Oct. 5, 2002

Box Score

AMES, Iowa - Tisha Schwartz became the sixth player in school history to record 30 or more kills in a match here Saturday night, leading Baylor to a 34-32, 30-26, 27-30, 30-22 victory over Iowa State in Big 12 Conference volleyball action.

Baylor improves to 7-8 on the season and 1-4 in Big 12 play, snapping a five-match overall losing streak and a four-match skid in conference action. The Bears also improve to 7-0 all-time at Ames and have now won nine straight against the Cyclones. Iowa State falls to 9-8 overall and 0-6 in the Big 12.

Schwartz finished the night with 32 kills, joining Stevie Nicholas and Elisha Polk as the only Baylor players to ever reach the 30-kill plateau in a four-game match. Kia Young, Jana Ranly and Heather Williams are the only other Bears to record 30 or more kills in the program's 25-year history. Schwartz's total ties for seventh in Baylor history and is tied for the second-highest total in a four-game match.

However, Schwartz did more than just put the ball away. She also tallied a career-high 15 digs, part of Baylor's first 100-plus dig night since a five-game match Oct. 21, 2000 at Texas Tech. The Bears finished with 107 digs as a team, 12th in school history. Jillian Mazzarella and Laura Daniela Lloreda led all players with 24 digs, a career high for Mazzarella and two shy of Lloreda's career best. Stella Odion added 11 digs, while Kara Kennedy had a career-high 15 digs.

Kelly Spriggs added 16 kills and four blocks, while Odion had 13 kills and five blocks. Mazzarella had 40 assists and one block.

The Bears staged one of the greatest comebacks in school history in game one. Iowa State led 18-9 before Mazzarella served the Bears to seven consecutive points. The Cyclones maintained the lead, and eventually had game point at 29-23. However, Mazzarella toed the line and served Baylor to seven straight points again, giving the Bears a 30-29 advantage. ISU had another game point at 32-31, but an Emily Huston kill and two Cyclone attack errors gave Baylor the 34-32 win.

Both teams played tenacious defense in the first game. Baylor tallied 32 digs, led by Mazzarella's 11, while Iowa State had 31 digs. The Bears hit just .193 in the opener, but five blocks helped Baylor hold the Cyclones to a .094 game-one team attacking percentage. Schwartz tallied 10 of Baylor's 18 kills in the first game.

Baylor scored the first two points of game two and never trailed en route to the 30-26 victory. The Bears hit .271 for the game as Schwartz hit .333 (6-1-15) and Odion hit .444 (5-1-9).

The Bears nearly pulled off another amazing comeback victory in game three. With Iowa State leading 29-22, Baylor withstood an Amanda Craig serve and then Schwartz served the Bears to four straight points. However, Craig scored a kill down the line on the next serve to give ISU the 30-27 win.

After scoring three straight points out of a 3-3 tie, Baylor never trailed again. Iowa State pulled to within three points at 11-8, but never got any closer. Schwartz's 32nd kill of the night put the match away.

Baylor returns home Wednesday, hosting Texas Tech for a 7 p.m. CDT match at the Ferrell Center. Tech swept the season series last year, winning in four games in Waco and in five games at Lubbock.