Wednesday, September 19
Waco, Texas
7:00 p.m. CT
Baylor
vs
Texas Tech
Preview: No. 19 VB Opens Conference Play Against Texas Tech
9/18/2018 10:40:00 AM | Volleyball
Bears begin 16-match Big 12 slate with home match against the Red Raiders
MATCH NOTABLES
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Hoping to make a run at the program's first conference championship, the 19th-ranked Baylor volleyball team (8-3) opens league play at home with a matchup against Texas Tech (11-3) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Ferrell Center.
"I think you do have to reset a little bit," said Baylor coach Ryan McGuyre, whose team is coming off a two-match sweep of UTSA and Virginia Tech at a tournament last weekend in San Antonio. "We look at it like we're 0-0 again. Pre-conference was a chance for us to measure ourselves and see what areas we need to get better at. And I think we've addressed a lot of those."
Because of injuries and other issues, McGuyre has had to dip into his bench more often this year.
Hannah Fluegel and Braya Hunt shared setter duties early in the year before Hannah Lockin came back from injuries; Nicole Thomas stepped in at middle blocker after freshman Sydney Sacra got hurt; and other players like Marieke van der Mark, Ashley Fritcher, Taylor Marburger and Bri Coleman have come up big at times in sub roles.
"It excites me, because I think our grit and our strength is going to continue to grow," McGuyre said. "And the adversity builds, I think we're already more prepared for it this year."
Hunt, who had a career-high four service aces in Saturday's 3-0 sweep of Virginia Tech, said the depth gives the Bears an edge "because you never when it's your time to shine."
"There's going to be adversity during the season, and you just never know what the matchups are going to look like," said Hunt, a junior setter/defensive specialist. "Marieke, Ashley, Gia (Milana), they're all in each other's ear, they're all pushing each other on the right side, and it's not anybody's spot. We're all just trying to keep getting better, keep pushing. It's going to help us win a national championship and a Big 12 championship, for sure."
While last year's second-place finish was a program best, sophomore All-American Yossiana Pressley says the team is definitely chasing a Big 12 title.
"We all have the same goal," said Pressley, who earned her second tournament MVP honor after averaging 18.5 kills in two matches at the UTSA Invitational. "If you just dream the big dream and work toward that every single day, it's going to happen. No doubt."
Texas Tech comes into the conference opener riding a five-match winning streak, with junior outside hitter Emily Hill earning MVP honors at the UTRGV Tournament. McGuyre says the Red Raiders are strong in the middle with Allison White and Katy Keenan.
"Shelly (Fanning) is going to have to work a little bit harder to still get her kills," McGuyre said of the Bears' 6-foot-2 redshirt junior. "They've done a really good job limiting their errors, so Tech really makes you earn your points."
McGuyre said the emergence of Thomas has helped soften the impact of Sacra's injury.
"Nicole has really always been a good vocal leader for us," McGuyre said. "And now, she's got to do it a little bit more physically, have a presence, get more offensive, continue to make great blocking moves. She's always been alert. That's a testament to who she was last year, not playing really hardly at all. But when we looked at who was watching the most game film, it was normally Nicole. And she was the first one in Camryn (Freiberg's) ear, Tola (Itiola's) ear, Shelly's ear, saying, 'Hey, here's what I'm seeing.'
"So now, we get to take a great mind and a great athlete, and as she gets more experience working on putting those together for herself, applying it for herself, it's really helping us."
Wednesday's match will be televised live by FOX Sports Southwest, with "Voice of the Bears" John Morris and former Baylor All-American Katie Staiger calling the action.
After the conference home opener, the Bears will go on the road to face Iowa State (7-6) at 3 p.m. Saturday in Ames.
WACO, Texas – 19th-ranked Baylor volleyball (8-3) will open Big 12 play against Texas Tech Wednesday night at 7 p.m. CT at the Ferrell Center.
Looking for their eighth consecutive win over the Red Raiders, the Bears swept Texas Tech last season with a 3-1 win in Waco and 3-0 victory in Lubbock.
Last year's road win over Texas Tech sparked a seven-match winning streak in conference play which became a new program best.
Wednesday's showdown will be live on Fox Sports Southwest with "Voice of the Bears" John Morris and BU volleyball record holder Katie Staiger on the call.
Tickets for the match are $5 for general admission and $3 for groups of 12 or more.
BEARS OPEN BIG 12 SLATE AGAINST RED RAIDERS
• Baylor volleyball will open Big 12 play against Texas Tech Wednesday night at the Ferrell Center. This is the second consecutive year the Bears and Red Raiders will open conference action in Waco.
• The Bears look for their eighth-straight victory over the Red Raiders dating back to the 2014 season.
• Texas Tech and Baylor are second and third in the conference standings after nonconference play.
• Texas Tech leads the all-time series over the Bears, 47-33, but Baylor is 6-0 against the Red Raiders under fourth-year head coach Ryan McGuyre.
