Sept. 8, 2001
Stats
WACO, Texas - Baylor's women's volleyball used a pair of comeback victories to defeat Cal Poly San Luis Obispo here Saturday night in the title match of the 2001 Baylor Classic. The Bears clipped the Mustangs 30-19, 31-29, 21-30, 30-28 to improve to 8-0 on the season and match the best start in the program's 24-year history.
Earlier in the day, Baylor knocked off Texas-Pan American 30-15, 30-17, 30-20, setting up the match with Cal Poly as the title match. The Mustangs fall to 6-1 on the season with the loss. Rhode Island finished third with a tournament record of 2-2, North Texas was fourth at 1-3 on the weekend, and UTPA dropped all four matches in the round-robin event.
Baylor's Stevie Nicholas was named the tournament's MVP, joining teammates Dana Chuha and Sunny Nicholas on the all-tournament team. Cal Poly placed Carly O'Halloran and Worthy Lien on the team. North Texas setter and former Bear Kristin Sheppard and Rhode Island outside hitter Yolanda Bogacz were also selected to the all-tournament team.
Stevie Nicholas proved her worth against Cal Poly, putting away 24 kills with 14 digs and three blocks, she also hit .314 on the night and had four service aces. Baylor put five players in double figures in the kills column. Tatiana Kenon had 15 kills, Sunny Nicholas and Laura Daniela Lloreda had 12 each, and Tisha Schwartz had 10. As a team, the Bears posted 80 kills to Cal Poly's 51.
Baylor won the first game handily, putting away 19 kills to the Mustangs' seven and out-hitting Cal Poly .238 to .000. However, CP bounced back strong in the second game and built an early 13-7 lead. After Baylor tied the score 17-17, the Mustangs re-opened their lead to 28-22. That's when Kenon served the Bears to six consecutive points, tying the game 28-28. The Mustangs managed to win the next point, but a kill by Lloreda followed by two kills from Stevie Nicholas gave the Bears the dramatic win.
Cal Poly again looked strong in game three, putting 10 blocks on the floor in the third game alone. The Mustangs looked to be in control again in the fourth game, leading 23-17. From there, Baylor scored 12 of the next 16 points to take a 29-27 advantage. After a kill by Kristen O'Halloran pulled CP within one, Stevie Nicholas pounded her 24th and final kill of the night to give Baylor the victory in four games.
Baylor's 8-0 start matches the school record established by the 1999 squad. Baylor has started 5-0 or better just five times, three of those have come in the past three seasons.
Against UTPA, the Bears were hitting on all cylinders offensively. Baylor posted a team attacking percentage of .345 while holding the Broncs to a .095 clip. Stevie Nicholas and Lloreda led the way with 15 kills each, while Sunny Nicholas had eight errorless kills in 10 swings. Lloreda also had a match-high 11 digs, and Sarah Braga came off the bench to contribute 10 digs.
In other second-day action at the Baylor Classic, URI defeated UTPA 30-16, 27-30, 30-23, 30-26, Cal Poly topped UNT 26-30, 30-18, 30-25, 30-11, and URI edged UNT 24-30, 30-28, 30-26, 22-30, 15-11.
Baylor will get a chance at establishing the best start in the program's history Wednesday when the Bears travel to Ames, Iowa, to open Big 12 Conference play against Iowa State at 7 p.m. The Bears are 9-3 all-time against the Cyclones, including a 5-0 mark in Ames. Baylor swept the season series last year, winning in four games at home and in three at ISU.
