Sept. 3, 2010
 , NO. 8 MINNESOTA (4-0)3 , BAYLOR (3-2)1
Box Score |
|  | | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | | 25
| 25 | 20 | 25 | | 16
| 19 | 25 | 22 |
|
|
| Stats Comparison | | | | Kills | 59
| 49
| | Errors | 19
| 23
| Total Attacks
| 149
| 150
| Attack Pct.
| .268
| .173
| | Assists | 53
| 47
| | Digs | 66
| 59
| | Blocks | 6.0
| 6.0
| | Service Aces | 5
| 3
|
|
| Stat Leaders | | | Love | 17 | Kills | 10
| King
| Nucci
| 25
| Assists | 21
| Harris
| Wittman
| 19 | Digs | 14
| Harris | Gibbemeyer
| 4
| Blocks | 3
| 2 Players
| Nucci
| 2
| Aces | 2
| Trice
|
|
|
|
|
MINNEAPOLIS - Baylor's volleyball team was defeated 3-1 (16-25, 19-25, 25-20, 22-25) by eighth-ranked Minnesota on Friday night in Minneapolis, Minn., at the Diet Coke Classic.
A 2009 Final Four participant, Minnesota got off to a hot start, holding the Bears to less than 20 points in each of the first two sets. Baylor battled back to control the action in the third set, but UM was too much in the fourth and deciding set.
Allison King led the Bears with 10 kills on the night, while Elizabeth Graham and Briana Tolbert each recorded nine. Kate Harris notched a team-high 21 assists, while Brittney Ridenour had 18. On defense, three Bears recorded double-digit digs with Harris' team-best 14. Ashlie Christenson had 13 digs while libero Caitlyn Trice had 12. Graham and Torri Campbell each added three block assists.
The Gophers had four players with double figures in kills, led by Tabi Love's 17 and Lauren Gibbemeyer's 15. Stephanie Nucci led the squad with 25 assists, while Ashley Wittman had a double-double with 19 digs and 10 kills.
In the first set, Baylor forced three early UM hitting errors and got kills from Tolbert and Graham to close within 10-8, but UM responded with a 10-3 run to take control of the set. Baylor took three of four points with kills by Tolbert and Campbell to get within 22-16, but errors and a Love kill ended the set 25-16.
In the second set, Baylor was down 9-4 but battled back to tie the set at 12-12 with three kills by King, along with a block assist by Graham and Christenson. The teams traded points until 15-15, then Minnesota put on a four-point run to take a 19-15 lead. Graham and Tolbert got kills to make it 20-18, but Ashley Wittman put away the set with two kills.
The third set was tight in the beginning with UM taking a 10-9 lead on a kill by Tori Dixon. From there, the Bears seized control with a 5-0 run on the strength of kills by King, Byrd and Campbell. Harris added a service ace to force a Gopher timeout. UM only got as close as 21-18, as the Bears earned points with kills by Graham and Christenson to end it 25-20.
The fourth set was even closer as neither team held more than a two-point lead for the first 40 points of the set. Baylor held the lead as late as 14-13 after a UM attack error, and had the set tied as late as 19-19 after a Christenson kill. Minnesota scored three in a row to force a Baylor timeout at 22-19, but Byrd answered with a kill on the next play. Graham added a kill to make it 24-22, but UM took the match after a Love kill.
Baylor will be back on the court twice on Saturday at the Diet Coke Classic. First, Baylor will take on No. 20 Dayton at 1:30 p.m., then battle No. 22 Northern Iowa at 5:30 p.m. Both matches will be audio streamed live on www.BaylorBears.com.
