Volleyball Set for Baylor Classic
9/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 3, 2009
MATCHES 5-6-7
HOLIDAY INN AND SUITES BAYLOR CLASSIC Sept. 4-5, 2009 • Ferrell Center (Waco, Texas)
INTERNET AUDIO: live broadcast stream at BaylorBears.com
LIVE STATS: Live GameTracker stats at BaylorBears.com
SCOUTING THE BAYLOR CLASSIC...
CENTRAL FLORIDA
• UCF is off to the its best start in program history, winning all of its first five games.
• The Knights are led by second-year head coach Todd Dagenais, who finished with a 15-17 record in his first season and helped UCF improve from 244th in the RPI to 113th.
• The Knights out-hit their opponents by a sound margin in their first five matches with a hitting percentage of .285 to just .105 for the opposition.
TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO
• UTSA enters the weekend with a 2-2 record, beating North Texas in five sets in the season-opener and then knocking off Prairie View A&M 3-1 earlier this week.
• The Roadrunners are led by eighth-year head coach Laura Groff, who has a 112-112 record in seven seasons.
• The Roadrunners return 2008 Southland Conference Libero of the Year Kelsey Jewasko and SLC Newcomer of the Year Stefanie Robbins.
PURDUE
• Purdue comes into the Baylor Classic ranked 24th in the AVCA Top 25 poll after opening the year 2-1 at the Mortar Board Premier Tournament at home.
• The Boilermakers are led by seventh-year head coach Dave Shondell, who has a 124-73 record in six seasons.
• Junior middle blocker Kristen Arthurs was selected the Preseason All-Big Ten team, while outside hitter Carrie Gurnell paced the Boilermaker offense with 3.82 kills per set and a .326 hitting percentage.
CLOSE CALL
Baylor had its first five-set match of the season in a come-from-behind 3-2 victory at TCU. After Baylor squeaked out a 28-26 victory in the first set, TCU took control of the match winning the next two sets to take a 2-1 lead. But, the Bears dominated the fourth set 25-9, and then went on to erase a 7-4 fifth-set deficit to win 15-13.
It was the Bears third five-set win in a row dating back to last season. Baylor was 3-2 in five-set matches in 2008 with wins over Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Missouri, and losses to Kansas State and Oklahoma.
TOURNAMENT CHAMPS
With a perfect 3-0 record at the Flo Hyman Invitational hosted by the University of Houston, the Bears claimed co-tournament champion honors. Baylor shared the title with the University of Indiana, as the two did not meet.
The Bears and Hoosiers were part of the five-team with each playing three matches against the other three teams (SE La., Houston, New Orleans).
STRAIGHT SETS
The Bears completed a perfect start to the season, winning all nine sets in three matches at the Flo Hyman Invitational. The Bears went on to win the first set at TCU before the streak halted in Set 2 at 10. The streak is the most since Baylor won 13 consecutive sets in the middle of an eight-match winning streak to open the 2008 season.
In `08, Baylor closed out the last two sets against Texas State, then swept Weber State, San Diego State, and Texas-San Antonio before the streak was snapped in the third set of a 3-1 victory over Rice.
LIKE A BROKEN RECORD
Anna Breyfogle continued her legacy as one of the best blockers in BU history setting a school record for blocks in a three-set match with 12 against Houston in the Bears second match of the season. The senior recorded one solo and 11 block assists in a three-set sweep of the Cougars.
With 23 total blocks in nine sets at the Flo Hyman Invitational, Breyfogle, who led the Big 12 in blocks per set in 2008, averaged 2.56 bps in the team's first three games. Comparatively, in 2008, she averaged 1.45.
DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE
Baylor completed a weekend sweep largely in part by its defense. The Bears totaled 28 blocks in just nine sets (3.11 bps) and 142 digs (15.78 dps). Anna Breyfogle led all blockers with 23, while Allison King paced the Bears with 38 digs.
With spectacular block and dig numbers over the weekend, the Bears held opponents to an .048 hitting percentage (81k-66e-315ta).
