Sept. 15, 2009
MATCH 12
Complete Baylor Notes
vs. NO. 2 UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS • 6:00 p.m. • Sept. 16, 2009 • Gregory Gymnasium (Austin, Texas)
INTERNET AUDIO: live broadcast stream at BaylorBears.com
TV: ESPNU
LIVE STATS: Live GameTracker stats at BaylorBears.com
LAST TIME AGAINST THE LONGHORNS
Katie Sanders recorded her 11th double-double of the season, but the Bears fell 3-0 to the fourth-ranked Longhorns. Texas claimed the first set, then denied two set-points for Baylor and came back to win the second set, 30-28. Allison King recorded her 19th straight double-digit dig match with 12 digs. Taylor Barnes chalked up 32 set assists for the Bears, who were perfect on the night in serve-receive with no reception errors.
LAST TIME OUT...
Baylor won its third and final tournament of the season, taking all three matches at the Comcast Challenge, hosted by the University of New Mexico. In the tournament opener, Ashlie Christenson had 11 kills and four blocks, while Anna Breyfogle had seven blocks in a sweep of Pittsburgh.
On Friday night, the Bears battled back from an 11-9 deficit in the fifth set to beat New Mexico 3-2. Breyfogle racked up 21 kills, including four in the match's final five points to keep the Bears undefeated season alive. Christenson, Katie Sanders, and Torri Campbell each had double-digit kills, while Taylor Barnes had a season-high 53 assists.
On Saturday, the Bears cruised past Cal State Fullerton with a sweep of the Titans. Christenson led the way with eight kills, while Barnes had 29 assists, Allison King had 13 digs, and Breyfogle added six more blocks.
MAKE IT 11!
With three wins over the weekend, Baylor ran its winning streak to a school-record 11 matches. The streak sets 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.
DIGGIN' IT
Sophomore libero Allison King has been a model of consistency for the Bears' defense this season. Playing every set of the season, King has recorded double-digit digs in 10 of the Bears' 11 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 six errors in 127 total attempts for a .953 reception percentage.
In addition, when setter Taylor Barnes makes the dig, King has served as the setter in transition. She has had at least two set assists in every match, and four or more in eight of 11, while totaling 46 set assists with just one ball handling error on the season.
TOURNAMENT HONORS
Three Bears received tournament honors at the Comcast Challenge last weekend 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 on the weekend.
BAYLOR VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
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 Saturday night. It also marked the third win over a ranked opponent in the Jim Barnes era. Barnes also recorded victories over no. 24 Kansas in 2004, and no. 24 Kansas State in 2006.
BEARS CRACK TOP 25
Baylor who was receiving six votes in the preseason Top 25 poll, made a big jump last week to 43 points, before entering the rankings at No. 24 with 129 votes this week. The Bears defeated previously 24th-ranked Purdue at home on Sept. 5, then beat a Pittsburgh squad on Friday that was receiving votes.
The ranking also marks the first time since the 2001 season that the Bears were ranked, when climbed as high as 20th. The Bears first cracked the top 25 in 1999, finishing 20th.
CLOSE CALL
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.
The Bears and Hoosiers were part of the five-team with each playing three matches against the other three teams (SE La., Houston, New Orleans).
STRAIGHT SETS
The Bears completed a perfect start in the season's opening weekend, winning all nine sets in three matches at the Flo Hyman Invitational. The Bears went on to win the first set at TCU before the streak halted in Set 2 at 10. The streak is the most since Baylor won 13 consecutive sets in the middle of an eight-match winning streak to open the 2008 season.
In `08, Baylor closed out the last two sets against Texas State, then swept Weber State, San Diego State, and Texas-San Antonio before the streak was snapped in the third set of a 3-1 victory over Rice.
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.
DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE
Baylor's defense has proved to be one of its strong points this season, holding opponents to a leage-leading .120 hitting percentage and 10.7 kills per set.
The Bears have racked up 99.0 blocks for an average of 2.5 per set, and 577 digs for an average of 14.8 per set. Middle blocker Anna Breyfogle has been a force at the net averaging 1.56 blocks per set, while libero Allison King is leading the back row with 160 total digs for an average of 4.10 per set.
LEAGUE LEADERS
Anna Breyfogle remains at the top of the Big 12 in hitting percentage with a season average of .449. The Buda, Texas native has totaled 97 kills on 176 attempts with just 18 errors.
Breyfogle also has the highest block total with 56, and ranks second in blocks per set with 1.56. Breyfogle also has the highest single-match block total in the league, when she had 12 against Houston earlier this season.
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.
LOOK! I'M ON TV
Baylor will be part of the five-game telecast schedule for the Big 12 Conference this season when it travels to the University of Texas on Sept. 16. The game will be televised on ESPNU, with a 6 p.m. start time.
The Big 12 telecast schedule includes four games on ESPNU and one game on Fox Sports Net. Nebraska and Texas will each be televised three times, while Texas A&M will be televised twice and Baylor and Oklahoma each once.
NOT THAT A-TEAM
Baylor junior Ashlie Christenson had a busy offseason after earning a spot on the 24-player U.S. Women's National A2 Program last Spring. Christenson was just the second player in Baylor history, along with Stevie Nicholas in 2002, to be named to the A2 National Team.
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 live radio webcast with veteran play-by-play announcer Larry Little handling the duties for home matches, and Todd Zeidler bringing you the action from the road.
