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BAYLOR
vs.
SOUTHWEST
TEXAS STATE
7 p.m.
Oct. 22, 2001
Ferrell Center
Waco, Texas
Baylor will return to action Monday, hosting Southwest Texas State at 7 p.m. This will be the second of five matches over a nine-day period for the Bears, who enter the match with a 12-6 overall record and a 4-6 mark in the Big 12 Conference. Originally scheduled for Oct. 2, this will also be the final non-conference match of the 2001 regular season for Baylor. The Bears are coming off a thrilling 34-32, 28-30, 35-33, 28-30, 15-10 victory Saturday at Kansas. Baylor, currently receiving votes in the Volleyball Magazine Top 20 and ranked 24th in the Ballicora computer rankings, has played three consecutive five-game matches. Southwest Texas State comes to Waco with an 8-14 record, 5-8 in the Southland Conference. The Bobcats are coming off a 30-17, 30-18, 30-19 loss at home Saturday to Lamar. This will be the third match in four days for the Bobcats, who defeated McNeese State at home Friday in five games. Live stats for the match will be available at www.GoBaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor Athletics.
Head coach Brian Hosfeld
Baylor is in its sixth season under the direction of head coach Brian Hosfeld. During his tenure, the Bears have compiled a 102-83 (.551) overall record and a 44-66 (.400) mark in the rugged Big 12 Conference. In 1999, Hosfeld led the Bears to the greatest season in the program's 24-year history. Baylor posted a 26-9 record and finished fifth in the conference at 13-7. The 1999 Bears matched the school record for wins in a season and shattered the standard for conference wins. The season culminated with the Green and Gold making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. There, Baylor knocked off Temple in the first round before falling to eventual national champion Penn State. Hosfeld holds the highest winning percentage in school history. He is tied for first all-time at Baylor in total wins and has amassed the most conference wins of any coach in school history.
Hosfeld claims Baylor wins record
With the Bears' five-game victory Saturday at Kansas, head coach Brian Hosfeld claimed his 102nd-career victory as Baylor's head coach, breaking the Baylor record for career coaching victories. The mark was previously held by Tom Sonnichsen (1989-1995). Hosfeld reached 101 wins in his 182nd match, Sonnichsen took 247 matches to amass his win total. Hosfeld currently holds the highest career winning percentage of any coach in school history at .551 (102-83).
Hosfeld vs. Southwest Texas State
Head coach Brian Hosfeld has a career record of 0-1 against Southwest Texas State. Baylor's only meeting with the Bobcats during Hosfeld's six-year tenure was a five-game loss in Dallas, Texas, during his first season as the Bears' head coach.
The Southwest Texas State series
This will be the 26th meeting between Baylor and Southwest Texas State with the Bobcats holding a commanding 20-4-1 advantage in the all-time series. However, the teams have met just nine times since 1990, during which time the series is tied 4-4. This will be the first meeting since a five-game SWT victory at the 1996 Holiday Inn Dallas Central Invitational. The teams first met Oct. 29, 1978 in Nacagdoches, Texas, the Bobcats won that match in three games under the best-of-three format. Southwest Texas went on to win 16 of the first 17 meetings in the series, the only blemish being a 15-5, 10-5 tie during the 1980 season. Baylor finally broke through with a 13-15, 16-14, 15-12, 11-15, 15-12 victory at SWT in 1990. The Bobcats are 6-2 all-time against Baylor in Waco, but the Bears have won each of the last two such meetings.
Last time against Southwest Texas State
In a grueling two-hour, 30-minute match, Baylor fell at Southwest Texas State 16-14, 5-15, 15-12, 13-15, 15-9 Sept. 13, 1996. The Bears edged SWT in virtually every statistical category, including kills (78-76), assists (71-63), digs (83-69) and blocks (12-11). However, an attacking percentage of negative .148 (4-8-27) in the fifth game proved fatal for Baylor. Then-freshman Elisha Polk led the Bears with 28 kills and hit .389 on the match.
History indicates SWT match will not go to five games
If history is any indication as to whether Baylor's match against Southwest Texas State will go five games, then the safe bet is that it will not. Baylor, now in its 24th year of varsity intercollegiate volleyball, has never played four consecutive five-game matches. The Bears have gone the distance in each of their last three games - a loss at Kansas State, a loss at home to Texas Tech and a win at Kansas. That is just the fifth time in the history of the program that Baylor has played three straight five-game matches with four of those five occasions coming in each of the past four seasons. The first instance of three consecutive five-gamers was all the way back in 1979, the program's second year. None of the five instances have been all wins or all losses. Baylor went 2-1 in 1979 and in 1998, while going 1-2 in 1999, 2000 and this year. Baylor is 14-14 in five-game matches during head coach Brian Hosfeld's six-year tenure.
