By Ben Everett | Sports Editor
No. 19 Baylor volleyball defeated Iowa State 3-2 Saturday in Ames, Iowa.
The Bears (9-4, 1-1) were led by sophomore outside hitter Yossiana Pressley, who notched a career-high 39 kills.
Iowa State jumped out with a 15-9 lead in the first set, holding Baylor to .095 hitting efficiency before the first media timeout. The Cyclones held serve the rest of the first set, finishing on a 10-6 run to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Bears were held to a collective .056 hitting percentage while Pressley hit -.067 in the first set. Iowa State sophomore outside hitter Candelaria Herrera led the way for the Cyclones in the opening set with five kills on eight attempts.
Iowa State took a 6-1 lead early in the second set, but the Bears responded with a 14-5 run to prompt the Cyclones to call a timeout. Baylor held the lead through the rest of the second set, securing the win on back-to-back errors from the Cyclones to win 25-19. Pressley recovered from a tough first set to notch 11 kills in the second set.
Baylor led from start to finish in the third set with junior setter Hannah Fluegel sealing the win for the Bears with an ace. Pressley led the way in the third set with 11 more kills to lead Baylor to a 25-14 set victory.
The Bears and Cyclones battled back and forth to open the fourth set with Baylor finally breaking the tie to take a 15-12 lead into the media timeout. Iowa State finished on a 13-7 run to take the fourth set 25-22 and tie the match at 2-2.
The Bears jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the final set and never looked back, winning 15-8 after Pressley’s 39th kill and an Iowa State error sealed the win.
Baylor is back in action against Texas at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Austin.
