Sept. 24, 2008
Box Score
WACO, Texas - Katie Sanders tallied 21 kills and Anna Breyfogle connected on 19 kills as Baylor defeated Oklahoma 3-2 (25-18, 21-25, 25-21, 26-28, 15-13) on Wednesday night at the Ferrell Center. With the win, Baylor moves to 3-0 in the Big 12 Conference, the first time that Baylor has won its first three conference matches in program history.
Baylor won its first two conference matches in 1996 and 1997, the first two seasons of the Big 12.
"We feel like this is a special team," said head coach Jim Barnes. "We knew coming in that Oklahoma doesn't make a lot of errors. We knew that we would have to be sharp because it would be a defensive battle. We got a little frustrated, but we stayed calm and pushed through it."
The two teams traded points through the first 20 serves of the fifth set. Baylor pulled in front by two at 11-9 on a hitting error and ball handling error. After a timeout by Oklahoma, the Sooners responded with back-to-back kills to tie the match at 11 apiece. With the match tied at 12-12, Baylor got kills from Briana Tolbert and Breyfogle to give the Bears match point. After an Oklahoma side out, Breyfogle connected on her 19th kill to end the match.
"We obviously didn't want to go to the fifth set," said Breyfogle. "But we knew that it would be a good test to see how our team responds and we were able to come up with a big victory."
Sanders also tallied 21 digs on the night, marking her third-career 20 kill-20 dig match. The last time she achieved the feat was at Oklahoma last season when she tallied 22 kills and 28 digs.
Breyfogle's 19 kills came on .359 hitting. She also added a team-high six blocks, including one solo. Ashlie Christenson also reached double-digit kills with 15 kills.
Taylor Barnes recorded a season-best 64 set assists and added a career-high 20 digs on the night. She also served up a match-high four aces. Baylor put three players over 20 digs as Allison King also chipped in with 21 digs.
"We always know that each Big 12 match is going to be tough," said Taylor Barnes. "Every one is going to come down to a few points. We came in with a lot of confidence from being 2-0 in the Big 12, and we used that tonight. We have great fans and they helped to push us over the edge. Being 3-0 feels great and we will carry that confidence to Kansas State this weekend."
Baylor was outblocked on the night 10-7, but the Bears tallied 95 digs to 90 for Oklahoma.
The Sooners were led by Francie Ekwerekwu with 14 kills, while Lacy Barnes added a match-best 26 digs.
With the win, Baylor improves to 11-2 overall this season, 3-0 in conference action. Oklahoma falls to 6-6 on the year, 2-2 in Big 12 play. The Bears return to action on Saturday night as Baylor travels to face No. 18 Kansas State at 7 p.m.
