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BAYLOR
at
MIZUNO INVIATIONAL

Aug. 30-31, 2002
The Pyramid
Long Beach, Calif.

Baylor kicks off its 2002 season this weekend at the Mizuno Invitational, hosted by Long Beach State in Long Beach, Calif. The Bears face Oral Roberts at 5 p.m. PDT Friday, Loyola-Chicago at 11 a.m. PDT Saturday and No. 5 Long Beach State at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. All matches will be played at the Pyramid on the LBSU campus. This is the first weekend of competition for all four teams. All three Baylor matches can be followed via live score updates online at www.BaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor Athletics and a member of the Official College Sports Network.

QUICK NOTES
* Baylor head coach Brian Hosfeld is a 1991 graduate of Long Beach State and spent three seasons (1993-1995) as an assistant coach at his alma mater.
* This is Hosfeld's first time back to LBSU since leaving coming to Baylor in 1996.
* Hosfeld's 1997 Baylor team lost to Long Beach State 3-0 at the Royal Oak Hotel Classic in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
* Baylor's three opponents this weekend combined for a 72-17 record in 2001.
* Baylor's three opponents this weekend all won their conference's regular-season title last year.
* Oral Roberts has made eight consecutive NCAA Touranment appearances and has won five consecutive Mid-Continent Conference titles.
* Baylor is 6-0 in season openers under Brian Hosfeld.
* Seven of Baylor's eight all-time victories over nationally ranked opponents have come during the Brian Hosfeld era (since 1996).
* Baylor is 2-5 all-time against Oral Roberts.
* Baylor is 0-3 all-time against Long Beach State.
* Baylor has never faced Loyola-Chicago.

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 108-89 (.551) overall record and a 49-71 (.408) 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 .551 (108-88).

HOSFELD RETURNS TO ALMA MATER
This is the second time Brian Hosfeld has faced his alma mater since coming to Baylor in 1996, but this is the first time he has taken his Baylor squad to Long Beach. Hosfeld spent three seasons as an assistant coach at the Beach from 1993 to 1995 and was on the 49ers bench for the 1994 BU-LBSU match. The 49ers posted an 81-18 record in the three years Hosfeld was with the program, advancing to the NCAA Tournament all three years and winning the national title in 1993.

THE ORAL ROBERTS SERIES
This is the eighth meeting between Baylor and Oral Roberts but the first since 1996. Oral Roberts leads the series 5-2, winning five of the last six meetings. Baylor and Oral Roberts first played Oct. 7, 1978 with the Bears winning 8-15, 15-9, 15-7. The teams met twice in 1979, once in 1980, 1984 and 1987. In 1996, then-No. 23 Oral Roberts defeated Baylor 15-7, 15-4, 15-5 in what proved to be the championship match of the Mean Green Tournament in Denton, Texas. That match was also Baylor head coach Brian Hosfeld's first career loss as a collegiate head coach.

THE ORAL ROBERTS GOLDEN EAGLES
Oral Roberts (0-0) is in its seventh season under the direction of head coach Amy Farber Knowles. With an eight-year career record of 128-75, Knowles is 122-47 at Oral Roberts.

ORU Notes: The Eagles return five starters and nine letterwinners from a 2001 squad that went 19-7, won their fifth straight Mid-Continent Conference title with an 11-1 mark and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. ORU, making its seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, lost to Nebraska in the first round. ... Oral Roberts hit .243 as a team last season, averaging 15.62 kills, 2.33 service aces, 14.64 digs and 1.95 blocks per game. ... The Eagles were led by MB Maja Kuljis, a 6-4 sophomore from Split, Croatia, who led the team 3.77 kills and 0.76 blocks per game ... S Kristin Meyerson is the only starter that does not return from last season's team.

THE LOYOLA-CHICAGO SERIES
This is the first meeting between Baylor and Loyola-Chicago.

THE LOYOLA-CHICAGO RAMBLERS
Loyola-Chicago (0-0) is its sixth season under the direction of head coach Liz Nelson. She has posted a career record of 104-56, all coming at Loyola.

LUC Notes: The Ramblers return three starters and nine letterwinners from a 2001 squad that went 20-9 overall, won the Horizon League with a 13-1 mark. However, Loyola did not advance to the NCAA Tournament, losing to Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the championship match of the Horizon League Tournament. ... The Ramblers attacked at a .208 rate last season, averaging 14.85 kills, 2.26 service aces, 15.20 digs and 2.12 blocks per game. ... Loyola's top two attackers last season - Lauren Mikos and Janelle Hart - exhausted their eligibility. Senior MB Shari Davis is the top returning attacker for the Ramblers; she averaged 2.22 kills per game, and led the team with 1.27 blocks per game last season.

