Wildcats Split Season-Opening Tournament at Home

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – Baker volleyball took down Oklahoma Panhandle State in its first match of the season before going on to push (RV) Kansas Wesleyan to five sets to split their first matches of the year in an exciting 2023 debut for the Wildcats on Saturday.

The Wildcats defeated the Aggies, 3-1 with a couple of commanding victories in the first and fourth sets, winning the opening frame by a 15-point margin before closing out the match with a 25-13 win. Adelyn Bybee and Meredith Brown led BU with a combined 24 kills with both players hitting over .420 in the match. Junior Emma Grossoehme tallied 28 assists and added three aces to a Wildcats squad that finished with 11 total aces.

In the first set, Baker jumped out to a 6-2 lead before stretching its early advantage all the way out to a 15-point margin to take the opening frame. The Wildcats made the most of OPSU's 10 errors in the set while recording just one error on their side.

After the Wildcats cruised through the first set, the momentum quickly flipped to the Aggies side in the second as OPSU bounced back with a 6-0 run to start things off and then built their lead out to 16-8 midway through the set. The Wildcats looked to chip away at their deficit by responding with four consecutive points, but the early hole was too much to overcome for BU though as the Aggies claimed the second set, 25-18 to draw the match even.

Nellie LaFountain got the Wildcats going in the third set with four of her eight kills in the match coming in the set to highlight a Baker attack that spread the wealth around. Five different players registered a kill in the third with Bybee taking care of the last two points to cap the set at 25-17.

In the fourth set, Baker found itself in a similar situation as the second with the Aggies taking an early lead, but the Wildcats found their footing later in the set and rattled off an electric 17-2 run to claim the match. Brown, Bybee and LaFountain led the surge for BU with the trio notching 10 kills during the decisive run to give Baker the season-opening win.

Baker looked to carry over its success from the first match into the nightcap against the Coyotes as the hosts came out with a strong showing to take the opening set, 25-20.

Early in the second set, the Wildcats were in the driver's seat again, building their lead to 13-7 before KWU responded by scoring nine consecutive points. Kierra Hipple connected on an attack to draw BU within two, but that's as close as they'd get with the Coyotes pulling out a 25-21 win.

After the Coyotes came out on top in the third set, 25-19, they seemed to be on their way to clinch the match in the fourth. Trailing 18-12, the Wildcats mounted an exciting rally and went on a 13-4 run to force the decisive fifth set. Baker used four aces – including back-to-back aces from Kierstyn Harmon – to work their way back and eventually win the set, 25-22.

In the fifth, the two teams traded points in the early going before KWU was able to create a three-point cushion and trigger a BU timeout. The Coyotes attack continued from there though as Baker's gutsy performance came up short with Kansas Wesleyan earning the five-set victory.

Overall for the day, Brown came out with a team-high 22 kills while Bybee was right behind her with 21 kills in her BU debut. Grossoehme (48) and Harmon (37) accounted for 85 of the Wildcats' 91 assists on opening day.

The Wildcats continue the season with another in-state matchup against Tabor set for Tuesday, Aug. 22 at 6:30 p.m. inside Collins Gym in Baldwin City, Kan.

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