By Krista Pirtle
Sports Writer
Baylor volleyball went 2-1 on the weekend at the MCM Elegante’ Invitational in Beaumont.
Freshman Adri Nora and junior middle blocker Torri Campbell each earned all-tournament team honors.
Their first match was against UTEP, a five-set battle where the Lady Bears came out on top 3-2 (25-27, 25-19, 19-25, 25-22, 15-12,) giving the Miners their first loss of the season.
Baylor lost the first and third sets, made a comeback from seven points down in the fourth and three down in the fifth to grip the win.
“We had to make a bunch of adjustments because UTEP played a great game and came in with some things we weren’t ready for,” head coach Jim Barnes said. “Our bench did a great job today of supporting the team and being ready to come in when they were needed. It was a great team effort. The girls really fought hard and found a way to win.”
Baylor racked up 60 kills, led by freshman utility Adri Nora with 14, and 85 digs, led by senior libero Allison King with 26.
The Lady Bears’ seven-match winning streak was broken by Mississippi State as Baylor fell 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 19-25, 20-25.)
Baylor could not seem to get the offense rolling as the team hit .284 with 56 kills, as opposed to Mississippi State’s .308 with 65 kills.
Senior middle blocker Briana Tolbert led the way offensively with 14 kills, and King grounded the defense with 19 digs.
The final match of the night, Baylor bounced back to sweep tournament host Lamar 3-0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-23.)
Campbell led Baylor with 13 kills and zero errors to hit .591 as junior right side hitter Alyssa Dibbern and Tolbert added nine and eight respectively. Dibbern was also a force on defense as she recorded five blocks with three solo blocks and two assisted.
“We were disappointed in that loss this morning to Mississippi State, but it was good to rebound tonight and play well,” Barnes said. “With Adri, it was good to see a freshman produce like that and play consistent through all three matches was promising. She could be a special player for us. Dibbern had a great match for us tonight, she had an all-tournament-type weekend as well.”
Baylor will be back in action with four matches in the coming week. The Bears will travel to Fort Worth to take on TCU at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday before heading to Las Vegas for the UNLV Classic.
In the tournament, Baylor will play San Francisco at 7 p.m. Friday.
Saturday, Baylor will play two teams. First the Bears take on Fresno State at 11:30 a.m., and then they face tournament host UNLV at 9:30 p.m.
