Aug. 26, 2011
|  | | STATS COMPARISON | | | | Kills | 43 | 31 | | Errors | 15 | 19 | | Total Attacks | 113 | 119 | Attack Pct.
| .248 | .101 | | Assists | 36 | 27 | | Digs | 58 | 42 | | Blocks | 7.0 | 5.0 | | Service Aces | 4 | 0 |
| Stat Leaders | | | Turner | 15 | Kills | 10 | Campbell | | Davis | 31 | Assists | 25 | Ridenour | | Cramer | 17 | Digs | 19 | King | | Turner | 4 | Blocks | 3 | 2 Players | | Cramer | 2 | Aces | 0 | -- |
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.- Baylor's volleyball team ran into one of the nation's best on the season's opening night, taking the 3-0 loss (14-25, 22-25, 17-25) to tournament-host and 13th-ranked Purdue in the Mortar Board Premier on Friday night in West Lafayette, Ind.
Junior preseason all-Big 12 selection Torri Campbellled the Baylor (0-1) offense with 10 kills, but the Bears were out-hit by the Boilermakers (1-0) .248 (43-15-113) to .101 (31-19-119). For Purdue, junior Ariel Turner was the main weapon, racking up 15 kills and completing a double-double with 10 digs.
"Purdue is a team that is a team that is going to have a great year, and they have a lot of veterans," head coach Jim Barnessaid." With that being said, we learned quite a bit tonight on how we need to improve in our serve and serve-receive. We needed to serve better to get them out of their offense. We still battled, and in set two, we gave ourselves a chance, but our service game still wasn't strong enough."
For the Bears, senior Brittany Ridenour set the offense with 25 assists on the evening, while her fellow senior Allison King racked up a match-high 19 digs in her first match at libero since 2009. Campbell and senior Briana Tolbertled the Bears at the net, recording three block assists each.
Newcomers for the Bears contributed to the offense, led by four kills from freshman Adri Nora and two kills by freshman Nicole Bardaji. Nora added a block assist, while Bardaji added two block assists. Fellow freshman Hope Ogdengot the start at defensive specialist and recorded two digs.
"I like how Adri (Nora) came into the game and was really under control," Barnes said. "She didn't make mistakes and put away a couple kills. She could be that player that definitely makes a difference for us as the season progresses. I think when Nicole (Bardaji) gets through a little bit of the nerves, she will make a big difference. Hope (Ogden) was steady with her passing game will have to work on some things, but she played a steady match. I think those three gained some valuable experience."
In the opening set, the Bears were able to hold the match tight in the early going, closing to within 8-6 on consecutive kills from Campbell and Zoe Adom. From there, Purdue got the ball rolling on offense with Turner, who put together three kills in a 7-2 stretch that opened up the set. Down the stretch, Katie Griffin and Tiffany Fisher each recorded two kills for the Boilermakers to help win the set 25-14 and achieve a .429 hitting percentage.
The second set was a much different story on both sides of the net, but the Boilermakers were able to hold on for the set win. Baylor traded points until grabbing the lead at 9-8 with a set error from Purdue's Rachael Davis. The Bears pushed the lead to 11-8 a kill by Qian Zhangand a block assist by Bardaji and Campbell. Baylor held the lead at 14-13, but that would be that last time in the set at Purdue rattled off three straight to go up 16-14. Baylor tied it at 18-18 with a Purdue attack error, but four points in a row by the Boilermakers ended the Baylor threat on the way to a 25-22 PU win.
The third set featured the teams exchanging points until Campbell tied it 10-10 with a kill and then Purdue scored nine of the next 10 to grab the lead, 19-11. In the set, Campbell recorded five kills in the set to keep Baylor in it early, but four kills by Turner held Baylor off as Purdue won 25-22.
Baylor will be back in action on Saturday at the Mortar Board Premier with two matches. First, the Bears will take on College of Charleston at 11 a.m. CT/12 p.m. ET, then be back on the court for VCU at 4 p.m. CT/5 p.m. ET.
