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BAYLOR
at
No. 19 TEXAS
7:00 p.m. CST
Oct. 30, 2002
Gregory Gymnasium
Austin, Texas
Baylor returns to action Wednesday, traveling South on Interstate-35 for a 7 p.m. CST match against Texas at Gregory Gymnasium. The Bears (8-13, 2-9) have lost five straight after falling at home last Saturday to Iowa State 30-23, 30-25, 30-26. The Longhorns snapped a nine-match winning streak last Saturday, dropping a 30-24, 30-28, 14-30, 19-30, 15-13 decision at then-No. 19 Missouri. Texas is ranked 19th in the latest Volleyball Magazine Top 20 (Oct. 21) and 24th in this week's AVCA/USA Today Coaches Poll. Live stats for the match are available at www.TexasSports.com, the official website of Texas Athletics.
QUICK NOTES
* Baylor and Texas meet for the 50th time Wednesday with the Longhorns holding a commanding 47-2 advantage in the all-time series. Baylor is 0-22 all-time at Texas.
* Freshman MB/OH Stella Odion posted a career best with 14 digs Saturday against Iowa State. She is second on the team with seven 10-dig matches this season.
* In 10 matches without OH Stevie Nicholas, Baylor has averaged 1.21 service aces per game. Prior to Nicholas' injury, the Bears were averaging 2.38 service aces per game.
* Since moving to the outside hitter position Sept. 26, junior Tisha Schwartz has averaged 5.58 kills, 2.58 digs and 0.55 blocks per game.
* Junior OH Tisha Schwartz has established herself as one of top scoring threats in the Big 12. Schwartz averages 4.53 kills and 5.25 points per game, both second in the conference behind only Stevie Nicholas.
* Baylor has tallied at least one service ace in 54 consecutive matches and at least two service aces in 23 straight matches.
* Baylor has played just three matches this season without at least one starter out due to injury. Last Saturday against Iowa State, the Bears were minus five opening-day starters.
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 116-102 (.532) overall record and a 51-80 (.389) 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 2-11 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 - IOWA STATE 3, BAYLOR 0
WACO, Texas - Tisha Schwartz reached the 20-kill plateau for the sixth time this season, but Baylor found little offense elsewhere as the Bears dropped a 30-23, 30-25, 30-26 decision to Iowa State. Schwartz finished with 22 kills, but no other player had more than six; Emily Huston and Stella Odion had six each. With Iowa State keying on Schwartz, she hit just .183, making 11 errors in 60 swings. Odion hit minus-.034. Baylor was playing without five players from its opening-day lineup. Along with season-ending injuries to three other players, Laura Daniela Lloreda was sidelined with an ankle sprain, and Kelly Spriggs was out due to a bout with mononucleosis. With the score tied 10-10 in the first game, Iowa State put together a 13-4 run and took control of the game. Baylor closed to within five points at 26-21, but the Bears could get no closer. Iowa State hit .275 in the opener and held Baylor to a .139 clip. Baylor's attack slipped to .093 in game two, while ISU remained steady at .270. The Cyclones used another run to take control of the game. The Bears led 21-20 before Iowa State scored seven of the next nine points for a 27-23 lead. Baylor never got any closer as the Cyclones held on for the 30-25 victory. The Bears came out strong in game three, building an early 6-1 lead. However, Iowa State scored nine of the next 10 points and never trailed again. After trailing by as many as seven points on three occasions, Baylor closed to within one point at 23-22. However, Iowa State held on to the on a Mandi Harms kill and then played side-out ball for the victory.
THE TEXAS SERIES
This is the 50th between the two schools with the series dominated by the Longhorns 47-2. In fact, Baylor has won just 16 of 157 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 0-22 all-time at Texas, including a 30-28, 30-28, 34-32 loss last season. The Longhorns won the first meeting this season 30-24, 30-27, 30-16 in Waco.
THE TEXAS LONGHORNS
Texas (17-4, 8-3) is in its second season under the direction of head coach Jerritt Elliott, who is 34-18 with the Longhorns. Elliott, who spent two seasons at Southern California before taking the Texas job, is 84-30 in four seasons as a collegiate head coach.
UT Notes: The Longhorns are ranked 19th nationally in the latest Volleyball Magazine Top 20 (Oct. 21) and 24th nationally in this week's AVCA/USA Today Coaches Poll. ... Texas is tied with Missouri for third in the Big 12 standings, both at 8-3 in league play. However, MU has swept UT this season, including a five-game victory last Saturday at Columbia, Mo., that snapped a nine-match Texas winning streak. ... Texas ranks third in the Big 12 with a .270 team attacking percentage. The Longhorns rank second in the conference in opponents' attacking percentage at .155. UT averages 15.89 kills (3rd in the Big 12), 1.89 service aces (2nd), 14.28 digs (9th) and 2.78 blocks (3rd) per game. Texas allows just 12.79 kills per game, second in the conference. ... The Longhorns are led offensively by sophomore MB Kathy Hahn, who is eighth in the Big 12 with a .348 attacking percentage. She also averages 3.43 kills and 1.09 blocks (seventh in the Big 12) per game. Sophomore RS Mira Topic leads UT with 371.5 points on the year. She hits .268 and ranks fourth in the conference in kills (4.38) and points (5.16) per game. Topic averages 0.46 service aces (sixth). Sophomore MB Bethany Howden averages 3.47 kills per game and hits at a .274 clip, while sophomore OH LaTonya Coates leads the team with 2.51 digs per game to go along with 2.46 kills and 0.49 service aces (second in the Big 12) per game. ... Only four of UT's 12 players hail from Texas. Like Baylor, Texas has no seniors.