Kennedy to see another familiar face
Freshman DS Kara Kennedy will face a former high school teammate for the second time in three matches Monday when Baylor hosts Southwest Texas State. Bobcat junior OH Tiffany Weidner is a fellow graduate of Canyon High School in New Braunfels, Texas.
Weekend warriors
Baylor is 10-3 this season in matches played during the weekend, 4-0 on Fridays and 6-3 on Saturdays. On the other hand, the Bears are just 2-3 in midweek games, going 1-0 on Tuesdays and 1-3 on Wednesdays. Baylor's match against Southwest Texas State will be its first and only Monday match of the season.
Stevie Nicholas etches name in Baylor records book yet again
Sophomore OH Stevie Nicholas tied Elisha Polk's school record for kills in a match Saturday when she pounded 36 in Baylor's five-game win at Kansas. She now has five matches with at least 30 kills in her career, one shy of Polk's school and Big 12 mark. Along with the fact that Stevie Nicholas posted her 36 kills under the new rally scoring format, what made the performance most amazing was that she hit .405 for the match. Entering the fourth game, she had already amassed 25 kills with only one error in 53 swings (.453). The percentages finally caught up with the Fullerton, Calif., native in the fourth game as she hit just .118 (5-3-17). However, an eye-popping 9-0-13 (.692) performance in the fifth game not only allowed Stevie Nicholas to tie Polk's record, it also led Baylor to victory.
Nicholas sisters both climb one rung on Baylor career kills ladder
Senior MB Sunny Nicholas moved up one spot to seventh place on Baylor's all-time career kills chart Saturday with her 10 kills at Kansas. Meanwhile, her younger sister sophomore OH Stevie Nicholas jumped from 10th to ninth thanks to her historic 36-kill performance. Sunny Nicholas now has 984 career kills, moving her past Nicole DeNault (1994-1997), who amassed 977 during her time at Baylor. Stevie Nicholas now has 948 kills, sliding past Jana Ranly, who tallied 931 kills from 1985 to 1988. The Nicholas sisters are poised to become the sixth and seventh members of Baylor's 1,000-kill club within the coming weeks. Senior RS Tatiana Kenon is not far behind, she is currently 11th all-time at Baylor with 903 career kills.
Baylor returns to .250 norm
The universe returned to its normal balance Saturday with Baylor's victory at Kansas. After losing while hitting .250 or better for jus the third time since the beginning of the 1999 season last Wednesday against Texas Tech, the Bears claimed victory over Kansas with an attacking percentage of .252. Baylor is now 41-3 in such matches over the past three seasons, the loss to Texas Tech snapped a 14-match winning streak in such matches. The only other losses during that stretch were a 3-2 loss at home against Texas last season (.257) and a 3-2 loss at Missouri in 1999 (.302). On the flip side, the Bears are just 3-5 this season and 13-37 since 1999 when attacking at a lower rate.
Bears rank high in NCAA statistical rankings
Baylor ranks in the top 30 nationally in three of the six statistical categories charted by the NCAA Statistics Bureau, according to the latest rankings released Oct. 15. The Bears are sixth in kills per game, eighth in assists per game and 23rd in service aces per game. Individually, two Bears are ranked nationally. Sophomore OH Stevie Nicholas is 12th in kills per game, while senior S Dana Chuha is 14th in assists per game.
Baylor in Big 12 rankings
The Bears lead the Big 12 Conference in four statistical categories and rank in the top five of four others in the latest rankings released Oct. 15. Baylor's 2.43 service aces is atop the conference leaderboard, well ahead of second-place Texas A&M (1.96). Baylor is also tops in the conference in fewest kills allowed (12.63) and fewest assists allowed (11.37). Meanwhile, the Bears rank fifth in team attacking percentage (.244), second in kills per game (17.28), fourth in assists per game (15.56) and fourth in fewest digs allowed (14.54). In conference matches, the Bears rank first in service aces per game (2.18).
Five of six starters listed among conference statistical leaders
Baylor has the distinction of having five of six starters listed among the leaders in at least one of the six statistical categories the conference charts, according to the latest rankings released Oct. 15. Sophomore OH Stevie Nicholas leads the conference in kills per game (5.06), well ahead of Liz Wegner of Kansas State (4.69). Sophomore OH Laura Daniela Lloreda leads the Big 12 in service aces per game at 0.59, Stevie Nicholas ranks third (0.57) and senior RS Tatiana Kenon is fifth (0.46). Senior S Dana Chuha is second in the Big 12 with 13.10 assists per game, and Senior MB Sunny Nicholas is fifth in attacking percentage at .359. In conference matches, Stevie Nicholas ranks second in kills per game (4.64). She is tied with Kenon for fifth in service aces per game (0.50), while Lloreda is second in the conference, averaging 0.57 per game. Chuha ranks ninth in such matches with 11.32 assists per game.
