VB Up Two Spots to 17th, Set For Tech
10/6/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 6, 2009
MATCH 18
vs. TEXAS TECH • Oct. 7, 2009 • United Spirit Arena (Lubbock, Texas)
INTERNET AUDIO:
LIVE STATS: Live GameTracker stats at BaylorBears.com
SCOUTING THE RED RAIDERS
• Texas Tech is led by first-year head coach Trish Kissiar-Knight. She compiled a 670-170-3 record in 16 seasons at Missouri State-West Plains (NJCAA).
• Karlyn Meyers sets the table for the Red Raider offense, amassing 280 set assists for an average of 7.57 per set.
• Amanda Dowdy is Meyers' main target, as she has a team-leading 128 kills on 444 total swings.
• Three Red Raiders have more than 70 digs on the season, with Jenn Goehry's 92 leading the way.
• Also on defense Barbara Conceicao has given the opposition trouble, ranking second in the Big 12 in blocks per set at 1.38. She has totaled 10 solo and 48 block assists in 2009.
• Dowdy, also a dangerous server, ranks second in the league in service aces with 0.38 per set, and 16 in 2009.
• As a team, Texas Tech has compiled an 0-4 record in Big 12 play, and just a 2-11 record overall with wins against Southeastern Louisiana and Gonzaga. Tech has lost six matches in a row.
• Baylor will be the third top-15 matchup for Texas Tech in the last five matches. The Red Raiders were swept by then-No.8 Nebraska on Sept. 16, and 14th-ranked Iowa State on Sept. 30.
LAST TIME AGAINST TEXAS TECH
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) at the United Spirit Arena.
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 kills on .429 hitting.
LAST TIME OUT
No. 19 Baylor continued its torrid start in Big 12 play with its fifth-straight conference victory in a sweep (25-14, 25-19, 25-15) of Colorado on Saturday night at the Coors Events Center. Senior Katie Sanders led the Bears with 12 kills, recording her ninth double-double of the season, also posting 13 digs.
Ashlie Christenson also recorded double-digit kills with 10 on the night. Anna Breyfogle added eight, and Torri Campbell and Taylor Barnes each had seven. Barnes tallied 41 set assists.
On defense, Baylor had three players in double digits in digs, led by Allison King's 18. The match marked the 14th consecutive match that King has recorded at least 10 digs. Sanders' 13, as well as 11 from Caitlyn Trice rounded out the back row for the Bears.
BREYFOGLE UP AND OVER 1,000
Senior Anna Breyfogle became just the 12th player in program history to record 1,000 kills. She entered the Sept. 26th match against Kansas needing just four kills to reach the mark, and took care of it with four in the first set.
Also known for her defense, Breyfogle became just the second player in school history to rack up 1,000 kills and 500 blocks. Her career block total stands at 538, currently third all-time at BU and tied for ninth all-time in the Big 12. Desiree Guilliard Young also achieved the feat in her career.
THREE-HEADED MONSTER
Senior setter Taylor Barnes has been able to spread the ball around to her different options, but none moreso than the three-pronged attack of outsides Katie Sanders and Ashlie Christenson and middle Anna Breyfogle. Sanders leads the team with 185 kills, while Christenson has 160 and Breyfogle 143.
Sanders has led the team in kills in eight matches, Christenson has led in five matches and Breyfogle has led the team in the other four.
BARNES EARNS BIG 12 HONOR
Senior setter Taylor Barnes was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week for her spectacular performance in back-to-back conference wins last week for the 19th-ranked Bears. Barnes recorded her third career triple-double in a sweep over No. 11 Iowa State. For the week, she averaged 12.00 set assists per set, along with 2.50 kills per set and 2.67 digs per set, while hitting a robust .448 (15-2-29) from her setter position.
The Arlington, Texas, native had 10 kills, 11 digs and 38 set assists against the Cyclones, including a .474 hitting percentage (10-1-19). She also added two block assists in the match. Against Kansas, Barnes led the Bears to another sweep with 34 set assists, five kills, five digs, and two more block assists.
Barnes became just the second Baylor player to earn a weekly Big 12 honor this season. Middle blocker Anna Breyfogle was the named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 31 after put together a string of games which included a school-record 12 blocks in a three-set match.
