Sept. 18, 2009
MATCH 12
Complete Baylor Notes
vs. (rv) KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY (6-5, 0-1 Big 12) • 1:00 p.m. • Sept. 19, 2009 • Ferrell Center (Waco, Texas)
INTERNET AUDIO: live broadcast stream at BaylorBears.com
LIVE STATS: Live GameTracker stats at BaylorBears.com
LAST TIME AGAINST THE WILDCATS
Baylor battled No. 13 Kansas State down to the wire at the Ferrell Center, dropping a 21-19 fifth set to take the loss. Sanders and Anna Breyfogle each had 15 kills, while King led four Bears in double figures with 21 digs. Setter Taylor Barnes had a double-double with 48 assists and 10 digs, also adding six kills on the night.
Baylor led the match 2-0 after the first two sets, but the K-State defense picked up, holding the Bears under a .100 hitting percentage in two of the last three sets.
LAST TIME OUT...
No. 24 Baylor dropped its first match of the season, getting swept (21-25, 22-25, 15-25) at the hands of the second-ranked University of Texas on Wednesday night at the Gregory Gymnasium in Austin, Texas.
The loss halted Baylor's season-opening winning streak at 11 matches, after the Bears had set the mark for the best start in school history.
Elizabeth Graham, who transferred to Baylor from UT this season, had a great night with six kills on 10 swings with no errors. She also racked up four blocks in her first match back in Austin, Texas, since transferring after last fall. Ashlie Christenson led the way with eight kills for the Bears who had a season-low .125 hitting percentage (34-21-104). The Bears had not hit under .200 in any match previously this season.
Texas totaled seven blocks in the match, leaving the Bears with 14 unforced hitting errors.
MAKE IT 11!
With three wins last 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 11 of the Bears' 12 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 147 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 11 out of 12 matches, 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.
On Wednesday, 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.
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.
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 .130 hitting percentage and 10.9 kills per set.
The Bears have racked up 105.5 blocks for an average of 2.5 per set, and 608 digs for an average of 14.7 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 171 total digs for an average of 4.07 per set.
LEAGUE LEADERS
Anna Breyfogle is at the top of the Big 12 in blocks per set with 1.56. The Buda, Texas native has totaled 61 blocks on the season, 10 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.
Middle blocker Elizabeth Graham moved into a tie for the top spot in hitting percentage (.418) with UT's Ashley Engle. At least a share of the conference's top individual hitting percentage has now been held by a Baylor player in each week this season. Breyfogle, now fourth, was at the top in each of the first three weeks of the 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.
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.
