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Baylor at Iowa State
7 p.m.
Sept. 12, 2001
Hilton Coliseum
Ames, Iowa
Baylor will open Big 12 Conference play this Wednesday, traveling to Ames, Iowa, for a 7 p.m. match at Iowa State. The Bears enter the match at 8-0 on the 2001 season after claiming the team title at the Baylor Classic last weekend. It was the second consecutive tournament title for the Bears, who won the NOKIA Sugar Bowl Classic the weekend before. Sandwiched in between was a three-game victory over Texas-Arlington at home. Iowa State enters with a 3-2 record on the season. The Cyclones dropped a 24-30, 30-27, 30-27, 30-20 decision last Saturday to Morehead State in the final match of the Amerihost Classic in Green Bay, Wisc. ISU went 1-2 in the tournament, hosted by Wisconsin-Green Bay, the Cyclones defeated UWGB in four games and dropped a three-gamer to Sam Houston State.
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 98-77 (.560) 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 two wins shy of reaching the 100-victory plateau. He is also four triumphs shy of breaking the school record for coaching victories of 101 (Tom Sonnichsen, 1989-1995). Hosfeld currently holds the highest career winning percentage of any coach in school history at .560 (98-77).
Hosfeld vs. Iowa State
Head coach Brian Hosfeld has a career record of 9-1 against Iowa State. The lone defeat was a four-game decision at home in the 1997 season. Since then, the Hosfeld-coached Bears have won six straight against the Cyclones, losing just one game in that span.
The Iowa State series
Baylor is 9-3 all-time against Iowa State, holding a 9-1 advantage in the series since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1996. The teams first met Sept. 20, 1980 in Tulsa, Okla., the Cyclones won that meeting 15-11, 15-13. Five days shy of four years later, ISU claimed a 10-15, 15-7, 15-6, 15-11 victory over the Bears in Waco. The two teams did not meet again until the 1996 season when the Bears took a five-game decision in Waco and a four-game triumph in Ames. The teams split the next year with the visiting team winning each match. Baylor has swept the season series in each of the last three seasons, dropping just one game in that time.
Last time against Iowa State
Baylor wrapped the Big 12 portion of its 2000 schedule by downing the Cyclones 15-13, 15-4, 15-9 in Ames. In that match, the Bears held Iowa State to a .115 team attacking percentage. Stevie Nicholas and Dana Atkinson led Baylor with 12 kills and 10 kills, respectively, each had 11 digs. Dana Chuha hit .556 (5-0-9) and had a pair of blocks, while Kenon had a season-high 14 digs.
Baylor in Big 12 Conference openers
While the Bears are 40-60 all-time in the Big 12 Conference, they have had success in conference openers, posting a 4-1 mark in such matches since the league's inception in 1996. Three of the four victories came against Iowa State, two of those matches were in Waco and one was in Ames, Iowa. Last season, the Bears opened conference play with a four-game victory over Texas Tech at home. The lone loss came in 1998 in four games against then-No. 13 Texas in Waco. In 1997, the only year the Bears have not opened their Big 12 season at home, Baylor fell to then-No. 14 Texas A&M in four games in its first home conference match of the season.
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.
Baylor in Big 12 rankings
The Bears lead the Big 12 Conference in three statistical categories and rank in the top five of four others. Baylor's 17.50 assists, 19.04 kills and 2.69 service aces all rank atop the conference leaderboard. Meanwhile, the Bears rank second in team attacking percentage (.291) behind only Nebraska (.304), second in fewest kills per game allowed (10.96), third in fewest assists per game allowed (10.00), and fifth in fewest digs per game allowed (13.58). Baylor also leads the conference in another category not charted by the conference - kills per game margin. The Bears are averaging 8.08 more kills per game than their opponents. Texas A&M ranks a distant second in this area, out-killing its opponents by an average of 7.13 kills per game.
All six starters listed among conference statistical leaders
As teams begin the Big 12 Conference portion of their schedules, Baylor has the distinction of having all six starters listed among the leaders in at least one of the six statistical categories the conference charts. Sophomore OH Stevie Nicholas leads the conference in kills per game (5.50), handily over Liz Wegner of Kansas State (5.09), and she ranks second with 0.73 service aces per game, just behind Mira Topic of Texas (0.77). Stevie Nicholas also ranks fourth in digs per game at 3.65. Senior S Dana Chuha is not surprisingly leading the Big 12 with 14.81 assists per game, nearly one full assist per game more than second-place Skydra Orzen of Texas Tech (13.97). Sophomore MB Tisha Schwartz is listed sixth in the blocks department with 1.23 per game, while senior MB Sunny Nicholas is second in attacking percentage at .461 (she trails only Nebraska's Amber Holmquist's .495 percentage). Along with Stevie Nicholas, two other Bears are ranked in the top 10 in service aces per game, sophomore OH Laura Daniela Lloreda is fourth at 0.58, while senior RS Tatiana Kenon is seventh at 0.46.
Sunny Nicholas nearly perfect in second week of action
Senior MB Sunny Nicholas enjoyed one of the finest five-match stretches in Baylor volleyball history last week. In 16 games, the Fullerton, Calif., native averaged 3.25 kills per game and hit .540. She made just five errors with 52 kills in 87 swings while averaging 2.75 digs and 0.69 blocks per game. Sunny Nicholas started the week 24-0-39 (.615) before making her first error of the week during the third game of the Rhode Island match. Against Texas-Arlington, she was 10-0-18 (.556) with three service aces, seven digs and four blocks, against North Texas, she was 9-0-15 (.600) with 12 digs and one block. She hit .611 (13-2-18) against Rhode Island and .800 (8-0-10) against Texas-Pan American. The only match in which she did not hit at least .500 was Cal Poly, against the Mustangs, she hit .346 (12-3-26) with a season-high 14 digs and three blocks. Since the first match of the season, Sunny Nicholas is hitting .500 (71-8-126) with 3.09 kills, 2.74 digs and 0.65 blocks per game.
Chuha enjoys strong attacking week
Senior S Dana Chuha is best known for her setting, after all, she has led the NCAA in assists per game in each of the past two seasons. However, in five matches last week she made her presence felt as a hitter as much as she did as a setter. For the week, she put away 1.69 kills per game while hitting at a .356 clip. Chuha matched her career high in kills with seven against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, she also had six against both Rhode Island and Texas-Pan American. The Yorba Linda, Calif., native was also strong defensively, she averaged 2.81 digs and 0.69 blocks per game, including a career-high 19 digs against Texas-Arlington. Of course, Chuha was her reliable self as a setter, averaging 15.31 assists per game and pacing the Bears to a .297 team attacking percentage.
Baylor looking strong at the service line
After averaging just 1.25 service aces per game a year ago, the Bears are looking to be dominant at the line in 2001. Through the first eight matches, Baylor is averaging 2.69 per contest, which would rank as the best season average in school history ... if the season lasted just two weeks. However, the focus is the vast improvement from the 2000 season - last year's average was the lowest in the program's history. OH Stevie Nicholas and DS Kimmy Scott led the Bears last season with 20 each. Thus far this season, Stevie Nicholas already has 19, OH Laura Daniela Lloreda has 15, and RS Tatiana Kenon has 12. As a team, Baylor has amassed 70 aces this season while allowing just 40.
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.
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.
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.