LEAGUE LEADERS
Anna Breyfogle leads the Big 12 in blocks per set (1.51) and is second in hitting percentage (.388). The Buda, Texas native has totaled 82 blocks on the season, 21 more than any other blocker in the Big 12. Breyfogle also has the highest single-match block total in the league, when she had 12 against Houston earlier this season.
Taylor Barnes, who led the Big 12 in service aces per set in 2008, is on top of that category with 0.42 per set in 2009.
Breyfogle has also been a major key in helping the Bears to the best opponent hitting percentage in the league, holding opponents to a .127 percentage.
START ME UP
Winning 16 of its first 17 matches, Baylor is off to the best start in school history. The 1999 version of the Bears began the season 13-1, but suffered back-to-back losses to ranked teams.
DIGGIN' IT
Sophomore libero Allison King has been a model of consistency for the Bears' defense this season. The only Bear to play every set, King has recorded double-digit digs in 16 of the Bears' 17 matches. In her only match short of double figures, King had nine digs in a sweep over New Orleans. The Carrolton, Texas native has recorded 20 digs twice this season. Both efforts came on the same day with 22 against UTSA, and 20 against Purdue, as part of the Baylor Classic.
King has also been nearly flawless in serve-receive for the Bears, making just seven errors in 201 total attempts for a .965 reception percentage.
HISTORY VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
• After beating No. 11 Iowa State, Baylor is 14-165 all-time vs. ranked opponents, with a 5-35 mark in the Barnes era
• The Bears are 3-7 (.300) as a ranked team against a ranked opponent including an 1-1 mark in 2009
• The win over No. 11 Iowa State on Sept. 23 was the highest-ranked team Baylor has ever beaten
• Baylor has now defeated two or more ranked in the same season for the third time in program history (1999, 2006)
BAYLOR VS. `09 RANKED OPPONENTS
Baylor is now 2-1 overall against ranked opponents after dismantling Iowa State in a 3-0 sweep over the 11th-ranked Cyclones on Sept. 23. It marked the highest ranked team Baylor has ever defeated.
The Bears win over 24th-ranked Purdue in the title game of the Holiday Inn & Suites Baylor Classic was the first over a ranked opponent since a five-set win at the Ferrell Center against 16th-ranked Missouri on Oct. 27, 2006. Baylor had lost 17 consecutive games against ranked opponents coming into the Purdue match.
On Sept. 16, Baylor played its second ranked team of the season in No. 2 Texas, but fell 3-0 to an athletic Longhorns squad. The loss dropped Baylor's record against ranked teams to 1-1 in 2009.
MOVIN' ON UP
Baylor's win over 11th-ranked Iowa State and subsequential wins over Kansas, Missouri and Colorado vaulted the Bears to 17th in the latest AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll, released Monday. The ranking is the highest achieved in program history.
Entering the rankings on Sept. 14th marked the first time since the 2001 season that the Bears were in the top 25, climbing as high as 20th. The Bears first cracked the top 25 in 1999, finishing the season 20th. Baylor then entered the 2000 season ranked 21st and climbed as high as 19th.
DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE
Baylor's defense has proved to be one of its strong points this season, holding opponents to a league-leading .127 hitting percentage.
The Bears have racked up 151.5 blocks for an average of 2.6 per set, and 901 digs for an average of 15.5 per set. Middle blocker Anna Breyfogle has been a force at the net averaging 1.51 blocks per set, while libero Allison King is leading the back row with 251 total digs for an average of 4.33 per set.
CLOSE CALLS
Baylor has been perfect this season in five-set matches, winning all three. The Bears came from behind to beat TCU on Sept. 1, then beat No. 24 Purdue at home, and knocked off New Mexico in five on the road.
It was the Bears fifth five-set win in a row dating back to last season. Baylor was 3-2 in five-set matches in 2008 with wins over Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Missouri, and losses to Kansas State and Oklahoma.
TOURNAMENT CHAMPS
Baylor won all three tournaments they entered this season, most recently taking the Comcast Challenge title at the University of New Mexico, defeating the host, as well as Pittsburgh and Cal State Fullerton.