After holding Southeastern Louisiana to an .011 percentage in the season opener, the Baylor defense set the bar even higher, holding Houston to a -.030 hitting percentage. That marked the first time Baylor has held a team to a negative hitting percentage since Colorado hit -.088 in a 3-0 Bears win on Oct. 1, 2008.
In Baylor's final match of the opening weekend, New Orleans hit .138 to bring the Bears' opponent hitting percentage to a Big 12-leading total of .048.
LEAGUE LEADERS
Anna Breyfogle remains atop two categories in the Big 12. The middle blocker is at the top of the total blocks (25) and blocks per set (1.79) list, as well as leading the league with a .487 hitting percentage (45-7-78). Breyfogle also had two of the top three single-match block totals in the team.
As a team, the Bears rank second in the conference in opponent hitting percentage, holding their opponents to a .097 hitting percentage in three matches.
OUT OF THE BLOCKS
In the Jim Barnes era, the Bears have become accustomed to starting the season off on the right foot. After losing the season-opener in Barnes' first season, Baylor has won its first game of the season each of the last five years with a win to open 2009 over Southeastern Louisiana.
In2008, Barnes' crew ripped off eight consecutive wins to open the season, losing just three sets along the way. That streak included a 13-set winning streaking, starting with the last two sets at Texas State and ending with a third-set loss against Rice.
ALL-BIG 12 PRESEASON TEAM
For the second-straight season, Taylor Barnes and Anna Breyfogle were named to the preseason All-Big 12 team.
Barnes, a senior setter, was named to the preseason team for the third-straight year. In 2008, she parlayed her preseason accolade into All-Big 12 First Team postseason honors, leading the Big 12 in service aces per set. Barnes also earned all-AVCA central region honors and ranked fourth in the Big 12 with 10.32 assists per set.
Breyfogle, a senior middle blocker, earned the preseason honor for the second-straight year. Like Barnes, Breyfogle also earned both All-Big 12 First Team and all-AVCA central region honors in 2008. The Buda, Texas, native led the Big 12 in blocks per set with 1.45, while ranking seventh in the nation in that category.
ADDITIONS AND SUBTRACTIONS
Baylor lost just one letterwinner from its 2008 squad, while adding the three recruits that make up the 14th-ranked class in the nation, accoring to Prepvolleyball.com.
Amarillo's (Texas) Torri Campbell, ranked 30th in the country, enters Baylor as its second-highest ranked recruit in program history. Zoe Adom, a super-athletic outside hitter from Euless, Texas, and Kiley Sherman, a versatile outside and defensive player from Oswego, Ill., round out the class for the Bears.
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Baylor received votes in the AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll released on Monday afternoon by American Volleyball Coaches Association officials.
The Bears received six points in the poll, ranking them 41st among all vote getters, up three spots and one point from the Preseason AVCA Top 25 Poll. Baylor is one of six Big 12 teams receiving votes in the poll.
LOOK! I'M ON TV
Baylor will be part of the five-game telecast schedule for the Big 12 Conference this season when it travels to the University of Texas on Sept. 16. The game will be televised on ESPNU, with a 6 p.m. start time.
The Big 12 telecast schedule includes four games on ESPNU and one game on Fox Sports Net. Nebraska and Texas will each be televised three times, while Texas A&M will be televised twice and Baylor and Oklahoma each once.
Baylor's matchup with Texas will be the Bears conference opener, as well as the last of a four-game set away from the Ferrell Center.
NOT THAT A-TEAM
Baylor junior Ashlie Christenson had a busy offseason after earning a spot on the 24-player U.S. Women's National A2 Program last Spring. Christenson was just the second player in Baylor history, along with Stevie Nicholas in 2002, to be named to the A2 National Team.
The 2009 U.S. Women's National A2 Team included four setters, 10 outside/opposite hitters, six middles and four liberos. The 24 players come from 19 different collegiate programs. . A record total of 160 athletes competed in the Open Tryout.
LIVE ON THE WEB
Don't forget to check out live stats on Gametracker on BaylorBears.com. Baylor's official website will also feature a live radio webcast with veteran play-by-play announcer Larry Little handling the duties for home matches, and Todd Zeidler bringing you the action from the road.
