Nov. 19, 2008
Box Score
LUBBOCK, Texas - Katie Sanders tallied her 12th kill-dig double-double of the season and Baylor over came a two sets to one deficit to defeat Texas Tech 3-2 (19-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-14, 15-13) on Wednesday night at the United Spirit Arena.
The win is the eighth straight for Baylor (17-11, 8-9 Big 12) over Texas Tech, as the Bears have secured season sweeps over the Red Raiders for four-straight seasons. The match is the first in the series to go to five games since the 2006 season when the Bears won its third-straight five-set match over Tech.
Baylor moves to 2-2 on the season in five-set matches. The Bears split a pair of five-set matches with Oklahoma and lost at home to 13th-ranked Kansas State by a 3-2 score.
The eight conference wins ties for third all-time for conference wins in a season. The Baylor record of 13 conference wins was set in 1999, while the Bears won nine Big 12 matches in 2001. Baylor also won eight conference matches during the 2000 season.
The match was the sixth-straight for Baylor without the services of middle blocker and preseason All-Big 12 selection Anna Breyfogle, who has been sidelined with a dislocated shoulder.
Baylor opened the fifth set with consecutive kills and soon built a 4-1 lead on a Tech hitting error. After holding a two-point lead through the next 10 serves, three Tech errors on four Baylor points gave the Bears a 12-9 lead. Tech won two-straight points, cutting the lead to one before an Allison King kill gave Baylor a match point at 14-13. Baylor secured the win with a Red Raider service error to win the fifth set 15-13.
Ashlie Christenson led the way for Baylor with 13 kills on .375 hitting. Sanders kill-dig double-double came on 12 kills and 10 digs. King recorded the first kill-dig double-double of her career with 11 kills and 12 digs. Briana Tolbert added nine kills on .375 hitting, while Taylor Barnes connected on seven kill on .429 hitting.
Barnes led a Baylor offense that hit .331 on the night, the first time Baylor has hit over .300 as a team in a five-set match in over four years. The Bears hit at a .357 clip in a five-set win over Tulsa on Sept. 10, 2004.
Barnes collected 44 set assists and added one service ace. Baylor blocked five Texas Tech attacks, led by Tolbert's three block assists.
The Bears tallied a 54-47 advantage in digs, led by Jordan Rice with 14 digs in her first match as the starting libero. Sanders and King also reach double-digit digs, while Barnes added eight digs for the Bears.
Texas Tech opened the match with a win in the first set. The two teams battled through the first 20 serves before Texas Tech used three straight points to build a 13-9 lead. Baylor cut the lead to one point at 15-14 on a kill from King before the Red Raiders scored four-straight points to extend the lead to 19-14. Tech used another three-point swing to take a 23-17 lead before closing the set with consecutive kills to make the score 25-19.
Baylor came out early in the second set, scoring three of the first four points. Tech tied the score at three apiece before the two teams traded the next 30 serves, with neither team gaining more than a one-point advantage. Baylor got two-straight points on a kill and a service ace to take a 21-19 lead and the Bears held on for a 25-22 win.
The third set was a back-and-forth battle until Baylor scored four-straight points to take an 8-4 lead on a Christenson kill. Tech came back with four in a row to tie the score at nine apiece before winning five out of six points to take a 20-15 lead. The Red Raiders held on for a 25-21 win in the third set.
Baylor came out on fire in the fourth set. After splitting the first four serves, the Bears won five-straight points and took 12 of the next 15 serves to build a 14-5 lead. Baylor extended its lead to as many as 12 points before winning the fourth set 25-14.
Baylor returns to action on Saturday night as the Bears play host to Missouri at the Ferrell Center. The match, scheduled with a first serve at 7 p.m., will feature live audio and video webcasts on www.BaylorBears.com.
