Sept. 2, 2016 Baylor Match Notes 
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
While Ryan McGuyre is returning to his Southern California roots, the Baylor volleyball team (3-1) will get its stiffest test to date when the Bears face No. 25 Colorado State (3-0) at 12 p.m. CDT Friday in the opening game of the Thunderdome Classic in Santa Barbara, Calif.
In last year's season opener, Colorado State swept the Bears, 3-0 (26-24, 25-18, 25-20), in McGuyre's first match at Bylor en route to winning the Ram Classic.
"Playing them last year, I think this is a good litmus test measure of where we are this early in the season, to let us know how far we need to go," McGuyre said. "They're big and physical, they've got a 6-6 girl in the middle (Kirstie Hillyer). Tom (Hilbert) does a great job. They've won their conference seven, eight years in a row. . . . They'll definitely be the toughest opponent we've played. They're sitting right there at 25, and the future of Baylor is a consistent top-25 team."
While CSU has barely broken a sweat in wins over North Dakota State, Saint Mary's and in-state rival Northern Colorado, the Bears bounced back from a 3-1 loss to UT-Rio Grande Valley to beat Prairie View, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas State.
"The first loss is discouraging, but you've got to think about it and then release it and jump into the next day," McGuyre said. "We had opportunities to win, but we were also throwing people out there, some of them didn't even have a chance to practice. I'm glad the next day we were able to jump in and get those two victories."
Playing the first of eight straight on the road, Baylor defeated Texas State, 3-1 (25-16, 19-25, 25-22, 25-21), Tuesday night in San Marcos before a record crowd of 3,634.
"I felt like (Tuesday) was definitely more indicative of how we're training, and I think these girls are ready to travel well," McGuyre said. "We need to do that if we're going to make a move in conference. You need to dominate at home and win on the road. How we traveled (Tuesday) was definitely a good sign."
Junior outside hitter Katie Staiger earned MVP honors at the Hampton Inn Waco North Baylor Invitational and is averaging a national-best 6.08 kills per set while hitting at a .313 clip.
"I joke to her that when I'm an 80-year-old grandpa I want to brag about being able to coach the great Katie Staiger," McGuyre said. "It's fun only because she's so humble. She recognizes where her talent comes from, but she's jumping higher than ever before, she's hitting harder than ever before, and I think she's more comfortable playing than ever before. She really does a good job of seeing the block."
With Shelly Fanning and Tola Itiola both out with injuries, Staiger said she's "definitely getting more attempts than I have in the past. And then it just comes down to putting the ball away."
And if defenses do focus more on blocking Staiger, "we have so many people that can put the ball away that they're going to have to worry about it coming from all different directions," she said.
Even when she's getting double-blocked, McGuyre said that might still be the team's best option, but "working on trying to find a better balance."
"If we're able to get some of the other people back, that would spread out the load a little bit," he said. "And if they want to focus on Katie, then fine, we'll do it. We're still waiting to see. We've seen glimpses from Camryn (Freiberg), glimpses from Jaelyn (Jackson, glimpses from Ashley (Fritcher) at times. I'd really like to see two or three more girls sustain it a little bit longer as far as their offensive production and keep us a little more balanced."
The Bears will play the host Cal Santa Barbara Gauchos (2-1) at 9 p.m. CDT Friday, then wrap up the tournament with a matchup against CSU Bakersfield (1-2) at 2:30 p.m. CDT Saturday.
"Colorado State is a good team every year. They always have a lot of good players," Staiger said. "But, I'm excited. I think we have a lot of people that can match up with them and even overcome them. So, I'm excited about it. I feel like we're in a good position."
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Baylor volleyball (3-1) kicks off play in the 2016 Thunderdome Classic on Friday morning, Sept. 2, at 10 a.m. PT vs. No. 25 Colorado State (3-0) at The Thunderdome on UC Santa Barbara's campus.
The Bears will play the hosts, the UCSB Gauchos (2-1), that evening at 7 p.m. PT before finishing up tournament play on Saturday, Sept. 3, at 12:30 p.m. PT vs. CSU Bakersfield (1-2).
Colorado State is the only squad the Bears have faced before, dropping all three prior meetings. This will be the first neutral site meeting, with all three previous matches hosted by the Rams in Fort Collins, Colo.
Fans can listen to Baylor's internet radio stream on this and all other Baylor road trips at BaylorBears.com/allaccess. Keep up with the team all season long by following Baylor Volleyball's official accounts on Twitter (@BaylorVball), Facebook (Baylor Volleyball), Instagram (@BaylorVolleyball), and Snapchat (@BaylorVball).
MATCH INFO:
2016 Thunderdome Classic
The Thunderdome (6,000)
Santa Barbara, Calif.
Sep. 2-3, 2016
Audio: BaylorBears.com (Paid)
Live Stats: UCSBGauchos.com
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, Sept. 2
Baylor vs. Colorado State 10 a.m. PT
UCSB vs. CSUB 12:30 p.m. PT
UCSB vs. Baylor 7:00 p.m. PT
Saturday, Sept. 3
Pitt vs. Colorado State 10:00 a.m. PT
Baylor vs. CSUB 12:30 p.m. PT
BAYLOR BEARS
2015 Record: 17-13
2016 Record: 3-1
Head Coach: Ryan McGuyre (2nd season)
COLORADO STATE RAMS
2015 Record: 26-4
2016 Record: 3-0
Head Coach: Tom Hilbert (20th season)
All-Time Series: CSU, 3-0
UCSB GAUCHOS
2015 Record: 7-20
2016 Record: 2-1
Head Coach: Nicole Lantange Welch (4th season)
All-Time Series: Never met
CSU BAKERSFIELD ROADRUNNERS
2015 Record: 13-15
2016 Record: 1-2
Head Coach: Giovana Melo (3rd season)
All-Time Series: Never met
#SicEm
