No. 19 VB Prepares for No. 7 Nebraska
10/13/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 13, 2009
MATCH 20
vs. No. 7 NEBRASKA • Oct. 14, 2009 • Ferrell Center (Waco, Texas)
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LIVE STATS: Live GameTracker stats at BaylorBears.com
SCOUTING THE HUSKERS
• Husker head coach John Cook entered 2009 with a 281-19 career record at Nebraska, including two national championships and five Final Four appearances in his first nine seasons.
• Nebraska's enters the match ranked seventh in the latest AVCA Coaches' poll, up from No. 9 last week, riding three straight Big 12 wins.
• Four Huskers have racked up at least 130 kills, lead by 179 on the season by Tara Mueller and 150 by freshmen Hannah Werth. Lindsey Licht has 145, while Brooke Delano has 132 kills.
• Junior setter Sydney Anderson sets the offense, averaging 10.50 assists per set. • On defense, Nebraska is led by libero Kayla Banwarth, who is one of four Huskers averaging at least 2.5 digs per set, with 4.63 per set. Anderson is next at 2.69, Werth is averaging 2.67, and Mueller is at 2.54.
• Middle blockers Brooke Delano and Lindsey Licht provide a formidable blocking duo at the net for NU, averaging 1.18 and 1.10 blocks per set.
• The Husker defense has held opponents to similar numbers as BU, with a .142 hitting percentage and 10.3 k/s.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE HUSKERS...
Jordan Larson recorded 20 kills and a Baylor upset bid fell short as Nebraska held on to defeat Baylor 3-1 (25-22, 26-28, 25-10, 25-20) in the 2008 regular season finale. The second-set win was the first set-win for Baylor against Nebraska since winning the first set on Sept. 30, 2006, a streak of 16 straight sets.
Katie Sanders led the way for Baylor, recording 13 kills and 17 digs for her 15th kill-dig double-double of the season. Anna Breyfogle tallied 10 kills and added seven total blocks, including one solo. Ashlie Christenson also reached double-digit kills with 10 kills on the night.
Taylor Barnes collected 42 set assists and added two service aces to go along with 16 digs. Caitlyn Trice also tallied 16 digs on the night, while Allison King added eight digs.
Baylor recorded a 72-68 advantage in digs, but Nebraska tallied 16 stuff blocks to 10 for the Bears.
LAST TIME OUT...
Texas A&M won more crucial points than No. 17 Baylor and took home a 3-1 victory over the Bears in front of a program-record crowd of 3,022 on Saturday night inside the Ferrell Center.
Baylor took the Aggies to the final points in the second and fourth sets, but came out on the wrong end of the deciding points. The Bears had four set-points in the second set before A&M took the set, then closed to within one in the fourth set, but an A&M kill finished off the match.
Junior Ashlie Christenson paced the Bear attack with a career-high 20 kills in the match on 48 total attempts with only two errors (.375). Middle blockers Torri Campbell and Anna Breyfogle each turned in solid performances on offense with 12 kills apiece. Katie Sanders added eight and Taylor Barnes and Ashley Byrd each had four.
MOVIN' UP IN THE BOOKS
Senior Taylor Barnes moved into second place all-time at BU with her 185th career service ace, just 10 behind Cory Sivertson's 195. Barnes also moved into third in career set assists with 4,622. She ranks behind Sivertson's 4,846 and Dana Chuha's BU-leading 4,955. Barnes service ace total also ranks her in a tie for third-all-time in the Big 12.
Senior Anna Breyfogle is blocking her way to the top of the BU charts as well, sitting third all-time with 555 total blocks. She is ranked seventh in both total blocks and block assists (60) in the Big 12.
FILL IT UP
On Oct. 10, Baylor played in front of the largest volleyball crowd in program history at 3,022. The crowd shattered the previous record of 2,111 by nearly 1,000 people. That record set on Oct. 27, 1993 against Texas had stood for nearly 16 full seasons before Bear fans packed the Ferrell Center against the Aggies.
BU TOP 15 IN RPI
The NCAA released 2009's first edition of the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), ranking Baylor 15th in the nation. The Bears are the second-highest rated Big 12 team, and one of five of the league's teams in the top 40.
Texas is rated No. 1 in the index, while Iowa State (19th), Nebraska (27th) and Texas A&M (30th) are all in the top 30. Missouri is ranked No. 40.
