Sept. 12, 2009

Box Score

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Baylor setter Taylor Barnes earned Most Valuable Player honors, while Anna Breyfogle and Ashlie Christenson each were selected to the Comcast Challenge all-tournament team as Baylor cruised to the tournament title with a sweep (25-11, 25-17, 26-24) over Cal State Fullerton on Saturday in Albuquerque, N.M.

The Baylor defense shined in the Bears final non-conference match of the season, forcing the Titans into 30 hitting errors, while racking up 10.5 blocks and 34 digs. Fullerton hit just .053 in the match (36-30-113). The Baylor block shut down the Titans in the first set, then forced them to hit around and over the block into errors.

Breyfogle again led the front row with six blocks (1 solo, 5 assists), while Torri Campbell, Katie Sanders and Elizabeth Graham each chalked up four, and Christenson added one block assist. In the back row, Allison King passed exceptionally with 13 digs, giving her double-digits in nine consecutive matches and 11 of 12 matches this season. Barnes had seven digs and Sanders had six.

On offense, Christenson and Breyfogle led the way with eight and seven kills, respectively, while Graham and Campbell each tallied six kills. Barnes dished out 29 set assists, and added two kills on five attempts with no errors.

The Bears came out on fire in the first set, scoring the match's first nine points as CSF struggled to get the ball around the Baylor block and in play. King had two service aces in the run, and Sanders had a kill, but the Bears two blocks and the Titans five hitting errors were the telling tale. Baylor held the Titans to a double-digit deficit the rest of the way, then scored three consecutive points, including a kill by Graham and a set-finishing service ace from Barnes.

The second set stayed tight with CSF tying the score at 10-10 on a kill by Jonny Hart. But, a quick 4-0 run with kills by Sanders, Barnes and Breyfogle made it 14-10. The Bears followed that up with two more 4-0 runs, including the set-clincher with a kill from Campbell and King's third service ace of the match.

In the third set, the Titans put up a fight, taking the lead at 17-16 as the Bears offense cooled off. But, as it had done all weekend, the Bears battled through an offensive lull and went to its big guns, Breyfogle, Sanders and Christenson for instant offense. Trailing 22-19, Breyfogle got a kill and then blocked CSF's Torrie Brown with Sanders to pull within one. The Bears fought off one set point with a Breyfogle kill and then took the lead 25-24 with a kill from Christenson. As had been the tale of the match, the Bears clinched the victory on an attack error by Fullerton.

Baylor will begin its conference slate on Wednesday, traveling to the University of Texas for a 6:30 p.m. match. The match will be televised nationally on ESPNU.