Aug. 21, 2003
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Green & Gold Game
Friday, August 22, 2003 * Ferrell Center * Waco, Texas
What's Next for Baylor Volleyball
Friday's Green and Gold Scrimmage marks the final tune-up for the 2003 Baylor volleyball squad before the Bears host the Baylor Classic over Labor Day Weekend.
Head coach Brian Hosfeld will showcase his team in the annual scrimmage Friday at 6 p.m. at the Ferrell Center. Admission is free, as both the freshmen on campus for Welcome Week and Baylor volleyball fans of all ages are encouraged to come get a preview of this year's team.
"This is a good chance for fans to see the talent of our entire program, as everyone available on the roster will be on the court," Hosfeld said.
Coming off an injury-filled season a year ago, the Bears have a pair of all-Big 12 seniors returning in Stevie Nicholas and Tisha Schwartz. That pair is joined by five returning players and seven newcomers.
Baylor begins the season in earnest by hosting the Baylor Classic Aug. 29-30 at the Ferrell Center. The Bears will welcome in Houston, Ole Miss, Texas-San Antonio and Wyoming for the tournament. Baylor faces the Cougars Aug. 29 at 2:30 p.m. in game one of the 2003 season.
Both season and single-game tickets are on sale now through the Baylor Ticket Office at Floyd Casey Stadium or by phone at 254-710-1000, and online at BaylorBears.com.
Last Time Out - 2002 Season Recap
Decimated by injuries, Baylor suffered its longest season in head coach Brian Hosfeld's seven-year tenure. After starting the season 6-3, the Bears were devastated by the injury bug, losing four starters to season-ending injuries or illness. Baylor finished the year 9-22 overall and 2-18 in Big 12 play.
Perhaps the biggest blow for the Bears came Sept. 18 when two-time all-Big 12 outside hitter Stevie Nicholas sustained a torn meniscus in her knee. However, in Nicholas' absence, Tisha Schwartz moved from middle blocker to the outside and established herself as one of the top scoring threats in the conference. She finished second in the league in kills and points per game, ranking sixth in school history in both categories, en route to all-conference honors.
Several young Bears got valuable playing time, including setter Emily Huston and middle blocker Stella Odion. Plus, Baylor carried no seniors on its 2002 squad.
Baylor in Season Openers
The Bears are 6-1 all-time in season openers under head coach Brian Hosfeld. Baylor had lost just one game in that span until falling 3-1 last year to Oral Roberts at the LBSU Mizuno Invitational in Long Beach, Calif.
Baylor was not victorious in a season-opening match until the 1985 season. Since then, the Bears are 11-7 in season openers, including a six-match win streak that was snapped last year.
The Bears are 5-2 in home openers under Hosfeld, entering 2003 with a four-match win streak in home-opening matches, but just 9-9 overall in program history.
Baylor Classic History
This season marks the 13th edition of the Baylor Classic. The event was first held as the Baylor Invitational in 1980; the Bears posted a 3-0 record in that tournament with wins over Mary Hardin-Baylor, SFA and Howard Payne. The tournament did not return until 1990, when it was known as the American Airlines Invitational. In 1993, LaQuinta Inns joined American Airlines as a sponsor; Dr Pepper replaced LaQuinta in 1995. The tournament was not hosted during the 1997 and 1998 seasons, but re-emerged in 1999 as the Baylor Classic.
The Bears are 32-10 (.762) all-time in their own tournament, claiming first place in 1992, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2001 and 2002, and second place in 1991 and 2000.
Big 12 Coaches Tab Bears to Finish Eighth
The Big 12 Conference volleyball coaches picked Baylor to finish eighth in the league's 2003 preseason poll. Defending Big 12 Champion Nebraska was picked to finish first, receiving six of the 11 first-place votes. Texas came in second, with Kansas State just one point back in third. Texas A&M and Missouri tied for fourth, followed by Kansas in sixth and Colorado in seventh place. Baylor slotted in the eighth spot, with Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Iowa State rounding out the 11-team field.
Nebraska and Texas A&M also dominated the preseason all-conference squads, with each team receiving two places on the six-person team. Nebraska's Anna Schrad and Kansas State's Lauren Goehring were named co-preseason players of the year. Colorado's Ashley Nu'u was tabbed preseason freshman of the year, and Texas' Darium Acevedo, a sophomore transfer from Oregon, was named preseason newcomer of the year.
Influx of Talent
Seven new players dot the Bears' 2003 roster. Four transfers and three freshmen are joining the six returning players from a year ago. Among the four transfers, two hail from Hungary (Eszter Kovacs and Andrea Vakulya), one comes from Brazil (Adeline Meira) and one is returning home to Texas after spending a year at Southeastern Louisiana (Maggie Chlebana).