THE LONG BEACH STATE SERIES
This is the fourth meeting between Baylor and Long Beach State with the 49ers holding winning each of the firs three meetings. Baylor and Long Beach State first met in 1991 at the JMN Premier Tournament in Fullerton, Calif. The Bears managed nine points in game two and five points in game three after being shutout in the opener. The teams tangled again in 1994 at the Cal-Santa Barbara Classic. The match was closer with Baylor scoring 21 points, but the 49ers still won in three. BU and LBSU last met in 1997 at the Royal Oak Hotel Tournament in San Luis Obispo, Calif., where the 49ers posted a 15-10, 15-2, 15-0 victory. Long Beach State has been ranked in the top 10 every time the Bears have faced the 49ers - sixth in 1991, eighth in 1994 and fourth in 1997.

THE LONG BEACH STATE 49ers
Long Beach State (0-0) is its 18th season under the direction of head coach Brian Gimmillaro, who has spent his entire head coaching career at his alma mater. In that time, Gimmillaro has posted a 482-105 record, making him one of the winningest coaches in the sports history.

LBSU Notes: The 49ers begin the 2002 season ranked fifth nationally in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Preseason Poll and seventh nationally in the Volleyball Magazine preseason Top 20. ... Long Beach State returns three starters and six letterwinners from a 2001 squad that went 33-1 overall, won the Big West Conference with an 18-0 record and advanced to the championship match of the NCAA Tournament. ... The 49ers were the nation's most potent offense last season, attacking at a .359 rate with 17.30 kills per game. LBSU also averaged 2.16 service aces, 15.09 digs and 2.82 blocks per game. ... Gone is the deadly tandem of Tayyiba Haneef and Cheryl Weaver. Haneef averaged 5.03 kills per game with a .406 attacking percentage, while Weaver put away 4.51 kills and 1.20 blocks per game to go along with a .429 attacking percentage. The Niners also graduated setter Keri Nishimoto, who averaged 13.59 assists and 2.46 digs per game. ... The Beach is expected to rely on senior OH/S Brittany Hochevar, who averaged 2.43 kills and 0.87 digs per game last season and hit .311. She also led the team with 3.00 digs per game.

BAYLOR IN SEASON OPENERS
The Bears are a perfect 6-0 in season openers under Brian Hosfeld, dropping just one game in that span. Last season, Baylor defeated UNLV 30-24, 30-23, 30-16 to open the year. Stevie Nicholas posted her first of 18 double-doubles in that match with 17 kills and 12 digs to go along with five service aces. That victory also started an eight-match winning streak, tying the school record for most consecutive wins to begin a season. Baylor was not victorious in a season-opening match until the 1985 season. Since then, the Bears are 11-6 in season openers. ... This is the first time Baylor has opened a season against Oral Roberts. However, the Bears and the Eagles did meet in the season-opening Mean Green Tournament at North Texas in 1996.

BEARS AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Baylor has lost 11 consecutive matches against teams ranked either in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Top 25 or in the Volleyball Magazine Top 20. That streak, which includes an 0-8 record against ranked teams last season, dates back to an Oct. 25, 2000 victory over then-No. 23 Kansas State at the Ferrell Center. Baylor is 8-107 all-time against nationally ranked opponents; however, seven of those victories have come during the Brian Hosfeld era (since 1996), six in the past three seasons.

BIG 12 COACHES TAB BEARS TO FINISH SEVENTH
For the second straight season and the fourth time in the past five years, the Big 12 Conference volleyball coaches picked Baylor to finish seventh in the league's preseason poll. Last season, the Bears finished in a three-way, sixth-place tie with Texas and Texas Tech last season with an 18-12 overall record and a 9-11 mark in Big 12 play. Four-time defending Big 12 Champion Nebraska was picked to finish first; the Huskers received every first-place vote. Texas A&M followed in second, Missouri and Colorado tied for third, and Kansas State was slotted in the fifth position. Texas was picked sixth, followed by Baylor, Texas Tech and Kansas with Iowa State and Oklahoma tying for the final spot.

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 returns home next weekend for the 12th edition of the Baylor Classic. The Bears welcome Arkansas-Little Rock, Mississippi and Texas-Arlington to the Ferrell Center for the two-day round-robin event. Baylor faces Mississippi at 1 p.m. CDT Friday followed by a 7 p.m. match against UALR. The Bears meet UTA at 3 p.m. CDT Saturday in the final match of the Baylor Classic.

