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BAYLOR
vs.
TEXAS
7:00 p.m. CDT
Oct. 2, 2002
Ferrell Center
Waco, Texas
Baylor returns home Wednesday, hosting Texas for a 7 p.m. CDT match at the Ferrell Center. The Bears (6-7, 0-3) dropped a 35-33, 30-24, 27-30, 31-29 decision at Oklahoma last Saturday. The Longhorns have won two straight, including a 30-27, 30-26, 30-16 victory Saturday night at home against Kansas State. Texas is among teams also receiving votes in both the AVCA/USA Today Coaches Poll and in the Volleyball Magazine Top 20. Live stats for the match will be available online at www.BaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor Athletics and a member of the Official College Sports Network.
QUICK NOTES
* Baylor and Texas meet for the 49th time Wednesday with the Longhorns holding a commanding 46-2 advantage in the all-time series. The teams split last season with the home team winning both times.
* The Bears start Big 12 Conference play 0-3 for the second straight season. Last year, Baylor dropped its first four conference matches before going 9-7 in the rest of its Big 12 schedule.
* Junior MB Tisha Schwartz notched the first double-double of her career Saturday at Oklahoma with 21 kills to go along with a career-best 10 digs.
* Freshman MB Stella Odion posted career highs of 14 kills and seven blocks Saturday against Oklahoma. She also matched her career best with 11 digs.
* After tallying just 29 kills in her first 112 collegiate games, sophomore S Jillian Mazzarella has posted 20 kills in her last eight games (two matches, 3.25 per game).
* Junior MB Tisha Schwartz has 10 straight 10-kill matches, 10 straight 10-point matches and 26 consecutive matches with at least one block.
* Baylor has tallied at least one service ace in 46 consecutive matches and at least three service aces in 17 straight matches.
HEAD COACH BRIAN HOSFELD
Baylor is in its seventh season under the direction of head coach Brian Hosfeld. During his tenure, the Bears have compiled a 114-95 (.545) overall record and a 49-73 (.402) mark in the rugged Big 12 Conference. Hosfeld is credited with putting Baylor volleyball on the map. After losing seasons in 14 of 18 seasons prior to Hosfeld's arrival, Baylor has finished above .500 in four of the last six seasons. Baylor has made two NCAA Tournament appearances in that time, advancing to the second round before losing to eventual national champion Penn State in 1999. Owner of the highest winning percentage of the program's seven head coaches, Hosfeld has amassed the most wins, both overall and in conference play, of any coach in school history.
HOSFELD vs. TEXAS
Head coach Brian Hosfeld is 2-10 during his career against Texas. However, that is far better than any other Baylor coach has done against the Longhorns. Hosfeld is the only Bears coach to have ever beaten Texas.
LAST TIME OUT - OKLAHOMA 3, BAYLOR 1
NORMAN, Okla. - Despite double-doubles by Tisha Schwartz and Stella Odion, Baylor dropped a 35-33, 30-24, 27-30, 31-29 decision to Oklahoma. Schwartz led all players with 21 kills to go along with 10 digs and three blocks. Odion added 14 kills, 11 digs and seven blocks, all career highs, and Kelly Spriggs had 14 kills and five blocks. Jillian Mazzarella also found double-digit territory in kills, putting 10 on the floor; she also had 47 assists, seven digs and four blocks. Alison Heffner chipped in with three blocks. After Oklahoma took the first two games 35-33 and 30-24, Baylor rallied for a 30-27 game three win. Game four was a classic with 14 ties and six lead changes. With the score tied 11-11, Oklahoma scored seven straight points and appeared to be in control of the game. However, the Bears put together a furious rally, scoring 13 of the next 17 points to take a 24-22 lead. Nine consecutive side outs followed before Jessica Barney notched her sixth service ace of the day to put Oklahoma ahead 30-29. Baylor withstood one game point, but an Odion attack landed just wide to end the match. Baylor finished the match with a .200 attacking percentage, while Oklahoma hit .247. The Bears tallied 14 blocks as a team, the most blocks by a Baylor squad since stuffing Kansas State 18 times Oct. 25, 2000.
THE TEXAS SERIES
This is meeting No. 49 between the two schools with the series dominated by the Longhorns, 46-2. In fact, Baylor has won just 16 of 154 games against Texas. Baylor's first victory in the series came during the 1999 season when the Bears knocked off the then-No. 12 Texas in five games. The Bears topped UT in another five-game classic last season in Waco. The teams first met Sept. 14, 1978 in Baylor's first match as a competing varsity member of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. Baylor is 2-20 all-time against Texas in Waco.
THE TEXAS LONGHORNS
Texas (10-3, 2-2) is in its second season under the direction of head coach Jerritt Elliott, who is 27-17 with the Longhorns. Elliott, who spent two seasons at Southern California before taking the Texas job, is 77-29 in four seasons as a collegiate head coach.
