Baylor
*Kansas State
Volleyball Falls to No. 25 Kansas State
11/23/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 23, 2005
MANHATTAN, Kan. - Even Baylor's short-lived experiment with the 6-2 offense couldn't help its struggles as the Bears were handed their seventh straight loss by No. 25 Kansas State, 3-0 (30-24, 30-22, 30-27), in Big 12 volleyball action Wednesday night at Ahearn Field House.
Junior outside hitter Nicole LeBlanc (Tampa, Fla.) recorded her team-leading 14th double-double of the season, tying for the team lead with 11 kills and posting a match-high 16 digs. Senior outside hitter Melanie Hamerly (Orange, Texas) also had 11 kills, while junior middle blocker Desiree Guilliard-Young (Berkeley, Calif.) had six kills and 10 blocks, the fifth time this season she's posted double figures for the Bears (14-17, 5-14 Big 12).
Sandy Werner led Kansas State (19-10, 10-9) with 21 kills, while Agata Rezende added nine. Angie Lastra paced the Wildcats defensively with 14 digs.
Kansas State reeled off eight straight points to take a 9-1 lead in game one. Baylor chipped away at the lead and got within three at 22-19 after Guilliard-Young was in on three-straight blocks. The Bears cut the lead to two at 23-21, but the Wildcats scored three in a row and held on for a 30-24 win. While the game was relatively even statistically with Kansas State outhitting Baylor, .125-.122, the main difference came from the service line, where the Bears committed four errors to only two for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats scored nine of the first 10 points in game two and pushed their advantage to as much as 14 at 22-8. The Bears cut the lead down to eight at 25-17 and scored two straight at game point to get it down to seven at 29-22, but the rally came too late as the Wildcats took a 2-0 lead into the break with a 30-22 decision. Kansas State was much more efficient in game two, hitting .263, while Baylor was just about the same as it was in game one, hitting .121.
Kansas State jumped out to a 5-1 lead in game three, but Baylor answered back to tie it at 6-6. The Bears scored three straight to take a 12-9 lead, but the Wildcats rebounded to tie the game 17-17. The Wildcats rattled off five straight to go up 23-20 and went on to clinch the match with a 30-27 decision. Baylor returned to its normal 5-1 attack and hit .273 for the game, but Kansas State remained consistent and hit .300.
The Wildcats hit .222 for the match, while the Bears hit .168 and each team recorded 10.0 blocks. Baylor outdug Kansas State, 49-39.
The Bears return to action and return home for their season finale against Texas Tech on Senior Night Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center. Saturday's match will be the final match in the careers of seniors Maggie Chlebana (Calgary, Alberta), Hamerly, Emily Huston (Santa Rosa, Calif.), Stella Odion (Houston, Texas) and Kelly Spriggs (Houston, Texas).
