Baylor
Kansas State
Volleyball Shocks Ninth-Ranked Kansas State, 3-1
9/24/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 24, 2003
WACO, Texas - Baylor sophomore outside hitter Kelly Spriggs hammered a career-high 20 kills, only the second player to reach 20 for the Bears this season, as they stunned ninth-ranked Kansas State, 3-1 (30-23, 11-30, 30-24, 30-28), and snapped the Wildcats' 12-game winning streak in Big 12 action Wednesday night at the Ferrell Center. The victory was Baylor's first over a ranked opponent since it downed No. 23 KSU on Oct. 25, 2000 and marks the biggest upset in program history, topping a win over 10th-ranked Texas A&M on Nov. 9, 1996.
The Bears (9-6, 2-1 Big 12) were outstanding defensively and were led by senior libero Stevie Nicholas, who recorded a season-high 22 digs. Nicholas is now only six digs shy of topping 1,000 for her career and would become only the fifth player in Baylor history to hit 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs for her career.
Senior outside hitter Tisha Schwartz added 14 kills and a career-high 21 digs for her fifth double-double of the season, while freshman outside hitter Andrea Vakulya posted her fourth double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs. Freshman middle blocker Desiree Guilliard-Young tied her career-high for the third time with nine blocks, while sophomore defensive specialist Marisa Kersten hit double figures in digs for the second time this season with 11.
Valeria Hejjas led KSU (12-3, 2-1) with 16 kills, while Lisa Martin had 12 and Lauren Goehring added 10. Goehring, who came into the match leading the nation with a .491 hitting percentage, was held to only .143 for the match. Laura Downey Wallace led the Wildcats defensively with 14 digs, and Kris Jensen had 13.
Game one was a see-saw battle until Schwartz took over on the serve. With the Bears leading, 19-16, Schwartz served seven-striaght points to push the Bears' lead to 10. Baylor hit .273 in the opening frame, opposed to only .136 for the Wildcats.
The Bears struggled in game two and the energy from game one was seemingly gone. KSU jumped out to a 7-1 advantage and never looked back, leading by as much as 19 three times and evening the match with a 30-11 decision. KSU hit .500 while Baylor hit .000 for the game.
A different Baylor squad came out after the intermission and took control behind sophomore setter Emily Huston, who had 54 assists on the night, and served four-straight points to give the Bears a 15-9 lead. The Bears never let up, hitting .256 for the game and holding the Wildcats to .062, to take the advantage back, 30-24.
Game four was tightly contested and was tied at 13, but kills by Schwartz and Vakulya gave Baylor a 16-13 lead. Schwartz then served four-straight to push the advantage to 21-14, but the two teams traded points and KSU fought back to cut the lead to 28-27. Vakulya threw down another kill to bring the Bears to match point, but the Wildcats won a long rally to make it 29-28. Vakulya then put the punctuation mark on Baylor's historic night with the final kill as the Bears won the game, 30-28.
The Bears continue Big 12 play as they hit the road against Kansas Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Horejsi Center in Lawrence, Kan.
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