Baylor
Stephen F. Austin
Volleyball Sweeps SFA in Baylor Classic Opener
9/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
WACO, Texas - The Bears kicked off their Baylor Classic tournament, cruising to a three-set sweep of Stephen F. Austin, 25-18, 25-18, 25-18, Friday night at the Ferrell Center.
The Bears (8-2) jumped out to an early 8-1 advantage and did not look back. Baylor was paced by setter Amy Rosenbaum and Shelly Fanning who connected five times on the right side in the first set. Tola Itiola added a kill in the middle to end the first set, 25-18.
Baylor continued to dominate at the service line, racking up six services aces in the match. The Bears hit a match-high .333 attack percentage and held off a strong .323 SFA hitting effort to win set two 25-18 and head into the break with a 2-0 match lead.
Baylor and Stephen F. Austin (6-7) exchanged points to start out the third set, but middle hitters Adrien Richburg, Jordan Vail and Itiola continued to stretch the Bears' lead. Itiola ended the match with a kill at the 10-foot line for the 25-18 third-set win.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first set in route to a 25-18 win.
• Baylor had six service aces opposed to the Ladyjacks' two.
• The Bears had a match-high .333 hitting effort in set two, winning 25-18 before the break.
• Amy Rosenbaum led with 25 assists in the match and had two kills on two attempts, a 1.000 attack effort.
• Shelly Fanning led all hitters with 10 kills in the three-set win.
STAT OF THE DAY
.333 - a match-high hitting effort by the Bears in set two.
TOP QUOTE "It was a good win in three. We played clean out of the gate which was good. We could have finished that first set even sooner, but it was good to get contributions from Adrien Richburg, Tola Itiola and Jordan Vail. Those three made some great plays for us in the middle tonight. Amy Rosenbaum did a phenomenal job when she was in there setting. It was the best match I've seen her running an offense." - Head Coach Ryan McGuyre
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor continues its tournament run with two matches on Saturday; the Bears face UNC Greensboro at 10 a.m. CT, and the team closes the tournament with a meeting against Rice at 7 p.m. CT at the Ferrell Center.
-BU-
