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BAYLOR
vs.
KANSAS STATE

7 p.m.
Nov. 14, 2001
Ferrell Center
Waco, Texas

After a six-day layoff, Baylor will return to action Wednesday, hosting No. 22 Kansas State for a 7 p.m. match at the Ferrell Center. The Bears enter the match with a 17-8 overall record and an 8-8 mark in Big 12 Conference play. Baylor, currently sixth in the conference standings, is coming off a 30-21, 30-17, 30-25 victory at Oklahoma last Wednesday. The Bears are currently among those receiving votes in the Volleyball Magazine Top 20. Kansas State, ranked 22nd nationally in the AVCA/USA Today Coaches Poll and among those receiving votes for the Volleyball Magazine Top 20, enters the match with a 16-7 record on the season. The Wildcats are currently third in the Big 12 standings with a 12-5 conference record. Kansas State has won four consecutive matches, including a 27-30, 30-25, 30-26, 30-18 victory Saturday at then-No. 21 Colorado. The Wildcats won the first meeting this season, a five-game affair in Manhattan last month. Live stats for Wednesday's 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 107-85 (.557) overall record and a 48-68 (.414) 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 has amassed the most wins, both overall and in conference play, of any coach in school history.

Hosfeld Baylor's winningest coach
With the Bears' five-game victory Oct. 20 at Kansas, head coach Brian Hosfeld claimed his 102nd-career victory at Baylor, breaking the Baylor record for career coaching victories. The mark was previously held by Tom Sonnichsen (1989-1995). Hosfeld reached 101 wins in 182 matches, Sonnichsen took 247 matches to amass his win total. Hosfeld currently holds the highest career winning percentage of any coach in school history at .557 (107-85).

Hosfeld against Kansas State
Head coach Brian Hosfeld has a career record of 3-8 against Kansas State, winning three of the last five meetings. Hosfeld-coached teams are 2-3 against the Wildcats in Waco and 1-4 in Manhattan.

The Kansas State series
This will be the 13th meeting between Baylor and Kansas State with the Wildcats holding an 8-4 lead in the series. The Bears took the first meeting in three games during the 1993 season in Manhattan. The two teams did not face each other again until the first season of Big 12 play in 1996. Kansas State won each of the first six meetings as conference foes before Baylor swept the 1999 season series. The Bears were the only team in the conference to sweep K-State that season with four-game triumphs both at home and in Manhattan. The teams split the season series last year with the home team winning both matches. Kansas State won the first meeting this season in five games at Ahearn Field House. Baylor is 2-3 all-time against KSU in Waco.

Last time against Kansas State
A four-point run late in the fifth game proved fatal for Baylor as the Bears dropped a 15-30, 23-30, 30-22, 30-26, 15-11 decision at Kansas State. Tisha Schwartz collected a career-high 15 kills and hit .393 on the match to lead the Baylor charge. She was supported by Stevie Nicholas, who pounded a match-high 25 kills. Dana Chuha had 54 assists and tied Kansas State's Gabby Guerre for the match high in digs with 15. Laura Daniela Lloreda added 12 kills, she also joined Tatiana Kenon, Kimmy Scott and Sarah Braga to give the Bears four players with 12 digs. After dropping the first two games of the match, Baylor grabbed the momentum with convincing wins in games three and four. The Bears hit .286 in game three, followed by a .326 clip in game four. Meanwhile, the Wildcats were held to .063 in game three. While KSU hit .308 in the fourth game, the Cats committed six non-attacking errors to aid Baylor's cause. After trailing the entire game, Kansas State took a 24-23 lead thanks to three straight points. However, that was the only lead the Wildcats would enjoy as the Bears scored seven of the next nine points to claim the 30-26 victory and send the match to the deciding fifth game. Baylor and Kansas State swapped the lead several times in the fifth game before finding themselves knotted at 10-10. That is when the Wildcats scored four straight points to take control of the game. Baylor withstood one match point, but a Lisa Mimick cross-court kill ended the match on the next serve.

Schwartz swinging strong over past three weeks
Sophomore MB Tisha Schwartz has stepped into her own over the past two weeks. In the Bears last five matches, she is hitting .360 (67-18-136) with 3.19 kills and 1.19 blocks per game. Included in that stretch was a career-high 18 kill performance against Kansas, in which she attacked at a rate of .368 with seven blocks. Schwartz put down 16 kills, four blocks and hit .323 against Texas A&M, followed by a 12-0-25 (.480) performance with two blocks at Oklahoma. The Amarillo, Texas, native has now gone nine consecutive matches with at least one block, she has also posted six straight matches with at least 10 kills. Schwartz started each of the Bears' first 16 matches before head coach Brian Hosfeld readjusted his starting line up for defensive reasons. Since that point, Schwartz is averaging 3.00 kills and 1.16 blocks per game while attacking at a .309 clip.

Stevie Nicholas riding strong five-match stretch
Sophomore OH Stevie Nicholas saw her streak of four consecutive matches with at least 20 kills come to an end last Wednesday at Oklahoma, however, that was probably only due to the fact that the Bears disposed of the Sooners in three games. Still, the all-America candidate tallied 16 kills with only one error in 28 swings for an attacking percentage of .536. She also had five service aces, seven digs and a pair of solo blocks against OU. Over the past five matches, she owns an attacking percentage of .328, she is also averaging 5.86 kills, 2.76 digs and 0.71 blocks per game during that time. That run began with 32 kills against Texas, followed by 21 against Kansas, 28 against Colorado and 26 against Texas A&M. Her performance against the Aggies was a school record for a three-game match.

Weekend warriors
Baylor is 12-4 this season in matches played during the weekend, 4-0 on Fridays, 7-4 on Saturdays and 1-0 on Sundays. On the other hand, the Bears are just 5-4 in midweek games, going 1-0 on Mondays, 1-0 on Tuesdays and 3-4 on Wednesdays.