Losses nothing to hang head over
Five of Baylor's six losses this season have come to teams that have been ranked nationally at one point or another this season, the sixth loss was to Texas Tech, which has been receiving votes for both polls all season. Three of those opponents were ranked nationally at the time of the match. The first loss was to Texas, which was ranked 25th nationally in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Poll that week. The second loss was to Colorado, unranked at the time, the Buffaloes have won five of six matches since defeating Baylor and are now ranked 23rd nationally in the coaches poll. The third loss was to Texas A&M, which has been ranked nationally in both the coaches poll and in the Volleyball Magazine Top 20 all season, the Aggies are currently 17th in the coaches poll and 15th according to Volleyball Magazine. The fourth loss was to Nebraska, currently ranked second in both polls. At the time of the match, the Huskers were No. 1 in the coaches poll and No. 2 in VM. The last of the five losses was at Kansas State, which has been ranked in both polls for the majority of the season and was among those receiving votes in both polls at the time of the match. Those five teams have a combined record of 77-29 on the 2001 season and 36-11 in non-conference matches.
Bears looking strong at the service line
After averaging an all-time program-low 1.25 service aces per game a year ago, the Bears have been dominant at the line in 2001. Through 18 matches, Baylor is averaging a Big 12-best 2.30 per contest. OH Stevie Nicholas and DS Kimmy Scott led the Bears last season with 20 each. Thus far this season, Stevie Nicholas has 40, OH Laura Daniela Lloreda has 33 each, and RS Tatiana Kenon has 26. In all, seven Bears have tallied at least 10 service aces this season. As a team, Baylor has amassed 138.
Big 12 Conference showing its strength
Easily one of the top volleyball conferences in the nation, the Big 12 is proving itself this season. Along with having three teams (Nebraska, Texas A&M and Colorado) currently ranked in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Poll, eight of the conference's 11 teams are playing .600-or-better ball, and nine teams are above .500. In all, seven Big 12 teams have been ranked at some point this season (add in Baylor, Kansas State, Missouri and Texas), while two others (Kansas and Texas Tech) have been listed among those also receiving votes at some point this season. Last year, the conference sent six teams (Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Colorado) to the NCAA Tournament with conference champion Nebraska winning the national championship. Since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996, 10 of the 11 schools have made at least one appearance in the NCAA Touranment.
Baylor reschedules four matches
Baylor has rescheduled four matches for the 2001 season, the changes include the rescheduling of the two matches postponed due to the national tragedy Sept. 11. The Sept. 12 match at Iowa State has been rescheduled for Friday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m., the night before the Bears' match at Missouri. Baylor's Sept. 15 contest against Kansas has been moved to Sunday, Oct. 28 at 5 p.m., the day following the Bears' match at home against Texas. Two other matches have been affected. Baylor was originally scheduled to host Southwest Texas State at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2. That match has been moved to Monday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. to accommodate the Bobcats' rescheduling efforts. Also, the Bears' final match of the regular season, Nov. 24 at home against Missouri, has been moved from a 7 p.m. start to 7:30 p.m. That match will be the final event in a triple-header of Baylor athletic events, including football and men's basketball.
Bears match best start in program's history
With its four-game victory over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Baylor moved to 8-0 on the season and matched the best start in the 24-year history of the BU volleyball program. The Bears started the 1999 season 8-0 before dropping a five-game decision at Southern Methodist. That team finished 26-9, tying the school record for best winning percentage and tying the school mark for most victories in a season. This marks the fifth time in school history the Bears have started the season with at least five wins, three of those have come in the past three seasons. Baylor opened the 1993 season 7-0, the Bears finished 26-15 that season and advanced to the championship match of the NIVC Tournament.
Bears claim fifth Baylor Classic title
Baylor's four-game triumph over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo gave the Bears the team title at the Baylor Classic, marking the fifth time in 11 Classics that BU has claimed first place. The Bears also won their own event in 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1999. Baylor is now 30-10 (.750) all-time in the Baylor Classic after winning 13 of its last 14 such contests dating back to the 1996 tournament. The lone loss in that time was at the hands of then-No. 11 UCLA in the championship match of the 2000 Baylor Classic.
Stevie Nicholas again leads all-tournament squad
Sophomore OH Stevie Nicholas claimed her third-career tournament MVP award at the Baylor Classic, earning such honors for the second time this season. She was so honored in her first weekend of collegiate volleyball last season at the Crowne Plaza Invitational hosted by Rice and again in this season's opening weekend at the NOKIA Sugar Bowl Classic hosted by Tulane. Joining Stevie Nicholas on the all-tournament squad at the Baylor Classic were fellow Bears S Dana Chuha and MB Sunny Nicholas. Cal Poly SLO was represented on the team by S Carly O'Halloran and MB Worthy Lien, other all-tournament selections were North Texas S Kristin Sheppard, and Rhode Island MB Yolanda Bogacz.