*** NOTES FROM 2001 ***

WEEKEND WARRIORS
Baylor posted a 13-6 record in matches played during the weekend - 4-1 on Fridays, 8-5 on Saturdays and 1-0 on Sundays. On the other hand, the Bears were just 5-6 in midweek games, going 1-0 on Mondays, 1-0 on Tuesdays and 3-6 on Wednesdays. Baylor's only Friday loss was at then-No. 9 Colorado State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

FIVE-GAME TENDENCIES
After not playing a five-game match in their first 16 matches, the 2001 Bears tied the school record with eight five-gamers. Starting with their 17th match of the year (Oct. 13 at Kansas State), six of their next eight matches went to five games; that is a school record for an eight-match stretch. The six matches were in two sets of three straight five-gamers. Prior to 2001, Baylor had never played three consecutive five-game matches. Since the beginning of the 1999 season, Baylor has played 21 five-game matches, a school record for a three-year span.

BEARS STRONG AT SERVICE LINE
After averaging an all-time program-low 1.25 service aces per game in 2000, the 2001 Bears were dominant at the line in 2001. Through 27 matches, Baylor is averaging a Big 12-best 1.92 per contest. Stevie Nicholas led the team with 59, OH Laura Daniela Lloreda had 51 and RS Tatiana Kenon had 33. Nicholas and Lloreda are the first Baylor teammates to have 50 or more service aces in the same season, ranking second and third, respectively, all-time at Baylor. In all, seven Bears tallied at least 10 service aces this season. As a team, Baylor amassed 207 service aces on the season, the most since the 1993 squad had 213 and the fifth-best season total in Baylor history.

STEVIE NICHOLAS, CHUHA NAMED ALL-BIG 12
OH Stevie Nicholas earned first-team all-Big 12 Conference volleyball honors for the second straight season, while S Dana Chuha was an honorable mention selection. The 2000 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Nicholas joined Elisha Polk (1998-1999) and Cory Sivertson (1992-1993-1994) as the only Baylor volleyball players to ever earn all-conference honors twice. Chuha earned all-conference honors for the first time in her career.

FIVE BEARS EARN ACADEMIC ALL-BIG 12 HONORS
Carol Selman and Sunny Nicholas headlined Baylor's five-member class on the 2001 Academic all-Big 12 team. Selman and Sunny Nicholas earned first-team honors, while Dana Chuha, Stevie Nicholas and Kimmy Scott were second-team selections. Scott, a professional writing major, earns academic all-conference honors for the fourth time in her career; she was eligible as a freshman after taking a medical redshirt in 1997. Sunny Nicholas (pre-nursing), who was named first-team Verizon Academic all-District VI, was honored for the third time and Chuha (nutrition) for the second time; Stevie Nicholas (pre-business) and Selman (human resource management) were both first-time honorees. Since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996, 15 Baylor volleyball players have received academic all-conference honors 32 times, second only to Nebraska.

LLOREDA CRACKS BAYLOR SEASON DIGS LIST
Sophomore OH Laura Daniela Lloreda moved into 10th place all-time at Baylor for digs in a season last Saturday. She now has 382 digs on the season, 18 behind the ninth-place total of 400 tallied by Heather Williams in 1991. Lloreda is averaging 3.54 digs per game this season, which would rank second all-time behind only Elisha Polk's Big 12 record average of 4.42 in 1999. Lloreda posted her 20th match of the season with at least 10 digs against Missouri, extending her school record for matches with at least 10 digs in a season by a first-year player. Cory Sivertson (1991) and Stevie Nicholas (2000) previously shared the record at 18; both were freshmen during those seasons. Lloreda transferred to Baylor this year from Universidad des la Americas in Veracruz, Mexico.

SCHWARTZ BLOSSOMS IN SECOND HALF
MB Tisha Schwartz stepped into her own over the last month of the season. In the Bears last 10 matches, she hit .330 (136-41-288) with 3.32 kills and 1.12 blocks per game. Included in that stretch was a career-high 19-kill performance at Texas Tech to go along with a season-high eight 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. At Nebraska, she had Baylor's best all-around night with 11 kills, seven blocks and a .333 attacking percentage. The Amarillo, Texas, native has gone 13 consecutive matches with at least one block; she has also posted 10 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. From that point, Schwartz averaged 3.01 kills and 1.11 blocks per game while attacking at a .331 clip.