Volleyball Falls in Five to No. 12 Kansas State

Volleyball 11/10/2007 12:00:00 AM

Nov. 10, 2007

WACO, Texas - Rita Liliom recorded 19 kills and Jenny Jantsch added 18 kills for Kansas State as the 12th-ranked Wildcats rallied to down Baylor (28-30, 30-19, 28-30, 31-29, 15-11) on Saturday afternoon at the Ferrell Center. Baylor drops its third-straight match in the fifth game.

Following its season-best five-match winning streak, Baylor has dropped three-straight matches by a 3-2 score. Each of the 3-2 losses (Missouri, Iowa State, Kansas State) came against opponents that swept Baylor in the teams' first meeting.

Kansas State (20-7, 12-5 Big 12) scored two straight points to open game five. Baylor rallied to tie the score at three, but the Wildcats opened an 8-4 lead as the teams changed benches. Baylor cut into the lead, trimming the margin to two at 13-11, but two Wildcat kills gave K-State the 15-11 win.

"It is obvious that we are improving," said head coach Jim Barnes. "There were just a few key plays that kept us from getting over the hump today. The past few matches we have either been winning or losing in five games, so it is good to see us improving and getting better with experience."

Katie Sanders tallied a match-high 25 kills, while Anna Breyfogle and Ashlie Christenson added 15 kills apiece for Baylor. Haley Thomas also reached double-figures with 10 kills, while Kelsey Smith recorded nine kills on .364 hitting in her first action on the front row.

"I thought that Kelsey and Haley really stepped up their play today," said Barnes. "This was Kelsey's first time playing front row this season, and Haley just moved over to middle blocker with Amanda Modglin out with an injury. We really miss Amanda on the court with her leadership and steady play."

Taylor Barnes tied her career-high with 63 assists, and added her league-leading 42nd service ace. The Bears tallied 13 total blocks, including seven (two solo) from Thomas in her first action at middle blocker and six (two solo) from Breyfogle. Smith set a season-high with five blocks.

Sarah Grace led four players with double-figure digs as the freshman notched a career-best 33 digs. Sanders added 21 digs, while Kristen Schramek and Smith added 15 and 11 digs, respectively.

Grace's 33 digs is the fourth-best single-match performance in Baylor history and the second-best total in the rally scoring era (2001-present). Last season, Schramek tallied 34 digs against Missouri.

Baylor set season-highs for kills (79), assists (73) and digs (98). The 98 team digs ties the second-best single-match team effort during the rally scoring era. The Bears also recorded 98 digs against Missouri (2006) and Kansas (2001), while the single-match record of 107 came at Iowa State in 2002.

After Kansas State scored the first two points of the match, Baylor won five straight points on the serve of Grace. The Wildcats responded with a 5-0 run of their own. Kansas State led by as many as five points at 13-8, but Baylor fought back to take an 18-17 lead on consecutive K-State hitting errors. The Bears led by as many as four down the stretch and held on to win game one 30-28 on Grace's third kill of the season.

Sanders tallied five kills for the Bears, while Smith added four kills. The Bears blocked five balls, including three each from Thomas and Breyfogle, while Grace tallied eight digs.

In game two, Kansas State jumped out to an early 9-4 lead forcing Baylor into a timeout. The Bears tied the score at 9-9 behind the serve of Barnes, but the Wildcats rebuilt its lead to 20-14 forcing Baylor into another timeout. Kansas State pulled away, leading by 10 points at 28-18 before winning the game 30-19.

Liliom recorded eight kills in the game for K-State, while Christenson tallied four kills for the Bears. Grace added nine digs in game two.

Kansas State won 10 of the first 14 points in game three and built its lead to 19-11 to force a Baylor timeout. The Wildcats extended the lead to as many as 11 points at 27-16. Baylor scored 11 straight points on the serve of Mady Bates to pull level at 27 apiece. The Bears used a kill by Christenson and a Breyfogle solo block to close the game at 30-28.

Sanders recorded nine kills in game three, while Breyfogle added six kills. Grace tallied 10 digs in the game while Barnes connected on 18 set assists.

The two teams exchanged points through the first 30 serves of game four before Baylor pulled in front by three at 20-17. Baylor kept its three point lead to 23-20, but the Wildcats tied the score at 24 following a Baylor ball handling error. Baylor overcame two game points to tie the score at 29 apiece, but a Megan Farr kill and a ball handling error on Baylor secured the game four win 31-29.

Sanders tallied eight kills for the Bears. Christenson added six kills and Baylor outdug K-State 15-13 in game four.

Baylor returns to action on Wednesday as the Lady Bears travel to take on Oklahoma at 7 p.m. at McCasland Field House. The live audio broadcast can be found at BaylorBears.com and will begin at 6:50 p.m.

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