Baylor
Eastern Illinois
Volleyball Rolls Eastern Illinois, Runner-Up in Dayton Invitational
9/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
DAYTON, Ohio – The Bears bounced back from a narrow morning loss to end their weekend tournament play with an emphatic four-set win over Eastern Illinois 26-24, 18-25, 25-19, 25-13. With a set differential selected as the tiebreaker, BU earned a second place finish in the Dayton Invitational.
In the first set, the Bears got off to a hot start, building a 24-17 lead, serving for a statement first-set win. The Panthers slowed the momentum, answering with a 7-0 run, to tie the score at 24-24. The Bears avoided a first set letdown, aided by back-to-back blocks from Adrien Richburg, assisted by Shelly Fanning on the first and Katie Staiger on the second.
In the second set, the Panthers jumped out to an early lead that they would never lose, riding a 10-4 run to open the set to help seal the equalizer set.
Adjusting to the EIU attack, the Bears took their set lead back in the third, led by a six kill effort from Fanning in the set.
Looking to close out the match in the fourth, BU came out firing, building an insurmountable 16-3 advantage. A late push from the Panthers was far too little, too late, as the Bears easily finished off the set with a pair of kills from Jordan Vail.
Baylor was well represented on the six-person Dayton Invitational All-Tournament team, with Shelly Fanning and Katie Staiger both earning honors.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Jordan Vail posted career highs in both kills (8) and attacks (12).
• Shelly Fanning’s 7 digs more than doubled her previous career high of 3.
• The Bears outhit the Panthers in the final two sets by a mark of .374 to .101.
• BU’s 11 blocks made it the sixth match this season with 10+ team blocks.
STAT OF THE DAY
.448 – Baylor’s hitting percentage in the final set of the match.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Bears will play in a fourth and final regular season tournament, hosting the Baylor Classic, which kicks off with a Friday, Sept. 18 match against Stephen F. Austin at 7 p.m. CT in the Ferrell Center.
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