Baylor
20-9
Oregon
22-10
No. 25 VB Drops Five-Set Thriller to No. 14 Oregon
12/1/2018 1:13:00 AM | Volleyball
Bears force a fifth set but can’t pull off the upset in the NCAA Second Round
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Three points from a berth in the Sweet 16, Baylor volleyball's season instead ended on a kill by Oregon's Ronika Stone to cap off another epic five-setter at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore.
In a matchup of All-Americans, the Ducks' Lindsay Vander Weide had a match-high 21 kills to go with 12 digs and four blocks, while Baylor sophomore Yossiana Pressley had 17 kills, eight digs and combined on two of the Bears' 10 blocks. Oregon (22-10) held on for a 3-2 win, 25-18, 13-25, 25-17, 22-25, 15-13, before a crowd of 2,508.
"When our block was relevant, we had a shot to keep it going," said Baylor coach Ryan McGuyre, whose team finished 20-9 with its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 20-win seasons. "When our block was not relevant, (Vander Weide) was bouncing some pretty balls pretty good. We had some missed assignments."
After rallying from a two-set deficit to beat Hawaii one night earlier, the Bears found themselves in another fight to the finish against an Oregon team advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time in four years.
"It's definitely a fight, battle mentality," who had 11 kills and broke her own single-season school record with a .397 hitting percentage. "Although we didn't start fast . . . we knew we had really bring that fire, bring that fuel, so we would have the momentum to finish the game. Going into that fifth set, it's all-out mentality and every ball matters. It was a tough battle, for sure."
Using a lineup that had Maryland transfer Gia Malana at outside hitter and Pressley at opposite side for the first time all year, the Bears got out to a slow start in the first set, falling behind 18-7.
Baylor had a 7-2 run that included kills by seniors Ashley Fritcher and Jaelyn Jackson to at least make things a little interesting, but Taylor Borup's set-ending kill put the Ducks up 1-0.
"It was just weird, like we weren't in rhythm and the passes weren't there," Pressley said. "But, we found our fight halfway into the first set. We were like, 'Hey, we have nothing to lose, let's just go after it.' And we found that grit and we found that fight, and it showed in the second set."
McGuyre said the team's goal going into the second set was to "be one degree better than the second half of that first set, because we were buried pretty bad."
"That 25-18 looks respectable, but we were getting slaughtered," McGuyre said. "We were able to make a little bit of a run there at the end, so we were glad we were able to play good volleyball at the end of the first half. So, we said, 'Hey, let's just keep playing good volleyball.'''
Fanning had four kills and one of the team's two aces in a dominant second set, 25-13, that evened the match at 1-1. After dropping the third set, the Bears rallied from a 19-15 deficit in the fourth set to force a fifth, a Pressley kill capping a 25-22 win.
Oregon controlled most of the fifth set, jumping out to leads of 8-4 and 11-5, but the Bears battled back to pull within 14-13 before the Stone kill ended it.
"Obviously, from the start, they kind of punched us in the face in that first set," McGuyre said. "We were able to go back, and it turned into a fun, epic five-set battle. I think multiple points in each set could have turned the tide, and both teams played hard. They made some great touches at the end to finish, and we didn't."
Jackson, Fritcher and Aniah Philo, who recorded her 34thcareer double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs, were the lone seniors on a Baylor team that finished in the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row.
THE RUNDOWN
EUGENE, Ore. – No. 25 Baylor volleyball (20-9) forced a fifth set for the second-straight night but ultimately couldn't overcome a late deficit in a five-set loss to No. 14 and 15th-seeded Oregon (22-10) Friday night at Matthew Knight Arena, 25-18, 13-25, 25-17, 22-25, 15-13.
Baylor concluded its season in the NCAA Second Round for the third-straight year under head coach Ryan McGuyre.
Yossiana Pressley led the Bears with 17 kills on a .208 hitting efficiency while Shelly Fanning and Aniah Philo scored in double digits with 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Philo recorded her 14th double-double of the season and 34th of her career after she added 12 digs.
Despite the loss, the Bears had more service aces (9-6) and digs (70-61) than the Ducks. Oregon's Lindsey Vander Wiede led all players with 21 kills while Ronika Stone added 11.
BU fell flat in the opening frame and couldn't find its rhythm, falling down 15-5 after an attack error. After being down 21-11, the Bears chipped away and ended the set on a 7-4 run before Oregon used a kill to take the opener, 25-18.
Baylor came firing back in the second set and used a Fanning service ace to go up 13-7. BU didn't let up and used four kills down the stretch to hit .458 and even up the match, 25-13.
The third set saw Baylor playing from behind the entire time. When a Pressley kill cut the deficit to four, Oregon took six of the last eight points to go up 2-1 in the match, 25-17.
Down 14-10 and 19-15 in the fourth frame, the Bears fought back and went on a 7-2 run to take the lead at 22-21. Hannah Lockin put down a service ace before Pressley tallied the final point to send the match to a fifth set, 25-22.
Baylor fell behind 5-2 after an Oregon block, but a kill from Fanning and Gia Milana brought the Bears within one. Oregon went into the changeover with an 8-4 lead and set up match point at 14-11. BU wasn't done yet and used a kill and a block to pull within one at 14-13. Oregon ultimately got the final kill to end the match, 15-13.
HIGHLIGHTS
• The Bears finish in the NCAA Second Round for the third consecutive season.
• Baylor forced a fifth set for the second-straight match in the NCAA Tournament, moving to 4-1 in five-set matches in the postseason.
• Aniah Philo finished her Baylor career by posting her 34th double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs.
• Philo is the first player in Baylor history to record three double-doubles in the NCAA Tournament.
• Yossiana Pressley posted her 26th double-digit match with 17 kills on a .208 hitting efficiency.
• Tara Wulf posted her 25th double-digit match of the season with a match-high 22 digs.
• Hannah Lockin posted a career-high four service aces against the Ducks.
• Baylor is now 3-3 in NCAA tournament matches under Ryan McGuyre.
• Baylor finished 1-5 against ranked opponents in 2018.
• Baylor finished 7-4 in road matches in 2018.
• Baylor finished 14-8 as a ranked team in 2018 and is 23-11 as a ranked team under McGuyre.
STAT OF THE MATCH
3 – the program-best double-double count by senior Aniah Philo in the NCAA Tournament.
TOP QUOTE #1
Head coach Ryan McGuyre
On the match…
"Congratulations to Oregon. What a fun, hard‐fought battle and a great atmosphere. The administration and support staff here is awesome; they ran a first‐class event. Wish we were hosting, but having not hosted and being here, we were treated phenomenally well. On top of that the Ducks played really hard from the start. They kind of punched us in the face in that first set, but we were able to come back and it turned into a fun, epic five‐set battle. I think multiple points in each set could have turned the tide and both teams played hard."
TOP QUOTE #2
Head coach Ryan McGuyre
On facing Oregon…
"I think when our block was relevant, we had a shot to stop (Lindsey Vander Weide) and when our block when our block wasn't there, she was bouncing some balls. We had a couple of missed assignments and we ran a lineup we hadn't run all season, so maybe that was a factor in what happened in that first set. But I really felt like that gave us the best chance to win. For us it was really a rhythm issue, but in these types of games, your All‐American players really have to play like All‐Americans, so that's the thrill of it."
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears conclude the 2018 season with a 20-9 record for their third-straight 20-win season under head coach Ryan McGuyre.