UT Notes: The Longhorns are off to their best start since starting 11-2 in 1999. UT has dropped matches to San Diego, Missouri and Nebraska, all of which have been ranked this season. Texas also has wins over then-No. 9 Ohio State and at Kansas State. ... Baylor and Texas have played thre similar opponents - Utah State, Oklahoma and Kansas State. The Bears are 1-2 against that trio, having beaten Utah State. The Longhorns are 3-0 against that threesome. ... Texas ranks fourth in the Big 12 with a .274 team attacking percentage. The Longhorns rank third in the conference in opponents' attacking percentage at .153. UT averages 15.98 kills (4th in the Big 12), 2.05 service aces (5th), 14.11 digs (7th) and 2.69 blocks (3rd) per game. Texas allows just 12.00 kills per game, best in the conference. ... The Longhorns are led offensively by sophomore MB Kathy Hahn, who hits .336 with 3.49 kills and 1.00 blocks per game. Sophomore RS Mira Topic leads UT with 247.0 points on the year. She hits .298 with a team-best 4.80 kills per game; she also averages 0.50 service aces and 2.55 digs per game. Sophomore MB Bethany Howden averages 3.55 kills per game and hits ata .295 clip, while sophomore OH LaTonya Coates leads the team with 29.8 digs per game to go along with 2.23 kills and 0.64 service aces per game. ... Only four of UT's 12 players hail from Texas. Like Baylor, Texas has no seniors.
LAST MEETING - BAYLOR 3, TEXAS 2 (Oct. 28, 2001)
WACO, Texas - Stevie Nicholas pounded 32 kills and attacked at a .333 percentage to lead Baylor past Texas 27-30, 30-27, 30-22, 17-30, 15-10. After dropping the first game, Baylor stormed back for wins in games two and three. The Bears attacked .419 (23-5-43) in the second game; the 23 kills was the second-highest single-game total of the season for Baylor. In game three, BU's attack dropped to .265, but a stingy defense kept Texas at .064. Game four belonged to Texas; the Longhorns could do no wrong, swinging at a .559 clip with 20 kills and only one error in 34 swings. In game five, Baylor staked a 6-1 lead and never looked back. The Longhorns closed to within two points a 9-7, but the Bears controlled the game from there en route to the program's second victory over Texas in 48 tries. Laura Daniela led Baylor with 17 digs to go along with 13 kills. Sunny Nicholas also had 13 kills, while Tisha Schwartz had 10 kills, seven digs and hit .316 on the night. Kimmy Scott had 11 digs, and Dana Chuha amassed 68 assists and nine digs.
MAZZARELLA STEPS UP OFFENSIVE OUTPUT
After tallying just 29 kills in her first 112 collegiate games, sophomore S Jillian Mazzarella has posted 20 kills in her last eight games. Mazzarella put away 10 kills last Thursday against Houston and matched that total last Saturday at Oklahoma; both performances were career bests. The Bonita, Calif., native has five double-doubles this season, including three in last four matches.
NICHOLAS SIDELINED WITH TORN MENISCUS
Junior OH Stevie Nicholas is out for an undetermined amount of time due to a torn medial-meniscus in her right knee. Prior to Thursday's match against Houston, Nicholas had started 72 consecutive matches and had played in 260 consecutive games, missing just three rotations along the way. Nicholas sustained the injury during Baylor's Oct. 19 match against Colorado.
MAZZARELLA NOTCHES FIRST TRIPLE-DOUBLE
With 10 kills, 37 assists and 15 digs Thursday against Houston, sophomore S Jillian Mazzarella posted the first triple-double of her career. It was also the first triple-double by a Bear since Tatiana Kenon had 18 kills, 11 digs and 10 blocks Oct. 27 against Colorado. Mazzarella's 10 kills were a career-high, doubling the five she had against Arkansas-Little Rock earlier this season.
ODION ENJOYS CAREER MATCH AGAINST OKLAHOMA
Freshman MB Stella Odion posted the best all-around match of her career Saturday at Oklahoma. Odion tallied career highs with 14 kills, seven blocks and 18.0 points while hitting .333 (14-4-30) on the match. She also matched her career high with 11 digs.
BEARS IN THE NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Baylor finds itself ranked nationally in service aces, while junior OH Stevie Nicholas ranks nationally in both service aces and kills, according to the Sept. 23 NCAA statistical rankings. The Bears rank 29th nationally with 2.38 service aces per game (as of Sept. 23), while Nicholas ranks fifth nationally with 0.95 aces per game. Nicholas also ranks 11th nationally with 5.45 kills per game.
BAYLOR IN THE BIG 12 STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Baylor finds itself in unusual territory statistically this season - not among the league leaders in kills and digs per game. The Bears have finished third or better in kills per game and fifth or better in digs per game in the Big 12 Conference in each of the past three seasons. According to the Sept. 30 statistical rankings, Baylor is sixth in kills per game (15.38) and 10th in digs per game (13.25). The Bears lead the conference with 2.25 service aces per game and rank fifth with 14.02 assists per game. However, Baylor ranks sixth in attacking percentage (.234), ninth in blocks per game (2.18) and 11th in opponents' attacking percentage (.250).
