Volleyball Starting Season Off at NOKIA Sugar Bowl Tourney
8/29/2001 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 29, 2001
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NOKIA Sugar Bowl Tournament
Aug. 31-Sept. 1
Fogelman Arena
Tulane University
New Orleans, La.
vs. UNLV (Aug. 31 at 4:30 p.m.)
vs. LSU (Sept. 1 at 12:30 p.m.)
at Tulane (Sept. 1 at 8 p.m.)
Baylor will kickoff the 2001 season this weekend at the NOKIA Sugar Bowl Tournament, hosted by Tulane University in New Orleans, La. This will be Baylor's first trip to the Crescent City since the 1989 season when the Bears played in the Tulane Invitational. Baylor will open its season Friday at 4:30 p.m. against Nevada-Las Vegas. The Bears will then take on Louisiana State at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, followed by an 8 p.m. contest with the host Green Wave. All three matches will be played at Tulane's Fogelman Arena.
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 90-77 (.539) overall record and a 40-60 (.400) mark in the rugged Big 12 Conference. In 1999, Hosfeld led the Bears to the greatest season in the program's 22-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 stands second all-time at Baylor in total wins and has amassed the most conference wins of any coach in school history.
Hosfeld closing in on milestone victories
Now in his sixth season at the helm of the Baylor volleyball program, Brian Hosfeld is just 10 wins shy of reaching the 100-victory plateau. He is also 12 triumphs shy of breaking the school record for coaching victories of 101 (Tom Sonnichsen, 1989-1995). Hosfeld is currently holds the highest career winning percentage of any coach in school history at .539 (90-77).
Hosfeld vs. NOKIA Sugar Bowl Tournament field
Baylor head coach Brian Hosfeld is 1-0 as a head coach against the teams in this weekend's NOKIA Sugar Bowl Tournament field. He has faced only Nevada-Las Vegas, that coming last season in the Baylor Thanksgiving Classic. The Bears won that match 16-14, 15-11, 16-14, earning a spot in the championship match against UCLA.
Baylor in season openers
The Bears are a perfect 5-0 in season openers under Brian Hosfeld, dropping just one game in that span. Last season, Baylor thumped North Texas 15-2, 15-6, 15-4 to open the year. Stevie Nicholas christened her collegiate career with 16 kills and a .433 attacking percentage in that match. In 1999, the Bears started a school-record, eight-game-season-opening winning streak with a three-game white-washing of Texas-Arlington at UTA. The Bears are 10-13 all-time in season openers. Baylor was not victorious in such a match until the 1985 season. Since then, the Bears are 10-6 in season openers. This will be the first time BU has ever opened a season against Nevada-Las Vegas.
The Nevada-Las Vegas series
Baylor is 1-0 all-time against UNLV with that lone meeting coming Nov. 24, 2000 at the Baylor Thanksgiving Classic. Therefore after going 815 matches without ever facing the Rebels, the Bears will play UNLV for the second time in its last three matches. Baylor claimed a 16-14, 15-11, 16-14 victory over the Rebels last season. In that match, Stevie Nicholas put down 23 kills and tallied 16 digs to lead the Bears to the win. Sunny Nicholas added 11 kills, 13 digs and three blocks, and Dana Atkinson had 14 kills and 11 digs. Baylor won the match despite being out-hit and out-blocked.
About UNLV
The Rebels return four of six starters and eight of 13 letterwinners off a 2000 squad that went 6-21 overall and 5-9 in the Mountain West Conference. The Rebels opened last season on a 12-match losing streak, but six of those losses were to teams ranked 18th or higher. UNLV is in its sixth season under the direction of head coach Deitre Collins. A 1995 graduate of Hawai' i, Collins has amassed a 55-83 record during her tenure with the Rebels. She is assisted by Andreal Petrilli and Musiette McKinney, both in their second seasons with the UNLV program.
Rebel Roundup
Sophomore OH Leiana Oswald is back after leading the Rebels with a 3.37 kills-per-game average last season. S Maria Julia Goes returns for her senior campaign, the Sorocaba, Brazil, native paced the UNLV offense in 2000 with 11.15 assists per game. Junior MB Blair Wilkes led the team at the net last season with 0.93 blocks per game.
The Louisiana State series
This will be the fourth meeting between Baylor and Louisiana State, the Tigers lead the all-time series 2-1. The teams first met Sept. 19, 1980 in Tulsa, Okla., at the Oral Roberts Invitational where Baylor rallied for an 8-15, 16-14, 15-11 win. BU and LSU did not square off again until Dec. 5, 1993 in the championship match of the National Invitational Volleyball Classic in Kansas City, Mo. The Bayou Bengals claimed a 15-5, 16-14, 15-10 triumph in that match. Baylor and LSU faced each other again the following season Sept. 2 in Baton Rouge, La., with the Tigers winning 15-10, 8-15, 15-12, 15-11.
About LSU
LSU posted a 15-17 overall record a year ago and finished third in the West Division of the Southeastern Conference with a 6-9 league mark. The Tigers return five of six starters and 10 of 14 letterwinners off that squad. Fran Flory is beginning her fourth season in Baton Rouge. The former Kentucky head coach is 47-48 at LSU with a 157-162 career mark. She is assisted by Ainsley Grimes and Tonya Johnson.
