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THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas -- Baylor volleyball earned its first conference win under head coach Ryan McGuyre after sweeping Texas Tech 25-22, 25-18, 26-24 Wednesday night at the Ferrell Center.

The Bears (12-3, 1-1 Big 12) were paced by Katie Staiger, who earned her 500th career kill in the first set and led all hitters with 11 kills in the 3-0 win. Shelly Fanning and Andie Malloy also contributed double-digit kills for Baylor, adding 10 kills each.

Baylor used an impressive .400 attack average in the opening set to pull away from the Red Raiders early. Katie Staiger accounted for two of three kills to close out the first set, winning 25-22.

Baylor and Texas Tech (12-5, 1-2 Big 12) battled early in the second set, but the Bears used a 5-0 run fueled by two kills by Andie Malloy and forced a Red Raider timeout to lead 14-9. Jordan Vail recorded the final kill in the set, and Baylor headed into the break with a 2-0 match lead with a 25-18 win in set two.

Baylor fell behind early in set three, forcing two timeouts. The Bears crawled out of an 18-13 deficit to tie it up at 22-all late in the third set with a kill by Shelly Fanning. BU then shook off two Texas Tech set points before taking the final four points to win 26-24.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor fought off two set points in set three and went on a 4-0 run to take the set and match, 26-24.

• Baylor outhit the Red Raiders .266 to .133 in the three-set win.

• Katie Staiger earned her 500th career kill with her fourth in the first set. She led all players with 11 kills and had a .429 attack percentage in the match.

• Amy Rosenbaum led the Bears with 21 assists.

• Two other players, Andie Malloy and Shelly Fanning, contributed 10 kills each in the team's first conference win.

STAT OF THE DAY
507 -- career kills for Katie Staiger after an 11-kill performance against Texas Tech.

TOP QUOTE
"We had some individual servers who I thought did much better. They're definitely more comfortable here in Ferrell Center. Defensively, their middles are very, very good, and we did a good job slowing down those middles and don't think either one of them went off on us. There's even a few more players I thought we should've stopped. Once we served tough, we get focused on the pins, when they pass well we slow down the middle. I felt like every time we were serving we had a chance to score points. We just didn't transition, when they got the ball we didn't make them pay for it." -Head Coach Ryan McGuyre

WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor (12-3, 1-1 Big 12) travels to Norman, Okla. to face the Oklahoma Sooners Saturday night at 7 p.m. at McCasland Field House.

Baylor Volleyball Recap
By Cody Soto
Baylor Bear Foundation

After dropping a 3-0 loss to Kansas State to start out conference play Saturday night, the Baylor volleyball team needed to dig deep.

In the final points of the third set Wednesday night, the Bears did just that. Baylor (12-3 overall, 1-1 in Big 12) avenged Saturday's loss by sweeping the visiting Texas Tech Red Raiders, 25-22, 25-18, 26-24, at the Ferrell Center.

But it wasn't easy.

"There were a few players I thought we should've stopped them," head coach Ryan McGuyre said. "I felt like every time we were serving, we had a chance to score points. We just didn't transition; when they got the ball we didn't make them pay for it."

Baylor and Texas Tech (12-5, 1-2) went toe-to-toe early, with each team hitting above .350 to open the match. The Bears used a kill by Shelly Fanning to get to set point, but the Red Raiders fought back with two kills of their own.

After a quick timeout, outside hitter Katie Staiger ended the rally with a quick kill for the 25-22 first-set win. Staiger recorded her 500th career kill in the first set, adding five in the opening frame.

"I love all the kills she gets," McGuyre said. "I want her to realize how great of a player she is and just immerse that. Her kills are great, and we love that and need her heavy arm, but her special gift is the energy she brings. She's powerful with her arm, but really powerful in her steadiness of really making people find joy."

The Bears and Red Raiders traded points to open up the second set, but a 5-0 run fueled by two kills from outside hitter Andie Malloy forced Texas Tech to call a timeout. Baylor did not let up, using kills from freshmen Fanning and Jordan Vail to close out the set, 25-18, and head into the locker room with a 2-0 match lead.

Set three did not get off to a good start for the Bears, though. Mistake after mistake plagued the Bears, forcing McGuyre to burn his two timeouts early in the frame, trailing 18-13.

McGuyre wanted the team to play angry to finish the third set, and a kill by Staiger started the Baylor comeback. Texas Tech continued to lead 22-18, but Fanning tied it up at 22-all with a big kill out of the right side.

"We do a lot of drills on focusing being down by four, and coming back, so it's nice to see what we've been working so hard on come into play," Staiger said. "It's easy when everything is going well for us to be steady, but I think that showed how steady we were when it got tough and when the score got tight."

Texas Tech used a kill to earn a pair of set points with a 24-22 lead, but behind the energy of the crowd the Bears went on a big 4-0 run to close out the set and match, fueled by back-to-back blocks from Vail and Staiger.

Staiger recorded her 11th kill of the match as she gave the Bears a 26-24 third-set win for the sweep.

The win was the first conference victory under first-year head coach Ryan McGuyre, but he is not savoring the success. McGuyre is already thinking about the next match.

"It was very important (to win), because that's the match we were playing tonight," he said. "Now, it's very important we get that second win."

Baylor travels to Norman, Okla. to face the Oklahoma Sooners (6-8, 0-2 Big 12) at 7 p.m. Saturday at McCasland Field House.