Oct. 27, 2006

Box Score

WACO, Texas - After dropping games one and two in close fashion, Baylor stormed out of the intermission to even the match then used a huge run in game five to rally past No. 16 Missouri, 3-2 (26-30, 31-33, 30-22, 30-23, 15-10), to end an eight-match losing streak Friday night in Big 12 volleyball action at the Ferrell Center.

"It's nice everything came together tonight, especially since we had a whole week to get back to work," head coach Jim Barnes said. "We worked hard on defense all week and our offense keeps getting better, and I told them it would pay off. I told them when the offense and defense comes together, we can beat anybody, and tonight validates my point."

Freshman setter Taylor Barnes (Arlington, Texas) recorded the second triple-double of her career with 10 kills, 61 assists and 13 digs, while Kristen Schramek (San Antonio, Texas) was the defensive star with a career-high 34 digs and tying her career-high with seven assists. Schramek's total was the third-highest in school history and the first player with more than 30 digs since Dana Atkinson had 36 on Oct. 21, 2000.

"I really can't describe it," Schramek said. "For lack of a better phrase, I felt like I was in a zone. I felt like I was just out there playing volleyball and not thinking about anything else. I was just doing my job and the block did such an amazing job, it made it easier."

Barnes kept everyone involved, as five Baylor players had double-figure kills. Senior outside hitter Nicole LeBlanc (Tampa, Fla.) led the Bears (14-10, 3-9 Big 12) with 18 kills and 21 for her team-leading 14th double-double. Freshman middle blocker Anna Breyfogle (Buda, Texas) had 14 kills and 10 blocks, the second time in her career she's posted double figure blocks. Freshman outside hitter Katie Sanders (Katy, Texas) added 17 kills, while senior middle blocker Desiree Guilliard-Young (Berkeley, Calif.) had 14 kills and six blocks. Sophomore defensive specialist Amanda Renz (The Woodlands, Texas) had double figure digs for the fifth time in the last six matches with 10.

"This is a great feeling but all of the credit goes to the defense," Taylor Barnes said. "When the passes are great, then I'm going to have a good match and tonight we were better offensively, putting away balls that we've had trouble putting away in the past."

Missouri (14-8, 8-5) was led by Jessica Vader Kooi, who had a match-high 25 kills and added 14 digs. Julianna Klein added 17 kills, Na Yang had 15 kills and Nicole Wilson had 14 kills.

Tatum Ailes led the Tigers defensively with 31 digs, while Abbie Booth had 17. Lei Wang also had double figure digs with 11.

The win marked the first over Missouri since Nov. 24, 2001, snapping a nine-match losing streak to the Tigers. It is also only the fifth time in history Baylor has come back from a 2-0 deficit to win a match, the last coming against Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 18, 1998.

Baylor outhit Missouri, .275-.194, only the second time this season the Bears hit better than .250 in Big 12 play. Baylor also outdug Missouri, 98-89, tying for the second-most digs by a Baylor squad in the rally scoring era and the most in Jim Barnes' three-year tenure. The Bears put up a huge presence at the net, outblocking the Tigers, 16.5-5.0.

In game five, Baylor trailed 9-6, but after a Sanders kill, the Bears ripped off four more points behind Schramek's serve to take the lead and close out the match with a 9-1 run. The Bears hit .333 in game five, while holding the Tigers to a .115 hitting percentage.

The difference in the first two games and the last three was the Bears' offensive efficiency. Baylor had nine attacking errors in each of the first two games and hit well below .200, but were still close in each game. In the last three, Baylor had only two errors in each of the last three games, hitting .370 in game three and .474 in game four, arguably the Bears most impressive single-game performance during conference play.

The Bears will take their momentum on the road when they face Texas A&M Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum in College Station, Texas. The live audio broadcast will be available at 6:15 p.m. on BaylorBears.com.