Baylor won all three games at the Holiday Inn & Suites Baylor Classic on Sept. 4-5. The Bears opened with sweeps of UCF and UTSA, before handing 24th-ranked Purdue a five-set loss in the tournament title game. For their efforts, Katie Sanders was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, while teammates Taylor Barnes and Ashley Byrd earned all-tournament team honors.
With a perfect 3-0 record at the Flo Hyman Invitational hosted by the University of Houston, the Bears claimed co-tournament champion honors. Baylor shared the title with the University of Indiana, as the two did not meet.
TOURNAMENT HONORS
Three Bears received tournament honors at the Comcast Challenge on Sept. in Albuquerque, N.M., led by tournament Most Valuable Player Taylor Barnes. The senior setter racked up 117 assists in three tournament matches, along with 11 kills, 23 digs, and six blocks. Barnes narrowly missed a triple-double against New Mexico with eight kills, 53 assists and eight digs.
Middle blocker Anna Breyfogle and outside hitter Ashlie Christenson were named to the all-tournament team for their performances. Breyfogle was a force at the net with at least six blocks in all three matches, and totaling 31 kills with a career-high 21 against New Mexico. Christenson was also a go-to option on offense with double-digit kills in two of the three matches, and totaling eight blocks.
LIKE A BROKEN RECORD
Anna Breyfogle continued her legacy as one of the best blockers in BU history setting a school record for blocks in a three-set match with 12 against Houston in the Bears second match of the season. The senior recorded one solo and 11 block assists in a three-set sweep of the Cougars.
With 23 total blocks in nine sets at the Flo Hyman Invitational, Breyfogle, who led the Big 12 in blocks per set in 2008, averaged 2.56 bps in the team's first three games. Comparatively, in 2008, she averaged 1.45.
MAKE IT 11!
With three wins at the Comcast Challenge, Baylor ran its winning streak to a school-record 11 matches before losing to No. 2 Texas on Sept. 16. The streak set the record for most wins to open a season and ties the record for overall winning streak.
The previous record of eight wins to open a season had been accomplished three times in school history with the most recent coming last season. The overall winning streak record was set in 2006 when Barnes' crew ripped off 11 in a row.
OUT OF THE GATES
In the Jim Barnes era, the Bears have become accustomed to starting the season off on the right foot. After losing the season-opener in Barnes' first season, Baylor has won its first match of the season each of the last five years with a win to open 2009 over Southeastern Louisiana.
In 2008, Barnes' crew ripped off eight consecutive wins to open the season, losing just three sets along the way. That streak included a 13-set winning streaking, starting with the last two sets at Texas State and ending with a third-set loss against Rice.
ALL-BIG 12 PRESEASON TEAM
For the second-straight season, Taylor Barnes and Anna Breyfogle were named to the preseason All-Big 12 team.
Barnes, a senior setter, was named to the preseason team for the third-straight year. In 2008, she parlayed her preseason accolade into All-Big 12 First Team postseason honors, leading the Big 12 in service aces per set. Barnes also earned all-AVCA central region honors and ranked fourth in the Big 12 with 10.32 assists per set.
Breyfogle, a senior middle blocker, earned the preseason honor for the second-straight year. Like Barnes, Breyfogle also earned both All-Big 12 First Team and all-AVCA central region honors in 2008. The Buda, Texas, native led the Big 12 in blocks per set with 1.45, while ranking seventh in the nation in that category.
ADDITIONS AND SUBTRACTIONS
Baylor lost just one letterwinner from its 2008 squad, while adding the three recruits that make up the 14th-ranked class in the nation, accoring to Prepvolleyball.com.
Amarillo's (Texas) Torri Campbell, ranked 30th in the country, enters Baylor as its second-highest ranked recruit in program history. Zoe Adom, an ultra-athletic outside hitter from Euless, Texas, and Kiley Sherman, a versatile outside and defensive player from Oswego, Ill., round out the class for the Bears.
LIVE ON THE WEB
Don't forget to check out live stats on Gametracker on BaylorBears.com. Baylor's official website will also feature a free live radio webcast with veteran play-by-play announcer Larry Little at home, and Todd Zeidler on the road.