Nicholas, Schwartz Rewriting Recordbook
Seniors Stevie Nicholas and Tisha Schwartz have already made their places in the Baylor recordbooks, having earned spots on the 25th Anniversary Team released last year. But their places are becoming even more solid as they continue to make their ways up the charts in several statistical categories.
Nicholas and Schwartz each rank among the top 10 players in Baylor history in career attack percentage. Nicholas also is among the career leaders in kills, total attempts and service aces, and is threatening to crack the top 10 in digs. Schwartz, meanwhile, is just outside the top 10 in career kills, attempts and blocks.
Wednesday Woes
Baylor has lost seven consecutive Wednesday matches since defeating Texas Tech in three games on Oct. 9, 2002 in Waco. That proved to be the Bears' only Wednesday victory last year. Since the start of the 2002 season, Baylor is 4-15 on Wednesdays. The Bears have not won a road Wednesday match since a four-game victory Nov. 8, 2000 at Oklahoma.
It's In Their Blood
As might be expected, a number of this year's Bears have sports -- volleyball or otherwise -- in their blood. Notable examples:
Senior Stevie Nicholas' entire family seems to have excelled in athletics. Her father, Steve, wrestled at Oregon State, while her mother, DeAnne, competed in the high jump at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany. Those genes were passed along to both Stevie and her sister, Sunny, who lettered four years in volleyball at Baylor (1998-2001) and was named to the Bears' 25th Anniversary Team last season.
Sophomore Maggie Chlebana's mother Marian played collegiate basketball at Florida State, while her sisters Sarah and Julia each played volleyball at Cal State Sacramento. Sarah is now an assistant coach at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn.
Freshman Eszter Kovacs' brother David played basketball at the University of Miskolc in Hungary, the same school from which Eszter transferred to Baylor.
Newcomer Kristen Schramek has a pair of cousins with excellent collegiate resumes. Mark Schramek played baseball at Texas-San Antonio and was a first-round pick of the Cincinnati Reds in 2002, while Mark's brother Chad played quarterback at Sam Houston State.
Rookie Casey Schuur's father, Robert, played football and rugby at Stanford, and Casey's mother Martha was a professional tennis player.
Transfer Andrea Vakulya's brother Gabor played volleyball for the City of Szeged team in the Vakulya's native Hungary.
Schedule Notes
The Bears host 15 home matches in 2003, including the 13th Baylor Classic held Labor Day weekend. Baylor plays 12 matches against teams that finished the 2002 season ranked nationally and 18 matches against teams that participated in the 2002 NCAA Tournament.
Four opponents are on Baylor's schedule for the first time: Alcorn State, Jacksonville, Pacific and Wyoming.
New Faces on Coaching Staff
Head coach Brian Hosfeld added three new faces to his coaching staff for the 2003 season.
Hungarian native Jozsef Forman comes to Waco from overseas, where he has over 10 years of experience, including four years as head coach of the Hungarian Women's Senior National Team. Forman spent his last four years as head coach and general manager of the NRK-NYIREGYHAZA Club, the top club team in Hungary each of the past three years (2000, 2001, 2002).
Sarah McFarland, a two-time all-American at Loyola Marymount, has also joined the coaching ranks. McFarland earned four letters at LMU (1997-2000) and became the first two-time all-American in her program's history. A three-time all-West Coast Conference selection, she led the nation in kills twice and set an NCAA record with 7.78 kills per game in 2000.
Volunteer assistant coach Kevin Wray returns to Baylor as an assistant this fall after having spent four years as a manager for the team while completing his degree. While at Baylor, Wray also led the men's club volleyball team to its top finish ever, an 11th-place national finish in 2001. He has won two gold medals coaching Junior Olympics teams and has spent time with several different club teams.
Head Coach Brian Hosfeld
Baylor is in its eighth season under the direction of head coach Brian Hosfeld. During his tenure, the Bears have compiled a 117-111 (.513) overall record and a 51-89 (.364) 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 seven 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.
O Captain, My Captain
Seniors Stevie Nicholas and Tisha Schwartz will serve as team co-captains in 2003. The pair are the only two seniors on a squad that does not include any juniors. Nicholas and Schwartz are each in the fourth seasons at Baylor and have each been named all-Big 12 (Nicholas in 2000 and 2001, Schwartz in 2002).
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 College Sports Network. OCSN currently hosts sites for more than 100 universities.
Live scoring updates are available on BaylorBears.com for all Baylor baseball home games and most road games.
Inside Baylor Sports
"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.
