win not only marked Baylor's first ever over Texas, but it also marked the first time the Bears had taken more than one game from the Horns. Baylor set school records in kills (111), assists (106), digs (165), and attempts (296). Dana Chuha set a school record in assists (101), Kia Young in attempts (89), and Elisha Polk in digs (39).
The Bears would go on to finish the 1999 season 26-9 (13-7) en route to their first NCAA tournament appearance where they defeated Temple before falling to No.1 Penn State in the second round. The Bears lost only one home game the entire 1999 campaign and defeated four ranked teams in the Ferrell Center.
