Nov. 5, 2008

Box Score

WACO, Texas - Destinee Hooker tallied 15 kills and Juliann Faucette added 10 more as fourth-ranked Texas defeated Baylor 3-0 (25-18, 30-28, 25-21) on Wednesday night at the Ferrell Center.

Baylor was playing its second-straight match without middle blocker Anna Breyfogle, who suffered a shoulder injury prior to the Oklahoma match on Sunday. The junior is expected to be sidelined for two weeks.

"We made some good plays tonight, especially when we played smart and aggressively," said head coach Jim Barnes. "We just weren't consistent tonight. We needed to limit our mistakes when you play a high-caliber team."

Katie Sanders led the Baylor attack with 11 kills and added 12 digs to record her 11th kill-dig double-double of the season. Ashley Byrd added eight kills and Briana Tolbert contributed six kills. The Bears got five kills apiece from Allison King, Taylor Barnes and Ashlie Christenson.

"We were a little up and down tonight," said Taylor Barnes. "We thought that we could pull it out, but we just couldn't get it done."

King made her first career start at outside hitter, while Christenson earned the start at right-side hitter for the first time in her career.

Barnes also added 32 set assists for the Bears. Baylor failed to record a service ace for the first time this season, but the Bears also were perfect in serve-receive for the first time this year. King added 12 digs to extend her current streak of 19-straight matches with 10 or more digs.

"I thought that we passed really well tonight," said Jim Barnes. "Katie, Caitlyn and Allison did a really good job and that helped us run a solid offense."

Baylor recorded five blocks on the night, but was outblocked 8-5 by the Longhorns. Texas also held a slim 51-49 edge in total digs.

After Texas claimed the first set, Baylor had a chance to tie the match at one set apiece, but the Bears failed to convert on two set points. Baylor held off two Texas set points before a solo block from Ashley Engle gave Texas the 30-28 win.

"It probably would have been a lot different if we had been able to hold on for that second set," said Sanders. "You have to give Texas credit for playing tough."

With the loss, Baylor drops to 14-10 overall, 6-8 in the Big 12 Conference. Baylor's next five conference matches come against opponents the Bears defeated in the first round of league matches.

The Bears return to action on Saturday afternoon at 5 p.m. Central as Baylor travels to face Colorado. The match will have a live audio broadcast on www.BaylorBears.com.