Oct. 30, 2002
Box Score
AUSTIN, Texas - Baylor volleyball went toe-to-toe with Volleyball Magazine's 19th-ranked team for the first two games here Wednesday night. But in the end, No. 19 Texas proved too much for the Bears, winning a 30-28, 30-27, 30-16 decision in Big 12 Conference volleyball action.
Baylor falls to 8-14 on the season with the loss, 2-10 in Big 12 play. Texas, ranked 24th in this week's AVCA/USA Today Coaches Poll, improves to 18-4 and 9-3. The Longhorns were victorious for the 10th time in their last 11 matches and have only lost to nationally ranked opponents this season.
Tisha Schwartz reached the 20-kill plateau for the second consecutive match and the seventh time this season with 20 kills; she also had seven digs and one block. Stella Odion added 11 kills, and Emily Huston had two service aces.
The Bears hit .314 as a team in the opener and held Texas to a .231 clip. However, five service errors on the game and an attacking error at 28-27 opened the door for the Longhorns. Baylor cleared 15 digs to UT's 11 in the first game, but the Longhorns were tougher at the service line with three aces to Baylor's none. The Bears also committed five service errors in the opener.
Baylor led early and often, building its lead to as much as four at 8-4. However, Texas battled back to tie the score at 14-14 and never trailed again. The Bears tied the score on four different occasions but could never recapture the lead. Schwartz matched Longhorn Bethany Howden as the high player in kills with eight in the first game.
After a 7-7 tie, neither team led by more than one point in game two until Baylor opened up a 15-13 advantage. It returned to a one-point game on the next serve and stayed that way until Texas scored a service ace to go up 28-26. After the Horns scored on the next serve, Baylor withstood one game point but could not pull back even.
Texas shut down Baylor's attack in game two, holding the Bears to a .119 attacking percentage. That spilled over to game three as the Longhorns cruised to the 30-16 victory. Texas scored the first seven points of the game, two on service aces. The Bears pulled to within four at 8-4, but Texas scored five of the next eight points and Baylor never got closer than seven points again.
Howden led all players with 21 kills and hit .412 on the night. Kathy Hahn and Mira Topic added nine kills each for Texas, which attacked at a .340 percentage on the night. The Longhorns hit .739 in game three with only one error and 18 kills in 23 attempts.
Baylor steps out of the Big 12 this weekend for its final non-conference match of the season. The Bears host Texas-San Antonio at 7 p.m. CST Friday at the Ferrell Center. Baylor and UTSA have not met since 1999; the Bears lead the all-time series 10-3.
