Nov. 4, 2008
WACO, Texas -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
BAYLOR VOLLEYBALL PLAYS HOST TO FOURTH-RANKED TEXAS
The Baylor volleyball team returns home as the Bears play host to fourth-ranked Texas on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center. The Bears are coming off a 3-2 loss at Oklahoma on Sunday afternoon. In that match, Baylor took the first set before the Sooners rallied to win the second and third sets. Baylor charged back in the fourth set to force a deciding fifth frame. In Oklahoma's visit to Waco in October, Baylor held on to win a five-set thriller over the Sooners in Baylor's first five-set match of the season. In Baylor's visit to Austin earlier this season, the Bears fell to No. 3 Texas by a 3-0 score. Katie Sanders leads Baylor with 287 kills this season, while five other Bears have topped 100 kills on the season. Taylor Barnes has collected 848 assists and a league-high 38 service aces. Anna Breyfogle leads the conference with 1.52 blocks per set, while freshman Allison King has recorded 334 digs this season and holds an 18-match streak with 10 or more digs. Texas enters the match ranked No. 4 in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll. The Longhorns dropped one spot after suffering a five-set loss to Oklahoma in Austin last Wednesday. Destinee Hooker leads the way for Texas with 302 kills and 28 service aces, while Michelle Kocher has recorded 775 assists. Heather Kisner leads the team with 287 digs, while Lauren Paolini leads the team with a 0.89 blocks per set average. The match, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., will have GameTracker live stats and live audio and video webcasts available on www.BaylorBears.com.
LAST TIME AGAINST TEXAS
Ashley Engle tallied 16 kills on .536 hitting as No. 3 Texas defeated Baylor 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-15) in Big 12 volleyball action on Wednesday night at Gregory Gym. Engle led a Longhorns attack that hit at a .446 clip for the match. Juliann Faucette joined Engle in double-digit kills with 10, while Michelle Kocher added a match-high 40 set assists. Katie Sanders led the way for Baylor with nine kills. Ashlie Christenson added seven kills on .353 hitting and two aces, while Anna Breyfogle contributed six kills. Taylor Barnes tallied 30 kills and added a service ace, while Allison King recorded a team-high 10 digs.
LAST TIME OUT
Francie Ekwerekwu led four Oklahoma players in double-digit kills with 17 kills, and Oklahoma withstood a Baylor rally as the Sooners topped the Bears 3-2 (25-27, 25-13, 25-12, 22-25, 15-13) on Sunday afternoon at McCasland Fieldhouse. Baylor was without starting middle blocker Anna Breyfogle, who suffered a shoulder injury prior to the match and is listed as day-to-day. The Bears were forced to adjust their starting lineup, moving AShley Byrd to middle blocker and inserting Krista Brenner as the starting right-side hitter. The five set match is the second between the two teams this season. Baylor topped Oklahoma 3-2 earlier this season in Waco. The Bears now move to 1-2 on the season in five-set matches, while Oklahoma improves to 4-4 in five-set matches. The match also marks the second-straight time the Bears and Sooners have gone to five sets in Norman, as Oklahoma topped Baylor 3-2 at home last season. Katie Sanders led the way for Baylor with 17 kills on the night. Byrd and Briana Tolbert each recorded nine kills, while Taylor Barnes and Allison King added seven kills apiece. King set a new career high for kills, seeing her first action at outside hitter in the fourth and fifth sets. Barnes tallied 40 set assists and added one service ace on the day. Byrd led the net defense with five total blocks, while Sanders added four blocks for the Bears. Sanders also led the back row defense with a season-high 22 digs. Her previous season-high was 21 against Oklahoma in Waco. Barnes added 18 digs, while King, Brittany Ridenour and Caitlyn Trice each collected 17 digs. Trice recorded a career-best digs, playing libero for the fourth and fifth sets, while King reached double-digit digs for the 18th-straight match. Baylor recorded 104 digs on the night to establish a new season high. The total digs are the most in a single match since the Bears tallied 107 digs at Iowa State in 2002.
