Baylor

No. 24 VB Swept By No. 9 Nebraska

Volleyball 11/18/2009 12:00:00 AM

Nov. 18, 2009

LINCOLN - No. 24 Baylor struggled finding its offensive stride against ninth-ranked Nebraska in a 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-20) sweep on Wednesday night in front of a sellout crowd of 4,097 at the Nebraska Coliseum.

Baylor hit a season-low .089 (33-22-123) in the match, which marked the first time in 2009 that the Bears hit under .125. Nebraska, on the other hand, only hit .203 (44-19-123), but got a spectacular performance on the back row from libero Kayla Banwarth and solid blocking at the net by Kori Cooper. Banwarth finished the night with 32 of NU's 63 digs, while Cooper had five blocks (3s, 2a).

For the Bears, Katie Sanders had a team-high nine kills, while Ashlie Christenson added eight. Four Bears had nine digs in the match, including Sanders, Caitlyn Trice, Jordan Rice, and Taylor Barnes. Barnes had 26 assists in the match.

In the first set, Baylor took a 2-1 lead with a Sanders kill and a Nebraska hitting error. The Huskers came back to take a 7-4 lead with a kill by freshman Hannah Werth. The Bears closed to within one at 11-10 on back-to-back errors by Werth, but couldn't hang on to the set. Nebraska put on an 8-1 run to lead 19-11. Baylor only got as close as 20-14 with a kill by Ashlie Christenson. NU finished off the set with three in a row, including back-to-back solo blocks by Cooper.

The second set was all Nebraska, as the Huskers sprinted to a 7-3 lead. Baylor battled back to within two at 12-10 with two kills by Elizabeth Graham, but NU scored four straight to take a 16-10 lead. Baylor answered with seven of the next 10 points, including kills by Barnes and Sanders, to close to within 19-17. The Huskers found their groove with two kills by Tara Mueller to put on a 6-4 run and close out the set 25-21.

Nebraska jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first set, but Baylor fought back to take a 10-9 lead after a Christenson kill and a block assist by Barnes and Anna Breyfogle. The teams traded points until Nebraska seized control of the set with a 4-1 run to make it 19-16. Baylor only got as close as 20-18 with a Barnes kill, but Nebraska closed out the set and the match scoring five of the last six including two kills by Brooke Delano.

Baylor (21-8, 10-8 Big 12) will back in action against another top-10 opponent in second-ranked Texas at the Ferrell Center. The Senior Night match is set for Saturday, Nov. 21, at 7 p.m.

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