Nov. 12, 2011

BAYLOR (18-11, 5-8) 3 #25 OKLAHOMA (19-9, 6-6) 1 Box Score 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH 26 27 25 25 28 25 22 22 STATS COMPARISON Kills 62 61 Errors 18 26 Total Attacks 182 182 Attack Pct. .242 .192 Assists 56 57 Digs 87 85 Blocks 7.0 6.0 Service Aces 2 5 Stat Leaders Tolbert 19 Kills 19 Boulavsky Harris 51 Assists 43 Barker King 21 Digs 23 Fernanda Campbell 5 Blocks 4 Roethlisberger 2 Players 1 Aces 1 5 Players BAYLOR VOLLEYBALL CENTRAL • Volleyball Media Almanac • Match Notes • Big 12 Standings • Baylor Athletics Experience

NORMAN, Okla. - In a match that featured 50 ties and 23 lead changes, Baylor made big plays at the end of three winning sets to defeat No. 25 Oklahoma 3-1 (26-28, 27-25, 25-22, 25-22) on Saturday at McCasland Field House in Norman, Okla.

"This win is important for our team's confidence to go on the road and beat a top 25 team," head coach Jim Barnes said. "It sets us up for reaching our first goal, and that's getting to the NCAA Tournament."

The comeback win, which is the first conference road win of the season for the Bears, gives Baylor its first over a ranked opponent since Dec. 5, 2009, at No. 9 UCLA. The Bears had the Sooners on the ropes in the first set, but were unable to finish it off. However, BU showed its resiliency in each of the next three sets, withstanding each Oklahoma charge.

"I thought we did a great job of bouncing back after the first set, and it started with us being confident and executing those moments," Barnes said. "We talked about shrinking each moment into just one point, and I thought we did a great job of that over the last three sets."

Senior Briana Tolbert was one of three Bears with at least 10 kills, racking up a career-high 19 with just two errors to hit .436. She was joined by sophomore Zoe Adom's 15 kills and freshman Adri Nora's 12 kills in double figures. Setter Kate Harris notched another double-double and her fifth match over 50 assists with 51 assists and 17 digs.

Baylor's back row came up huge, as well, with five players tallying more than 10 digs. Senior Allison King had her 27th consecutive match in double figures with 20 digs. Qian Zhang had 19, Jordan Rice had a season-high 17 and Hope Ogden had 11. Torri Campbell led the Baylor blocking efforts with five block assists.

"Bri (Tolbert) was just unstoppable tonight, she just had that refuse-to-lose type attitude, and it inspired her teammates," Barnes said. "King did a real solid job anchoring our serve-receive and our back-row play. Offensively , we got a huge tonight from Nora, and Zoe really stepped up to give us some big kills when we needed them."

In the first set, Baylor seemingly took control with a 5-0 run to break a 10-10 tie. Zhang had a service ace and Tolbert notched two kills during the run. The Bears held the lead to 21-16, but Oklahoma went on an 8-2 run to take a 24-23 lead. Baylor held off set point twice, but Oklahoma got the two in a row it needed t win 28-26.

The second set was nearly the same, as Baylor broke a 10-10 tie with a 4-1 run on two kills by Tolbert. With the Bears up 21-17, the Sooners came roaring back with a 5-0 run to take the lead 22-21. Baylor scored three of the next four to get to set point on a Tolbert kill. The Sooners held off set point two times, but a Campbell kill followed by a block assist for the Bears earned the 27-25 win.

In the third set, Baylor quickly erased a 5-2 deficit with a 4-0 run on Campbell and Adom. The teams traded sideouts nearly every point until a 3-0 Baylor run made it 21-19. The Sooners followed a Nora kill with two attack errors to give Baylor the decisive advantage. BU was able to hold on, getting back-to-back kills from Adom to end it 25-22.

The fourth set featured 17 ties alone, with neither team leading by more than one point at any juncture until a Zhang kill gave BU a 17-15 lead. OU battled back to tie it at 20-20, but a kill and block assist from Nora, followed by another Zhang kill earned a 23-20 lead. The Bears then forced back-to-back errors by OU middle blocker Sallie McLaurin, with the match point coming on a block by Tolbert and Harris.

The win gives Baylor four NCAA RPI top-50 wins this season, but is the first of those on the road. Baylor entered the night ranked No. 42 in the RPI, while Oklahoma entered ranked No. 23. Baylor has three matches remaining, all against the RPI top 50.

The Bears will be back on the court at No. 8 Texas on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 6:30 p.m. The match will be televised on the Longhorn Network. Earlier this season, Texas took a 3-1 victory over the Bears at Baylor.