Tiger Tidbits
Three Bayou Bengals averaged at least 3.00 kills per game last season, and all three return for the 2001 campgain. Senior MB Meagan Davis (3.18), senior RS Meghan Bedford (3.12) and junior OH Jennifer Hampton (3.05) all return, along with junior S Katie Kubena who averaged 11.14 assists per game last year. Davis also led the team with a .348 attacking percentage, she joined Hampton as the only players to start all 32 matches. Also back is junior MB Lauren Cuyler, she averaged 2.62 kills and a team-high 1.35 blocks per game in 2000.
The Tulane Series
Baylor is 1-2 all-time against Tulane, however, as is the case between BU and LSU, the two teams have not met since the 1994 season. The Green Wave was victorious 15-11, 15-8 in the first meeting between the programs Nov. 18, 1978 at the AIAW Region 4 Tournament in Arlington, Texas. Baylor claimed the next meeting, a 15-4, 15-12, 15-6 decision Sept. 8, 1989 in New Orleans, La. Tulane traveled to Waco, Texas, five years later and won an Oct. 1 match 15-8, 8-15, 156, 15-8.
About Tulane
Tulane will return five of six starters and eight of 11 letterwinners from a 2000 team that went 17-17 overall and placed sixth in Conference USA at 6-6. Despite finishing .500, the Green Wave was tough at home, winning 13 of 16 home contests and going 6-2 at home in CUSA play. Tulane is in its third season under the direction of head coach Betsy Baker, a 1992 graduate of Catholic University. Baker, who was the head coach at crosstown New Orleans before taking over at Tulane, is 30-34 with the Green Wave and has a 108-92 career mark over six seasons. She is assisted by Liz Kritza and Sam Ojie.
Wave Watch
The lone starter Tulane lost from last season, OP Kim Sentmore, led the team with 4.44 kills and 3.78 digs per game. However, five other Green Wave players averaged at least 2.00 kills per contest and all five return. Included in that group is senior MH Erin Dobyanski, who put down 2.94 kills and collected 2.56 digs per contest a year ago. Junior OH Britney Hurst average 2.81 kills and a team-high 1.03 blocks per game last year. So. OP Kim Swafford came off the bench to lend 0.92 blocks per game, while Dobyanski added 0.91 blocks per game. Senior S Jennifer Witte averaged 12.36 assists last season.
Sister Act
Baylor senior RS Tatiana Kenon will have the pleasure of trying to beat up her kid sister when the Bears face Tulane. Her younger sister Anastasia is a redshirt-freshman OH for the Green Wave. Both Kenon sisters wear No. 35.
The stars at night, are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas
Three other Tulane players have Texas ties. Sophomore MH Lauren Jones-McClain hails from Austin's Westwood High School, senior MH Erin Dombyanski is from Alvin, and senior S Jennifer Witte is a graduate of Martin High School in Arlington. Nearly half the Louisiana State is made up of Texans, in all, LSU has seven players from the Lone Star state. Senior MB Meagan Davis and freshman DS Blaise DeRouen both hail from Kingwood, while junior OH Jennifer Hampton and freshman RS Kyra Lancon are both graduates of Houston's Clearlake High School. League City native Meghan Bedford, a senior RS, attended Cypress Creek High School. Freshman OH/MB Regan Hood is from Richmond's Bishop Lynch High School, and junior Katie Kubena is from Richmond's Kempner High School. Nevada-Las Vegas is the odd team out with no Texans on its roster.
Smith out for season with ACL tear
Less than two weeks before the beginning of the 2001 season, Baylor volleyball learned Wednesday that junior outside hitter 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.
Volleyball Magazine expecting good things from Baylor
The Bears are listed third among teams receiving votes for the Volleyball Magazine Top 20 preseason rankings. Defending national champion Nebraska is ranked first as the only team from the Big 12 Conference in the Top 20. Texas A&M is listed first among teams receiving votes, followed by Georgia Tech, Baylor, Michigan, Santa Clara, Kansas State, Michigan State, North Carolina, California, Texas, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Utah State. Baylor finished the 1999 season ranked 19th by the publication, and the Bears were slotted 17th to open the 2000 campaign.
Bears receive votes in AVCA preseason poll
Baylor picked up 14 total points in the USA Today/AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll, ranking 40th overall. The Bears were one of seven teams from the Big 12 Conference to receive votes. Defending conference and national champion Nebraska was No. 1, claiming 63 of 65 first-place votes, while Texas A&M was 18th and Kansas State 19th. Missouri (109 points) and Colorado (108) just missed cracking the Top 25, ranking 27th and 28th, respectively. Texas Tech garnered 20 points to place 35th. Baylor climbed into the Top 25 for the first time in school history during the 1999 season, finishing the year at No. 20. The Bears were picked 21st in the 2000 preseason poll and reached as high as No. 19 before falling out of the Top 25 in late September. Baylor continued to receive votes for the Top 25 last season until early November.
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. Baylor volleyball matches will also be webcast, beginning with the first home conference match.
