Wildcats Fall to Stephens, 3-1 in Non-Conference Matchup

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – Playing its final home non-conference match of the season, the Baker volleyball team fell to Stephens College by a score of 3-1 on Thursday night in Baldwin City.

In a match that featured two of the sets going into extra points, the Wildcats won the opening frame, 26-24 before the Stars went on to claim three straight on scores of 25-23, 28-26 and 25-16. Kierra Hipple led the BU attack with 10 kills in the match, while facing a tough Stephens front that tallied 25 blocks.

Baker got off to a solid start in the first set and used a nice 8-1 run to create some cushion with a kill from Hipple making it a 14-8 lead for BU. The Stars would come right back with a scoring stretch of their own to draw the match even again as the two teams traded points for the remainder of the set. Down by two, the Wildcats won four straight points to bring the score to 22-20 before the Stars forced extra points. An Olivia Deichmann kill gave Baker the opening-set victory to go up 1-0 in the match.

The second set seemed to be going the way of the Wildcats as well with the hosts holding a 17-12 advantage midway through. Kylie Murray had three kills during that stretch to bolster Baker's favor. Stephens climbed back to make it a one-score game and, while trailing 23-21, went on a devastating run to win the last four points and steal the second set, 25-23.

Yet again, it was the Wildcats playing well early in the set as they worked a 10-5 lead in the third. The Stars rallied and found themselves reclaiming the lead at 15-13 before Baker countered to make it a two-point advantage in its favor after a kill by Hipple made it 18-16. The match headed to extra points with Stephens scoring the set-winner on an attack by its freshman outside hitter Makenna Bollinger.

In the fourth set, the Baker offense started to lose steam as it was the Stars who jumped out to take a quick 8-3 lead before going on to stretch that out to as much as 10 points in the frame. The Wildcats fought back to bring themselves within five and force a Stephens timeout, but the Stars would seal the match with four straight points to cap their 3-1 win.

Reese Kehl recorded 31 digs and added a couple of aces for a nice outing from the freshman libero. Emma Grossoehme and Kierstyn Harmon had a combined 31 assists in the match.

Up next, the Wildcats get back into conference play with a home match against Culver-Stockton set for Saturday, Sept. 16 at 2 p.m. inside the Collins Center.

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