Box Score Sept. 16, 2017 Box Score
THE RUNDOWN WACO, Texas -- Baylor volleyball finished out the non-conference schedule with five straight wins as the Bears (10-3) went 2-0 in the final day of the Jason's Deli Baylor Classic, sweeping St. John's and defeating UTSA in four sets Saturday at the Ferrell Center.
On her 12th kill against St. John's (8-6), senior Katie Staiger became the Baylor all-time kills leader in the rally scoring era, shattering Katie Sanders' (2006-09) record of 1,547. Staiger has 1,570 heading into the next match.
MATCH ONE: BAYLOR 3, ST. JOHN'S 0
The Bears battled the Red Storm point-for-point to open the match. Kills by Staiger and Yossiana Pressley forced a SJU timeout at 13-10. The Red Storm would bring it within two at 16-14, but the Bears used 21 digs to take the opening frame, 25-20.
Staiger turned it up in the second set, shattering the all-time rally scoring record with seven more kills to lead Baylor with a .462 hitting efficiency. The Bears limited St. John's to an -.043-attack effort in the second, winning 25-13.
BU kept the foot on the gas as it hit .484 with eight more kills from Staiger. An Aniah Philo kill ended the match as the Bears got the sweep, 25-21.
MATCH TWO: BAYLOR 3, UTSA 1
The Bears jumped back on the court to close out the Baylor Classic, going full steam ahead in the opening set. A Staiger and Tola Itiola block forced a Roadrunner timeout at 11-6, and the Bears rolled to a 25-18 win.
BU kept the momentum as the team hit .429 and limited UTSA to a -.061 hitting clip in the second. Fueled by Staiger and Fanning's seven combined kills, the Bears took the 2-0 advantage with a 25-14 second-set win.
BU struggled to come back from an early 8-3 deficit in the third set, allowing UTSA to hit .500 and drop the frame, 25-18.
Baylor and UTSA went toe-to-toe in the fourth set and tied up the match nine times before BU took the lead for good
HIGHLIGHTS
- The Bears finish non-conference play with a 10-3 record. This is the fourth-straight year Baylor has captured at least 10 wins before Big 12 play and every year since McGuyre's arrival three seasons ago.
- Katie Staiger is the new Baylor all-time kills leader in the rally scoring era, passing Katie Sanders (2006-09) who held the previous record with 1,547 kills.
- Staiger also moved into second all-time in career kills with 1,570, passing Stevie Nicholas (2000-03). She trails Elisha Polk (1996-99) who leads with 2,272.
- Baylor (3-0) won the Jason's Deli Baylor Classic, besting UTSA (2-1), St. John's (1-2) and Texas State (0-3).
- The all-tournament team includes: Katie Staiger (MVP), Shelly Fanning (best blocker), UTSA's Marijeta Runjic (best attacker), St. John's Erica Di Maulo (best setter), and Texas State's Micah Dinwiddie (best defender).
TOP QUOTE
"We looked a little fatigued finishing (against UTSA). I'm not going to lie I was feeling it myself going into it. It's been a long two weeks with long travel and so much to work on, so we're just trying to find that balance of working on it all but keeping (the players) fresh. It was hard, but it was great to see how we came out in those first two sets. When you give a team life and don't play as crisp, then anything can happen." --head coach Ryan McGuyre
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears close the non-conference slate with a 10-3 record and host Texas Tech for the first Big 12 match of the season Wednesday at 7 p.m. The matchup will be featured on Fox Sports Southwest.
For the latest news on the Baylor volleyball team follow its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorVball.
