Baylor
Rice
Volleyball Downs Rice; Sweeps Baylor Classic Field
9/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas - Baylor volleyball fought off an early deficit to defeat Rice 16-25, 25-15, 26-24, 25-16 and win the 2015 Baylor Classic Saturday night at the Ferrell Center.
Baylor and Rice exchanged points to start off the match, but the Bears found themselves playing from behind for the remainder of the set. Baylor hit a team-low .148 and committed five errors in the opening frame, falling 25-16.
Baylor came back firing in all directions as the team registered an astounding .652 attack effort for 16 kills and one error. Jordan Vail finished off the set with a kill out of the middle to give Baylor the 25-15 second-set win and the 1-1 tie at the break.
Baylor and Rice battled early for the third frame, and back-to-back kills by Katie Staiger knotted up the set at 21-21. Rice shook off a set point, but a kill from Andie Malloy handed Baylor a critical 26-24 win in set three.
In set four, the Bears opened up a 10-7 lead with a block from Andie Malloy and Jordan Vail, and Baylor never looked back. A solo block by Katie Staiger set up match point, and Andie Malloy fired a cross-court kill for the 25-16 win in set four.
Baylor finishes the 2015 Baylor Classic undefeated to win the tournament title, and three Bears earned all-tournament honors: Amy Rosenbaum was named Best Setter, Andie Malloy was awarded Best Blocker and the tournament's Most Valuable Player was Katie Staiger.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor had a commanding .652 attack average in the second set for 16 kills on 23 swings with one error.
• Baylor outhit the Spartans .353 to .214 in the four-set win. The last time Baylor hit .350 or better in a match was against Abilene Christian in last year's season opener (.407).
• Katie Staiger led the Bears with 13 kills on 28 swings, a .429 hitting effort.
• Morgan Reed led with 26 assists in the match.
• Along with the tournament title, three Bears were named to the all-tournament team: Amy Rosenbaum (Best Setter), Andie Malloy (Best Blocker) and Katie Staiger (Tournament MVP).
STAT OF THE DAY
.652 - a match-high kill performance by the Bears in set two.
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor (10-2) travels to Denton to face North Texas Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at the Mean Green Volleyball Center.
-BU-
Baylor Volleyball Recap
By Cody Soto
Baylor Bear Foundation
It took only one set for Baylor volleyball to realize something: the team needed to stick to the game plan or risk losing on their own court. Dropping the first set in their Saturday night match against in-state opponent Rice forced the team to go back to the basics, setter Morgan Reed said.
"(Losing the first set) gave us a lot of motivation," she said. "One of our goals is to stay undefeated at home, so we were determined to turn it around and not let everyone down."
The Bears (10-2) took the next three sets against the Owls to win the 2015 Baylor Classic title Saturday night and cap off a successful 3-0 weekend at the Ferrell Center.
Baylor hit a team-low .148 in the opening set, but the team responded with an astounding .652 attack effort to tie up the match 1-1 before the break. The Bears had 16 kills on 23 attacks and only committed one error in the 25-15 second-set win, something that head coach Ryan McGuyre expects from his team.
"One of our goals is to be assertive in everything we do this season," McGuyre said. "We weren't that way in the first set, so we just got back to our style and our rhythm in the second set."
After trailing 21-19 in a critical third set, outside hitter Katie Staiger added back-to-back kills to tie up the set, and outside hitter Andie Malloy hit a cross-court kill for the 26-24 win in set three. The Bears maintained control of the rest of the match and took the win in four sets.
Reed finished with 26 assists in the win, and she credited the success to the game plan her team followed during the match.
"We've been working on (distributing) in practice, and for me being able to deliver to all the hitters at quality times is really important," Reed said. "It helps our offense be able to separate the pins and run the middles."
Baylor had different struggles against Stephen F. Austin (7-8) and UNC Greensboro (10-5) on Friday and Saturday, but the Bears were able to shake off rough starts for the 3-0 sweeps. Both teams hit a combined .110 against Baylor in their respective games, so the test truly came in the nightcap against Rice (10-4).
McGuyre and his staff expected the Bears to execute against Rice as well, Staiger said.
"They expect a lot out of us," she said. "They know how good we are and how good we can be. If we're not playing up to our potential, then they'll be encouraging but let us know it's not acceptable." Staiger posted 13 kills on a .429 hitting effort against Rice and led the team with 30 kills in three matches. The fast-paced offensive rhythm allowed the redshirt sophomore to get several one-on-one matchups on the outside, giving her the opportunity to terminate every attempt.
"I like to say that (Morgan Reed and I) have the best connection, Staiger said. "I know where she is going to put it every time, so it helps since she was running a really fast offense."
Staiger was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player following the 3-1 win and was joined on the all-tournament team by setter Amy Rosenbaum (Best Setter) and Malloy (Best Blocker).
The Bears hit the road for their final non-conference game against North Texas (9-6) at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Mean Green Volleyball Center in Denton.
