By Cody Soto
Sports Writer
Baylor volleyball dropped its second consecutive Big 12 loss with a 3-0 decision to No. 25 Oklahoma Saturday night at the Ferrell Center.
The Bears (13-13, 3-8) hit .189 in the match but could not put away sets one and three to fall in straight sets 26-24, 25-14, 26-24. Baylor was crippled by 20 attack errors and 10 serve-receive errors to drop its eighth Big 12 match this season.
“Our players did not play well. We had three freshmen on the court, and all three really struggled,” head coach Jim Barnes said. “We put ourselves in a position to win set one and three, and in that moment we didn’t execute.”
Junior outside hitter Andie Malloy had 15 kills and 10 digs for her 15th double-double of the season to lead the team. Junior middle hitter Adrien Richburg added nine kills from the front row, and senior outside hitter Tori Cox had a season-high eight kills on an impressive .500 hitting effort.
Freshman libero Jana Brusek posted 15 digs in the back row while junior setter Amy Rosenbaum added 11 digs with 36 assists in the three-set loss. Sophomore middle hitter Sam Hill had three blocks for Baylor and contributed six kills against the Sooners.
Oklahoma (17-8, 8-3) used a .248 hitting percentage and 10 service aces to take the win in Waco. Outside hitter Kierra Holst posted 15 kills to lead the Sooners past the Bears front line. Baylor only recorded four blocks during the loss after only having two in their previous three-set loss to Kansas last Wednesday.
No team led by more than three points in the opening set, and the Sooners broke the 24-24 tie with two consecutive kills to take the win 26-24.
Baylor and Oklahoma were tied at 9-9 in the second set before the Bears gave up a 9-1 run quickly after that to allow the Sooners a lot of room for the rest of the set. Baylor headed into the locker room down two sets to none after losing the second set 25-14.
The third set was similar to the first set, and the Bears and Sooners were tied 24-24. Just like the first set, the Sooners used a kill and a game-ending service ace to take the third set 26-24 and the match three sets to none.
Baylor looks to snap its two-game losing streak as it hosts TCU on Wednesday at the Ferrell Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
