By Cody Soto
Sports Writer
Baylor volleyball (9-5) dropped its final non-conference matchup before Big 12 play next week as host UTSA (4-7) routed the Bears 3-1 (22-25, 18-25, 25-18, 9-25) in the final game of the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunner Classic. This was the first time UTSA defeated Baylor since Sept. 17, 1990.
Junior outside hitter Andie Malloy led the team with 13 kills and freshman Katie Staiger added 10 kills for the Bears. Junior hitters Laura Jones and Adrien Richburg contributed seven kills on the night and sophomore middle hitter Sam Hill had a .400 attack effort for nine kills in the 4-set loss.
Junior setter Amy Rosenbaum led Baylor with 42 assists in Saturday’s match. Senior libero Hope Ogden had 17 digs from the back row and was the only player with double-digit digs in the match.
The Bears only hit .198 in the match opposed to UTSA’s .267 hitting effort. Baylor also struggled defensively at the net and had no team blocks for the first time this season. 10 service errors also crippled the Bears’ chance of making a comeback.
Baylor struggled for a majority of the night, dropping the first two sets 25-22 and 25-18, before surging back in the third set and led 24-15 before being held to three set points. The Bears took their only set win 25-18 over the Roadrunners.
Baylor then fell behind very quickly in the fourth set and was forced to call a timeout after UTSA took a 12-1 lead early in the set. The Bears couldn’t recover from the deficit and dropped the fourth set 25-9, the lowest number of points scored in a set this season.
The Bears also dropped its second consecutive match against Louisiana State University with a 5-set loss Saturday afternoon (25-15, 22-25, 25-22, 23-25, 11-15). The Tigers (5-4) had defeated Baylor 3-1 the day before in the first match of the UTSA Classic.
The Bears hit .205 over LSU’s .172 and even totaled 67 kills in the match, but it was the Tigers’ four blocks against Baylor that help in pivotal moments.
Malloy had 18 kills in the match, followed by Staiger with 14 kills and Hill with 11 kills. Richburg’s .350 attack percentage led the team in the 5-set loss.
Rosenbaum totaled 51 assists in the match. In the back row, five players posted double-digit digs. Ogden posted 16 digs, followed by freshman libero Jana Brusek with 13, Rosenbaum and freshman libero Ashley Myer with 12, and Malloy with 10 for the Bears.
Both teams kept the game tight, and Baylor was able to edge the Tigers 25-15 in the opening set. LSU then took the second set 25-22 to even up the match at 1-1. The Bears took an important third set 25-22 to force LSU to play from behind.
LSU scored three straight points after being down 23-22 in the fourth set to win 25-23 and force a fifth and deciding set. Baylor was unable to gain momentum and dropped the set 15-11.
Baylor volleyball looks to bounce back from its three-game losing streak and will travel to Manhattan, Kan. and face Kansas State in its first Big 12 conference match of the season on Saturday, Sept. 27. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
