WACO, Texas -- Texas banked its third consecutive Big 12 Conference win Wednesday evening with a 3-1 (25-17, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19) victory at Baylor. Junior Haley Eckerman recorded her third double-double with a match-high 15 kills to accompany 12 digs. Senior Bailey Webster added 11 kills in the win, while sophomore Molly McCage and freshman Chiaka Ogbogu each set season highs with 10 kills apiece.
Texas (9-2, 3-0 Big 12) broke an early 2-all tie with an 8-2 run to force Baylor (8-10, 0-2 Big 12) to call its first timeout. The Lady Bears clawed back to a five-point deficit where they remained until the Longhorns used a 3-0 run and went ahead, 19-11. The two teams traded points until UT closed the set on a kill from freshman setter Chloe Collins. Webster and McCage paced the Longhorns offensively with four kills each in the first set, and the Longhorns outhit the Lady Bears .400 (15-3-30) to .094 (9-6-32).
Baylor took early command of Game 2 and forced Texas to come from behind for the win. Down 13-15, the Longhorns rattled off seven consecutive points that included four aces by Eckerman. Down 20-15, Baylor answered back with a 3-0 rally that forced Texas to call timeout when its lead dwindled to two points. Out of the timeout, the Lady Bears tacked on an additional point before the Longhorns clinched the 25-21 win in a game that saw five ties and four lead changes.
Game 3 resembled the previous as Baylor rattled off seven consecutive points for a 7-3 lead and forced Texas to again attempt to come from behind. A 5-0 run put the Longhorns back in the driver's seat at 13-12, and from that point on, the game was tied six times until the Lady Bears took advantage of back-to-back hitting errors by Eckerman for set point. Baylor's Adrien Richburg answered a Texas timeout with a kill to put the Lady Bears on the board.
Texas shook off its first lost game in Big 12 Conference action this season with a 7-1 run midway through the fourth set for a 14-9 lead and never relented en route to its fifth consecutive win since Sept. 14 at Illinois.
