Sept. 5, 2009

Box Score

WACO, Texas - Four players recorded double-digit kills to help the Bears to a 3-2 (21-25, 25-20, 25-23, 23-25, 15-13) win over 24th-ranked Purdue in the title game of the Holiday Inn & Suites Baylor Classic inside the Ferrell Center on Saturday night.

"We knew that was going to be a battle against a really good opponent," head coach Jim Barnes said. "Every game was back and forth and that was good to see how we responded to the pressure. We had some veterans really step up and keep their composure. Both teams were going toe-to-toe."

Tournament Most Valuable Player Katie Sanders led the offense and recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 20 kills and 10 digs. Ashlie Christenson had 12 kills, all-tournament team selection Ashley Byrd had 11, and Anna Breyfogle added 10 kills. Taylor Barnes, who was also selected to the all-tournament team just missed a triple-double with 51 set assists, nine digs and seven kills.

"I was really encouraged to see Katie get smarter and more determined as the match went on," Barnes said. "That's what you want to see. I was really proud of her."

Baylor totaled 62 digs and nine blocks on defense, with Allison King recording a season-high 20 digs. At the net, Anna Breyfogle was up to her usual tricks with five block assists, while Sanders, Barnes and Elizabeth Graham each had three block assists. Christenson added two block assists and Graham had the Bears lone solo block.

Purdue's offense and defense put up big numbers as well with all-tournament libero Blair Bashen totaling 39 digs, and all-tournament selection Carrie Gurnell had 23 kills.

Baylor jumped out to a 2-1 lead on a Bashen service error, but fell behind and could only get to within one at 20-19 on a Katie Sanders kill. Gurnell led a Purdue attack that scored five of the next seven points to close out the set.

"We did a couple of things a little smarter and made a couple of adjustments in that first set," Barnes said. "Our defense really stepped up."

In set two, the Bears turned up the speed on offense with the score tied at 13-13. Barnes hooked up with Sanders twice for kills, and Breyfogle once, push the lead to 3, 17-14. After a Gurnell kill, Sanders went on a roll with three kills in the Bears last four points of the set to tie the match with a 25-20 set.

The third set was much the same for the Bears, as Purdue kept trading points to tie it at 15, but Baylor got a couple fortunate Purdue errors to go their way, and Sanders and Breyfogle picked up back-to-back kills to push the lead to five, 20-15. The Boilermakers mounted a late charge in the set, but two kills by Ashlie Christenson and a block assist from Barnes and Graham sealed the deal with a 25-23 set win.

In the fourth set, the Bears battled back from a 16-12 deficit to take a 22-20 lead after a Barnes service ace and back-to-back kills by Byrd and Briana Tolbert. Purdue didn't go down easily, going Tiffany Fisher and Lisa Pierce to close out the set and force a fifth set.

In the fifth, Baylor came out hot on their way to a 6-2 lead. Sanders had three kills early in the set, and then Christenson got rolling to put Baylor up 12-6. After a Purdue timeout, the Boilermakers scored three points in a row, but then made two errors to give the Bears a 14-10 edge. Baylor caught a couple bad breaks, but fittingly went to Sanders to close out the match with a kill.

The Bears (7-0) will be back on the court in the Ferrell Center on Tuesday, Sept. 8, against in-state rival Texas State. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m.