LLOREDA QUESTIONABLE, SPRIGGS OUT
Junior RS Laura Daniela Lloreda is questionable for Wednesday's match Texas. Lloreda missed eight matches due to a grade-three ankle sprain earlier this season. She re-injured that ankle last Wednesday in the Bears' match at Texas A&M. ... Freshman OH Kelly Spriggs is out for at least three weeks with a severe case of mononucleosis. Spriggs has missed the past two matches.
LAST MEETING - TEXAS 3, BAYLOR 0 (OCT. 2, 2002)
WACO, Texas - Although Jillian Mazarella posted her fourth double-double in her last five matches, Baylor could not overcome strong Texas attack in a 30-24, 30-27, 30-16 loss. The Bears battled Texas in the first two games, leading as late as 20-19 in game one and 17-16 in game two. However, in both games the Longhorns put together late runs and took advantage of poor Baylor passing to take control of the games. With the score tied 9-9 in game three, Texas scored eight straight points and never looked back. The Longhorns hit .289 as a team. After hitting just .216 in the first game, UT improved to .279 in game two and .382 in game three. Baylor, meanwhile, hit just .047 as a team and dipped to negative-.051 in game three. Tisha Schwartz led Baylor with nine kills, while Kelly Spriggs added seven kills. Mazzarella had 22 assists and 12 digs. Texas produced its most balanced offensive attack of the season as Mira Topic, Kathryn Wilson and Kathy Hahn all had 11 kills. Wilson hit .579 on the night, committing no errors in 19 swings. Caron Blotch chipped in with 12 digs and 34 assists. The crowd of 1,012 tied for the ninth largest volleyball crowd in Ferrell Center history. Six of the top 11 attended matches have been against Texas.
BAYLOR VS. RANKED TEAMS
The Bears' match against Texas will mark the 118th time Baylor has played a nationally ranked team since the national poll was established in 1982. Baylor is 8-110 in such matches; the Bears are 0-3 this season against ranked opponents with losses to then-No. 5 Long Beach State (Aug. 31), then-No. 22 Missouri (Oct. 16) and No. 4 Nebraska (Oct. 19). The Bears last victory over a ranked team was a five-game decision Oct. 25, 2000 against then-No. 23 Kansas State. Baylor enjoyed its best season against ranked competition during the 1999 campaign, going 5-6 that season. The Bears are 7-57 against ranked opponents under head coach Brian Hosfeld.
BEARS' SERVICE GAME SLUMPS MINUS NICHOLAS
In 10 matches without OH Stevie Nicholas, Baylor has averaged 1.21 service aces per game. Prior to Nicholas' injury, the Bears were averaging 2.38 service aces per game. Nicholas is still listed as the conference leader in aces with 0.95 per game, nearly twice as many as second-place LaTonya Coates of Texas (0.49). Freshman S Emily Huston leads the Bears with eight service aces each over the last 10 matches.
SCHWARTZ WARMING TO THE OUTSIDE
Since moving to the outside hitter position Sept. 26, junior Tisha Schwartz has become one of the top scoring threats in the Big 12 Conference. In that time, she has averaged 5.58 kills per game, even better than Stevie Nicholas' 5.56 per-game average. Schwartz has also averaged 2.58 digs and 0.55 blocks per game in 10 matches on the outside wtih 201.5 points.
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 Oct. 28 statistical rankings, Baylor is ninth in kills per game (14.77) and eighth in digs per game (14.36). The Bears are third in the conference with 1.85 service aces per game. However, Baylor ranks ninth in attacking percentage (.210), ninth in assists (13.33), ninth in blocks (2.03) and 11th in opponents' attacking percentage (.257).
SCHWARTZ NOW TOP BIG 12 OFFENSIVE THREAT
Junior OH Tisha Schwartz has essentially become the top scoring threat in the Big 12 Conference as she trails on teammate Stevie Nicholas, who is out for the season with a torn medial-meniscus, in both kills and points per game. According to the Oct. 28 rankings, Schwartz is second in kills (4.53 per game) and second in points (5.25 per game). ... Schwartz leads all players with 5.11 kills and 5.56 points per game in Big 12 matches.
NICHOLAS OUT FOR REMAINDER OF SEASON
Junior all-America candidate OH Stevie Nicholas has taken the final swing of her junior season after surgical procedures Wednesday afternoon. Nicholas, who tore her medial-meniscus Sept. 18 in a match against Colorado, has missed the last five Baylor matches and is now diagnosed as "out for the remainder of the season," according to head coach Brian Hosfeld and assistant trainer Alison Krajewski. Arguably the most explosive player in the Big 12 Conference and one of the nation's elite attackers, Nicholas ends her junior season with 218 kills, 38 service aces, 113 digs, 29 blocks and 272.5 points. She started all 11 matches in which she appeared and averaged 5.45 kills, 0.95 service aces, 2.83 digs and 0.73 blocks per game. Nicholas still leads the Big 12 in kills, aces and points; she also ranks sixth nationally in aces.
NICHOLAS STILL 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 Oct. 28 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 38 of 39 weeks during her career. Nicholas and Tisha Schwartz are the only players in the conference to reach the 30-kill plateau this season.
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 service 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.
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 returns home Friday for a non-conference match against Texas-San Antonio at 7 p.m. CST. This is the final non-Big 12 match of the season for the Bears. This is the first meeting between Baylor and UTSA since the Bears defeated the Roadrunners 15-13, 15-13, 9-15, 3-15, 15-9 at the 1999 Doubletree/SMU Invitational at Dallas, Texas. The Bears lead the all-time series 10-3.
