Oct. 29, 2005

Box Score

AMES, Iowa - Baylor rallied from a game down to capture the final two games and escape with a thrilling five-game road win, 3-2 (30-27, 27-30, 23-30, 30-22, 15-13), over Iowa State in Big 12 volleyball action Saturday night at Hilton Coliseum. The Bears have now won four straight and five of their last six.

Junior outside hitter Nicole LeBlanc (Tampa, Fla.) led five Bears (14-10, 5-7 Big 12) with double figure kills, recording her sixth straight double-double with 15 kills, 11 digs and five blocks. Junior middle blocker Desiree Guilliard-Young (Berkeley, Calif.) posted her third double-double of the season with 10 kills and a career-high 12 blocks, moving her into sixth on Baylor's all-time blocks list. Senior middle blocker Stella Odion (Houston, Texas) hit .381 with 12 kills and six blocks, while senior outside hitters Kelly Spriggs (Houston, Texas) and Melanie Hamerly (Orange, Texas) each had 11 kills.

Senior setter Emily Huston (Santa Rosa, Calif.) was solid with seven kills, 44 assists, 12 digs, six blocks and two service aces, which gave her sole possession of second place on Baylor's all-time aces list. Sophomore libero Kristen Schramek (San Antonio, Texas) led the Bears defensively with 14 digs, while senior defensive specialist Maggie Chlebana (Calgary, Alberta) added 10 digs and sophomore defensive specialist Heather Marcus (Grand Prairie, Texas) added nine.

Katie Jessen led Iowa State (13-11, 6-7) with 15 kills, while Jessica Klein had 14 kills and eight blocks and Erin Boeve had 13 kills. Katie Churm had a match-high 22 digs, while Amanda Craig had 16, Laura Cady had 14 and Nicole Lorenzen had 11.

The two teams matched each other point-for-point in game five and were tied 13-13. Iowa State committed a service error, then Guilliard-Young put the match away with a kill. The Bears hit .350 for the game, while the Cyclones hit .273.

Game one remained close and was tied, 12-12, when Baylor scored six straight to go up 18-12. Iowa State answered back with a four-point run to close the gap to 18-16, then took the lead at 23-22. The Bears grabbed the lead right back and went up three at 28-25. After the Cyclones cut the lead to one, kills by Hamerly and Guilliard-Young put the Bears ahead with a 30-27 win. Baylor hit .163 for the game, getting five kills from Odion and four each from Guilliard-Young and Hamerly, while Iowa State hit .162.

Baylor led 15-14 in game two until Iowa State ripped off six-straight points as part of a 9-1 run to lead 23-16. The Bears came back with three straight, then LeBlanc sparked a four-point run to get back within one at 27-26, but the two teams traded side outs and Iowa State scored the final two points to tie the match with a 30-27 decision. The Bears hit only .150 in the game and the Cyclones hit .200.

With game three tied 8-8, the Bears scored four in a row to take a 12-8 lead. Another four-point run pushed Baylor's lead to 20-13, then everything fell apart for the Bears as the Cyclones ripped off 14-straight points to take a commanding 27-20 lead and closed out the game, 30-23. Iowa State hit .189 for the game, while shutting down Baylor's offense, which hit -.030.

The Bears jumped out to a 16-10 lead in game four, then led by as many as nine at 25-16. Baylor was in control the rest of the way and forced a fifth game with a 30-22 win. The Bears hit .295 and got five kills from Odion, while holding the Cyclones to .095.

Baylor hit .177 for the match, while Iowa State hit .174. The Bears outblocked the Cyclones, 18.0-13.0, but the Cyclones outdug the Bears, 73-62. Baylor remains undefeated in Ames, winning all 10 meetings against the Cyclones on the road.

The Bears return to action when they host Texas A&M Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.