Baylor volleyball (11-4) tallied a four-set win over North Texas (6-9), 25-14, 25-18, 26-28, 25-23, to cap off its home nonconference season Tuesday night at the Ferrell Center.
It pushes Baylor’s match-winning streak to seven matches, dating back to Sept. 9. The Bears were led offensively by redshirt junior Katie Staiger and sophomore Aniah Philo, posting 17 and 12 kills, respectively.
Defensively, the Bears recorded a season-high 14 blocks against the Mean Green, surpassing their performance against Virginia on Sept. 16 (13). Junior Jana Brusek added 26 digs in the four-set win.
Baylor started out strong, leading with its block. Sophomore Ashley Fritcher added a kill to push BU’s lead to 18-10, and sophomore Aniah Philo added five kills in the first set to lead Baylor to the 25-14 victory.
Baylor continued to dominate at the net, hitting .857 (6-of-7) to start the second set. The Bears limited the Mean Green to a .000 hitting effort, rolling to the 25-18 second-set win.
BU was crippled by seven attack and three service errors, falling behind early in set three. The Bears erased two set points and even had a match point of their own, but back-to-back kills by UNT ended the third frame, 28-26.
The Bears jumped out ahead to start set four, leading 7-5 early after a kill from junior Camryn Freiberg. BU then fell behind after struggling with service reception, but redshirt junior Katie Staiger’s nine kills helped Baylor put away the fourth set over UNT, 25-23.
HIGHLIGHTS
Katie Staiger added nine of her 17 kills in the fourth set, pushing BU to the 25-23 win.
All Baylor players saw playing time in the match for the first time this season, with all 14 active players making an appearance.
Aniah Philo (12 kills, 12 digs) and Morgan Reed (36 assists, 10 digs) each posted double-doubles against the Mean Green.
Baylor’s current seven-match winning streak dates back to Sept. 9 where BU swept Little Rock and Florida A&M on the road.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We started out great both of the sets. We got to get some people in and see what they could do. We definitely fell out of rhythm over the course of the match. We weren’t very terminal with our attacking. The lesson is, once you’re in the flow, you’ve got to fight hard to stay there.” –Baylor head coach Ryan McGuyre on the tighter competition in the third and fourth sets
STAT OF THE DAY
14 – the new season-high block performance by Baylor.
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor plays SFA in its final nonconference tune-up before Big 12 play Wednesday in Nacogdoches. First serve is slated for a 6:30 p.m. start and will air on ESPN3.
