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Baylor Volleyball Team Drops Two at Diet Coke Classic
Baylor took No. 22 UNI to five sets in the finale, but fell 3-2
MINNEAPOLIS – Baylor’s volleyball team dropped both of its matches on the final day of the Diet Coke Classic at the University of Minnesota, falling 3-1 to No. 20 Dayton and 3-2 to No. 22 Northern Iowa.
“We played three great teams, and we just talked about its made us more battle tested and tough,” head coach Jim Barnes said. “It taught us a lot. I thought in all three matches we had opportunities to win sets and possibly even win matches. We just didn’t finish out and execute like we needed to. This experience is only going to make us better.”
Game One
Despite 15 kills from Torri Campbell and 31 digs from Caitlyn Trice, errors haunted the Baylor attack in a 3-1 loss (25-22, 12-25, 21-25, 21-25) to No. 20 Dayton at the Diet Coke Classic in Minneapolis, Minn.
On offense, Baylor had 52 kills and 35 errors in 178 total attempts for an .096 hitting percentage, while Dayton played more consistently with 54-18-180 to hit at a .200 clip. Ashlie Christenson had 11 kills to go along with Campbell as the only players in double figures for the Baylor attack.
In the back row, Trice recorded her second match of the season with more than 30 digs, tying a record she already shares with Elisha Polk for kills in a four-set match with 31. Allison King racked up 20 digs, while setter Kate Harris had 15 digs to go along with 28 assists for her second career double-double.
The Flyers were in control for most of the first set, building leads of 10-7 and 15-11, but Baylor came roaring back with a 4-0 run to tie it at 15-15. Graham and Christenson each had a kill, and Graham coupled with King for a block assist. With the score tied at 22-22, the Baylor attack came alive with three straight kills, including two from King sandwiched around one from Graham.
In the second set, Dayton got off to a flying start with a 5-0 lead. BU got back-to-back kills from Ashley Byrd to make it 5-3, and they would get no closer as Dayton put on an 11-4 run to put the set out of reach.
The third set started well for Baylor as a kill by Campbell and a service ace by Harris made it 12-8. Christenson pushed it to 14-9 with a kill, but Dayton scored five in a row to tie the match at 15-15. Baylor stayed within an arm’s length only down two, but the Flyers kept coming up with big kills from Lindsay Fletemier and Rachel Krabacher to win the set 25-21.
In the fourth, King and Campbell combined for a 3-1 run to tie the score at 8-8, but Baylor couldn’t find a way into the lead. After a 4-0 Dayton run, Campbell forced a Flyer timeout with back-to-back kills to make the score 17-15. Dayton responded with a 3-0 run before Baylor forced two errors and got a Christenson kill to pull within 21-18. From there, Dayton was able to put the match away with a 25-21 win.
Game Two
Baylor battled No. 22 Northern Iowa right down to the wire, coming back from down a set twice, but were unable to upend the Panthers, losing 3-2 (16-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-23, 6-15).
Ashlie Christenson paced the offense with 14 kills, while Torri Campbell added 13 and Elizabeth Graham had 10. Brittney Ridenour recorded a double-double with 26 assists 16 digs, while Christenson added 17 digs to her day for her own double-double. Caitlyn Trice had her third career-high dig match of the season with 32 on the night.
In the opening set, UNI controlled the action from the opening serve, jumping out to a 4-1 lead. Baylor closed to within 4-3 with a kill by Graham and a combo block from Graham and Adom. A King kill pulled BU within 9-7, but UNI put up a 5-0 run to lead 15-8 with a steady attack from its offense. A 4-0 run to push the score to 19-11 dispatched Baylor’s hope of getting back in the set. The Panthers racked up 20 kills in the first frame, with just four errors.
In the second set, UNI took a 4-3 lead on a Baylor attack error, but from that point Baylor was able to run away from the Panthers. The Bears put together a 13-4 run on the strength of two kills apiece by Byrd and Christenson. Northern Iowa made a late run in the set, recording an 8-1 run to pull with 21-18, but Campbell notched a kill and hooked up with Byrd on a block assist. Baylor doubled its kill total of eight in the first set with 16 in the second set to even the match with a 25-20 set win.
The third set was defined runs, with both teams not holding anything back. UNI jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but Baylor answered after a timeout with a 4-0 run of their own to get the score back to 7-5. During the run, Graham and Byrd sandwiched kills around two UNI errors. The Panthers then pushed the lead as big as 16-11, but Baylor didn’t back down, putting together a run 8-2 to take the lead. UNI grabbed the lead back and held Baylor off down the stretch to take the set 25-22.
In the fourth set, the Bears made some adjustments and battled through in a set that featured 13 ties and nine lead changes. Baylor scored four out of five points with kills by Christenson, Graham, and Campbell to take a 22-17 lead. UNI made it interesting at 22-20, but Campbell got a kill and King recorded a service ace to finish off the set 25-23.
In the fifth and deciding set, Northern Iowa controlled play from the beginning. A 5-0 UNI run to push the score to 11-5 doomed the Bears late in the match. Two late attack errors and two UNI kills finished off the match with a 15-6 final set.
Baylor will be back on the court at home, hosting TCU on Tuesday, Sept. 7 in non-conference action. The first serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. Last season, Baylor was able to take a five-set victory over the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth, Texas.