Baylor dominates NOKIA field
With wins over Nevada-Las Vegas, Louisiana State and host Tulane, Baylor claimed the team title at the NOKIA Sugar Bowl Classic last weekend as the only undefeated team. It marked the 14th regular-season tournament title in the program's history, the eighth during head coach Brian Hosfeld's tenure. The Bears enjoyed two impressive attacking games during the weekend. In game two against LSU, Baylor went 20-2-36 (.500). The Bears came out on fire against Tulane, going 19-1-32 (.562) in the first game. The lone error was a back-row attack call on an attempted set by S Dana Chuha. In that game, OH Stevie Nicholas was 10-0-13 (.769).
Four Bears selected NOKIA all-tournament, Stevie Nicholas named MVP
Just as the NOKIA Sugar Bowl Classic was dominated Baylor, the all-tournament team was also dominated by the Bears. Of the seven athletes chosen to the team, four donned the Green and Gold. OH Stevie Nicholas led the way as a unanimous MVP selection. She tallied 57 kill sin the three matches, averaging 5.40 per game and hitting at a .319 clip. Stevie Nicholas also averaged 3.40 digs and 0.80 service aced per game. Joining her on the all-tournament team were S Dana Chuha, RS Tatiana Kenon and MB Tisha Schwartz. It was the third all-tournament selection of Kenon's career, while Chuha and Schwartz were so honored for the first time in their careers.
Smith out for season with ACL tear
Less than two weeks before the beginning of the 2001 season, Baylor volleyball learned Wednesday that junior OH Lisa Smith will be forced to miss the entire season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee. Smith is in her first season with the Baylor program after transferring to the school from Blinn County College in January. A second-team junior college all-America selection last season at Blinn, Smith sustained the injury Aug. 16 during the Bears' final practice of their two-week training session in Japan. It is expected that she will receive a medical redshirt for the 2001 season.
Baylor conducts two-a-days in Japan
Baylor got a taste of international volleyball during the preseason two-a-days session, spending Aug. 6-17 in Japan. The Bears held daily practices and scrimmaged against various teams during their two-week stay in the Land of the Rising Sun. During the first week, Baylor was stationed at Tohoku Fukushi University in Sendai, Japan. There, the Bears competed against the host team, which has won four national collegiate titles and has reached the national tournament in each of the past 23 seasons. Baylor also held scrimmages against Shokei Women's Junior College, the top-ranked junior college team in Japan, and various area high school teams. The Bears spent the second week in Tendo/Yamagata, Japan, training with and competing against the Pioneer Red Wings. Coached by legendary international coach Arie Selinger, the Red Wings are Japan's top professional team. Selinger also coached the U.S. women's national team from 1978 to 1984, under Selinger's leadership, Team USA won gold medals at the 1980 World Championships and at the Games of the 23rd Olympiad in Los Angeles, Calif.
Big 12 coaches tab Baylor to finish seventh
Perhaps following status quo from the 2000 season, the 11 head coaches in the Big 12 Conference picked Baylor to finish seventh in their annual preseason poll. The Bears tied Texas for seventh last year, both with 8-12 records in conference play, UT was picked to finish eighth this season. Nebraska was an overwhelming selection to win its fourth consecutive Big 12 title and fifth in the league's six-year history. Texas A&M was picked to finish second, and Colorado was slotted for third. Kansas State and Missouri tied for fourth, followed by Texas Tech. Kansas, Oklahoma and Iowa State rounded out the coaches' preseason rankings.
Stevie Nicholas, Lloreda earn preseason Big 12 honors
Stevie Nicholas, the 2000 Big 12 and AVCA South Central Region freshman of the year, joined seven other athletes on the preseason all-conference team. Meanwhile, Laura Daniela Lloreda was chosen preseason newcomer of the year. Nicholas, a first-team all-Big 12 pick last season, joins Greichaly Cepero (S, Nebraska), Nancy Metcalf (OH, Nebraska), Laura Pilakowski (OH/MB, Nebraska), Jenna Moscovic (S, Texas A&M) and Elizabeth Gower (S, Colorado) on the team. Lloreda joins Baylor this season from Universidad de las Americas in Mexico, she also played for the Mexican National Team last year. Cepero was chosen preseason player of the year, while fellow Cornhusker Allyne Rebholz was tabbed preseason freshman of the year.
Baylor on the web
Baylor volleyball information can be accessed 24 hours a day at the school's athletic website www.GoBaylorBears.com. Fans and media alike can find the latest news and notes on the site along with match recaps, box scores, player features, player and coach bios and various other informational resources. Live stats will also be available for all Baylor volleyball matches, beginning with the first home conference match.
