Oct. 20, 2010
Box Score
|  |
| Stats Comparison | | | | Kills | 30
| 48
| | Errors | 17
| 13
| Total Attacks
| 137
| 140
| Attack Pct.
| .095
| .250
| | Assists | 28
| 44
| | Digs | 66
| 77
| | Blocks | 6.5
| 6.0
| | Service Aces | 2
| 2
|
|
| Stat Leaders | | 3 players
| 7 | Kills | 9
| 3 players
| Donahue
| 23
| Assists | 18
| Ridenour
| Mathewson
| 16 | Digs | 20
| King | Muff
| 5
| Blocks | 4
| 2 players
| Pelger
| 2
| Aces | 1
| 2 players
|
|
|
|
|
WACO, Texas - Baylor's volleyball team never trailed in any set on its way to a 3-0 sweep (25-18, 25-20, 25-19) over visiting Kansas State on Wednesday night at the Ferrell Center. KSU was only able to tie the score a total of four times in the match, never taking a lead.
Entering the night after dropping back-to-back Big 12 matches in the last week, Baylor (11-10, 4-6) took care of business with a steady offense and a spectacular display of back-row defense. The Bears had 77 digs in three sets, averaging 25.67 per set, nearly seven digs above their league-leading season average of 18.79. The defense forced Kansas State (9-12, 3-7) to hit just .095 (30-17-137) in the match. No KSU attacker that had more than five total attempts had a hitting percentage of over .110.
"We came out and really served tough, and that's what put them on their heels," head coach Jim Barnes said. "We had 25 digs a set, which was tremendous and helped us score at a high rate. That's what set the tone."
Four players reached double figures in digs, including Allison King's team-best 20, and Qian Zhang's career-high 16. Caitlyn Trice also had 16, for her 21st straight match with at least 10, and Brittany Ridenour added 12.
"The girls were much more relaxed tonight, and that allowed us to get (KSU) out of their offense," Barnes said. "Qian really stepped up tonight and had some big plays."
On offense, Baylor's production was spread across the board, with six players between five and nine kills. Briana Tolbert, Elizabeth Graham and King each had nine, while Zhang had a season-best seven, Torri Campbell had six and Ashley Byrd added five. Ridenour had 18 assists, and Kate Harris added 15.
"This week, we worked on getting a little tougher and players going for it a little more," Barnes said. "They stacked the middle, so Bri had a great match tonight. Byrd played really steady, and our leftsides both played well."
Baylor set the tone early in the first set, getting out to a 3-1 lead behind two kills from Tolbert and one from King. KSU got as close as 9-8, but BU scored five of the next seven to open up a 15-10 lead. Zhang highlighted the 5-2 run with two kills. The Bears then scored 10 of the final 14 points of the set, capped by a set-finishing kill from Zhang for the 25-18 win.
Three KSU errors and two straight Baylor kills gave the Bears a 5-0 lead to open the second set. BU pushed the lead to 17-9 with another 5-0 run, this time getting two kills by Graham and one by Tolbert. KSU closed to within 21-18, but got no closer as Graham ripped off back-to-back kills to end the set 25-20.
A 3-0 run to start the third set was highlighted by a service ace from Ridenour. Then Campbell and Byrd teamed up for a block assist to give BU a 9-5 lead. After KSU closed to within 15-14, King led a 5-1 Bear run with three big kills to put her team in control of the set. Byrd, Graham and Zhang recorded three consecutive kills to set up match point, and KSU's Julianne Chisholm hit a serve into the net for a 25-18 Baylor win.
The Bears will enjoy a Saturday off this weekend, then be back on the court next Wednesday, Oct. 27, hosting the University of Colorado. Baylor swept Colorado, 3-0, earlier this season in Boulder. The match is slated to start at 7 p.m.