NICHOLAS LEADS BIG 12 IN THREE CATEGORIES
Despite being sidelined with a torn meniscus, junior OH Stevie Nicholas retains her leader position in the Big 12 Conference statistical rankings in three categories, according to the Sept. 30 rankings. Nicholas leads the conference in kills per game (5.45), service aces per game (0.95) and points per game (6.81). She has now been the conference kills leader in 34 out of 35 weeks during her career. The gap in points per game between Nicholas and second-place Mira Topic of Texas more than one point per game as Topic is averaging 5.61. Nicholas, the only player in the conference to reach the 30-kill plateau this season, owns five of the top 10 kill performances in the conference this year.
SCHWARTZ CLIMBS INTO CONFERENCE RANKINGS
Now that junior OH/MB Tisha Schwartz is carrying the majority of the load for Baylor, she has climbed into the Big 12 statistical rankings in two categories, according to the Sept. 30 rankings. Schwartz is tied for seventh with 3.96 kills per game and sixth with 4.79 points per game. The Amarillo, Texas, native is averaging 5.38 kills and 6.06 points per game since moving to outside hitter.
BAYLOR WINS 17TH IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT
With team titles at the Baylor Classic and at the Rhode Island Classic, Baylor has claimed the program's 16th and 17th in-season tournament titles. Eleven of those titles have come during head coach Brian Hosfeld's tenure (since 1996). The Bears have won at least one in-season tournament in six of Hosfeld's seven seasons, claiming two such titles five times.
THREE BEARS EARN URI CLASSIC HONORS
Baylor juniors OH Stevie Nicholas, MB Tisha Schwartz and OH Lisa Smith were named to the all-tournament team at the Rhode Island Classic. Nicholas was selected as MVP, marking the fifth time in her career she has been named MVP at an in-season tournament. On the weekend, Nicholas hit .316 with 5.25 kills and 2.58 service aces per game and 12 service aces. Schwartz, meanwhile, averaged 4.50 kills per game on the weekend; she also hit at a .406 clip with 11 blocks and five service aces. Smith averaged 2.50 kills and 2.36 digs per game with two double-doubles on the weekend.
FOUR BEARS EARN BAYLOR CLASSIC HONORS
Junior OH Stevie Nicholas, junior MB Tisha Schwartz, sophomore S/DS Jillian Mazzarella and freshman S Emily Huston all earned all-tournament honors at the 2002 Baylor Classic. Nicholas and Schwartz were named co-MVPs. Nicholas averaged 5.10 kills, 1.10 srvice aces, 3.70 digs and 0.90 blocks per game on the weekend, totaling 67.5 points. Schwartz finished the weekend with 52.0 points and per-game averages of 4.00 kills, 1.60 digs and 1.50 blocks. Huston and Mazzarella paced the Bear offense to a .249 attacking percentage and 16.60 kills per game. Huston hit .600 for the weekend (20-2-30) with 2.00 kills, 5.90 assists, 1.70 digs and 0.60 blocks per game. Mazzarella hit .345 on the weekend (12-2-29) with 1.20 kills, 7.30 assists, 3.90 digs and 0.50 blocks per game.
NICHOLAS EARNS PRESEASON ALL-BIG 12 HONORS
Two-time all-Big 12 honoree Stevie Nicholas joined five other athletes on the preseason all-Big 12 Conference team. Nebraska dominated the squad with three seniors being named to the team - S Greichaly Cepero, MB Amber Holmquist and OH Laura Pilakowski. Nicholas was named to the preseason team for the second straight season. She joined sophomore RS Mira Topic of Texas as the only non-seniors on the team. Colorado senior S Elizabeth Gower rounded out the six-player squad. Cepero, the 2000 AVCA National Player of the Year, was the pick as preseason player of the year. Redshirt freshman Shen Danru of Missouri was selected as preseason newcomer of the year, and Texas A&M OH Laura Jones was the pick as preseason freshman of the year.
BAYLORBEARS.COM
Baylor's official athletic web site can be found at www.BaylorBears.com. The comprehensive site, which includes releases, photos, biographical sketches and audio broadcasts, is part of the Official Colles Sports Network. OCSN currently hosts sites for more than 100 universities, including eight Big 12 schools.
INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS TV SHOW
Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour look at the world of Baylor athletics, airs weekly throughout Central Texas and the region. The program, co-hosted by John Morris and Lori Scott-Fogleman, airs on KCEN-TV Channel 6, Fox Sports Net Southwest and the College Channel (Waco cable channel 18). KCEN carries the show at 10:30 p.m. Sundays, and it airs at 1 p.m. Wednesdays on FSN Southwest.
UP NEXT...
Baylor travels to Ames, Iowa, this weekend for a Big 12 Conference match at Iowa State. The Bears and the Cyclones meet Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Hilton Coliseum. Baylor swept the season series last year, winning in three games both in Waco and at Ames. The Bears, who lead the all-time series 11-3, have never lost in six trips to Ames and have won eight straight overall against the Cyclones.
