By Cody Soto
Sports Writer
The roller coaster ride of the 2014 Baylor volleyball season has finally come to a halt. The Bears (14-17, 4-12 Big 12) ended their regular season without a NCAA tournament berth for the third straight year.
Baylor took a 3-0 loss to tournament-bound Iowa State on Saturday afternoon in Ames, Iowa, to finish the season on a four-game losing streak. Junior outside hitter Andie Malloy was named an All-Big 12 first team selection after she led the team with 447 kills over 31 games and averaged 3.89 per set.
The Allen, Texas, native ranked second in the conference in kills per set and double-doubles for the regular season. Malloy was also ranked eighth in digs per set, racking up 3.03 digs per frame.
The Bears saw its ups and downs throughout the season, including losing several key players along the stretch. Junior outside hitter Laura Jones and sophomore middle hitter Sam Hill sat the bench after suffering ACL injuries during Big 12 play, and freshman libero Jana Brusek had concussion symptoms at the end of the season.
For the 2014 season, Baylor surged to an impressive 9-2 non-conference record and won the Colonials Challenge in Washington D.C., along the way. The Bears were winless in the UTSA Roadrunner Classic, and that losing streak carried on into Big 12 play. The Bears’ conference wins include five-set wins over Kansas State and Iowa State, and Baylor took four-set wins over TCU and Texas Tech.
The Bears lose seniors Jordan Teel, Tori Cox, Hope Ogden and Nicole Bardaji to graduation, but they will return a majority of their lineup to make a run at a 2015 NCAA tournament campaign.
