April 23, 2014

WACO, Texas - The Baylor volleyball team competed in three matches at the Lonestar Spring Tournament in Dallas and went 2-1. The Bears split matches against Big 12 opponents, falling to Texas in two sets but defeating OU in three. Baylor also defeated UNT in two sets.

Baylor head coach Jim Barnes said he continues to be impressed by the team's improvement singling out Laura Jones and the defensive specialists, particularly in the win over OU.

Jones tallied a dozen kills in the win over the Sooners, hitting .417, while Baylor out-dug OU 51-40 with Hope Ogden highlighting the effort with 18.

Jones had 10 kills and Nicole Bardaji had six in BU's win over UNT. Adrien Richbug and Tola Itiola had five kills apiece. In the loss to Texas, Jones led the Bears in the losing effort with seven kills while Richburg added five.

"We have improved each week this spring, and that's good to see. I felt like we played our last two matches at a very high level even without some key players," Barnes said. "Laura is playing like an all-American and Tola and Nicole have been displaying their athleticism and starting to show consistency. As a team we are playing very disciplined and with very good ball control. I feel like we can match up physically with any team in the country, but the best part is, we have the arms and power offensively to put the ball away like never before.

The Bears are competing this spring without three players that are expected to be among the team's top hitters as Katie Staiger and Thea Munch-Soegaard are recovering from season-ending injuries from the fall, and Andie Malloy is sitting out one more semester after her transfer from Iowa State. Baylor also played without Kristina Fitzpatrick and Sam Hill who suffered injuries over the weekend.

Baylor will take on SMU in Dallas for a pair of matches this weekend.