Sept. 27, 2008
Box Score
MANHATTAN, Kan. - Rita Liliom tallied 18 kills and Natalya Korobkova added 11 kills on .357 hitting as No. 17 Kansas State held on to defeat Baylor 3-1 (25-21, 19-25, 25-21, 25-20) on Saturday night at Ahearn Field House.
The loss snaps Baylor's three-match winning streak. The Bears won its first three conference matches for the first time in program history.
The two teams battled evenly in the first set, with neither team gaining more than a two-point lead through the first 30 serves. With the score tied at 15 apiece, Kansas State scored five-straight points to take a 20-15 lead. The Bears cut the lead to 24-21, but a Liliom kill on set point gave K-State the early 1-0 lead.
Baylor came out on fire in the second set, scoring seven out of eight points to build an 11-4 lead. The Bears increased their lead to as many as 10 at 21-11 on a Taylor Barnes service ace. Kansas State scored six straight points, but the Bears closed out the set on an Anna Breyfogle kill and block assist.
The third set was another back-and-forth affair as neither team could gain momentum. Ashley Byrd scored three-straight side-out kills to keep the Bears in the set. Baylor got a block from Breyfogle and Katie Sanders to tie the score at 20 apiece. A Liliom kill and Sanders error gave the two-point lead to the Wildcats, who held on for a 25-21 win.
The two teams traded points through 20 serves in the fourth set before Kansas State scored three straight to take a 13-11 lead. Baylor tied the score at 14 with an Ashlie Christenson kill. With the score tied at 19 apiece, K-State scored five-straight points to take a 24-19 lead and held on for a 25-20 win.
Breyfogle led the way for Baylor with 15 kills on .387 hitting. She also added a match-high six total blocks including one solo. Byrd tallied a season-high 11 kills on .476 hitting, while Sanders added 10 kills for the Bears.
Barnes collected 42 set assists and had a service ace for Baylor. Three freshmen reached double-digit digs led by Allison King with 13. Brittany Ridenour tallied 11, while Jordan Rice added 10 digs.
With the win, Kansas State improves to 13-2 overall, 3-1 in Big 12 action. Baylor falls to 11-3 on the year, 3-1 in conference play. Baylor returns to action on Wednesday night as the Bears play host to Colorado at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.