• BU has won 25 of the last 27 matchups against the Red Raiders.
• Opening Big 12 action, Baylor is 2-0 at home and 2-1 overall in conference openers under McGuyre.
BEARS CAP OFF NONCONFERENCE SEASON WITH 8-3 RECORD
• With plenty of ups and downs in just the first four weeks of the 2018 season, Baylor volleyball enters conference action with a No. 19 AVCA ranking and an 8-3 record.
• Already facing three ranked opponents in 2018 (all of them in a row), Baylor is 1-2 against ranked foes.
• BU captured its highest ranked win in program history by knocking off then-No. 2 Wisconsin on Sept. 7 in Waco.
• In the 3-1 win, Yossiana Pressley posted a career-high 32 kills on an impressive .313 clip.
• Baylor started 4-0 for the first time since 2012 after wins over LSU, Texas State, now-No. 21 Marquette and North Texas at home.
• The Bears went 0-2 the next weekend at the San Diego Invitational, falling to then-No. 10 UCLA in five sets and then-No. 19 San Diego in four sets.
• In week three, BU defeated Wisconsin Friday night but stubbed its toe against UTRGV the next morning in five sets. Baylor came back that night and topped Rice in four.
• Last weekend, Baylor went 2-0 at the UTSA Invitational with wins over UTSA and Virginia Tech.
• BU has recorded at least eight wins in every nonconference season under McGuyre.
BAYLOR RECENTLY
• 18th-ranked Baylor volleyball used its offensive efficiency and service game to win the UTSA Invitational with a sweep of Virginia Tech (9-2) last Saturday at the Convocation Center, 28-26, 25-18, 25-16.
• Led by Yossiana Pressley's match-high 17 kills, the Bears hit an impressive .354 for its best offensive showing of the season. She was named the tournament's MVP after posting 37 kills in two matches this weekend.
• Aniah Philo (12) and Shelly Fanning (11) joined Pressley on the all-tournament team after producing double-digit kills against Virginia Tech. Philo collected her fifth double-double of the season after she added 10 digs.
• Junior Braya Hunt led all players with a career-high four aces, helping BU earn the sweep.
• On Friday, Baylor powered back from a late deficit to take a five-set win over UTSA at the Convocation Center, clinching a 25-21, 20-25, 26-28, 25-20, 15-9 victory to open the UTSA Invitational.
• Philo broke her career kills mark for the second time this season with a 20-kill performance while hitting .474 on the outside. With 17 digs, she also recorded her fourth double-double of the season and 24th of her career.
• The Bears recorded over 15 blocks for the first time since Dec. 2, 2016 against San Diego in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. BU finished with 16 team blocks.
LAST TIME VS. TEXAS TECH (Oct. 25, 2017)
• Baylor's road win over Texas Tech sparked a program-best seven-match winning streak in Big 12 action.
• No. 24 Baylor volleyball (17-5, 7-2 Big 12) used a dominant offensive performance to roll past Texas Tech on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at the United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, 25-23, 25-9, 25-16.
• Without senior All-American Katie Staiger in the lineup, the Bears put up a .452 hitting clip, led by Yossiana Pressley with a match-high 14 kills on a .346 efficiency.
• Camryn Freiberg, Shelly Fanning and Aniah Philo all contributed nine kills each, and Philo added a match-high 10 digs in the win.
• Baylor had six players hitting over .300 for 51 kills (Pressley, Fritcher, Fanning, Freiberg, Philo and Lockin).
• BU handed Texas Tech its worst set loss of the season in set two (25-9).
PHILO, PRESSLEY CAPTURE RARE 20-20 COMBO
• Senior Aniah Philo and sophomore Yossiana Pressley became the first Baylor duo to finish a match with 20 kills each since Oct. 21, 2015 and only the sixth duo in the conference in the past three seasons.
• Philo and Pressley each had 20 kills in the Bears' five-set win over UTSA last Friday.
• During that match, Philo also recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 17 digs.
• The last time a Baylor duo recorded at least 20 kills was Katie Staiger and Andie Malloy against TCU during the 2015 season.
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Hoping to make a run at the program's first conference championship, the 19th-ranked Baylor volleyball team (8-3) opens league play at home with a matchup against Texas Tech (11-3) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Ferrell Center.
"I think you do have to reset a little bit," said Baylor coach Ryan McGuyre, whose team is coming off a two-match sweep of UTSA and Virginia Tech at a tournament last weekend in San Antonio. "We look at it like we're 0-0 again. Pre-conference was a chance for us to measure ourselves and see what areas we need to get better at. And I think we've addressed a lot of those."
Because of injuries and other issues, McGuyre has had to dip into his bench more often this year.
Hannah Fluegel and Braya Hunt shared setter duties early in the year before Hannah Lockin came back from injuries; Nicole Thomas stepped in at middle blocker after freshman Sydney Sacra got hurt; and other players like Marieke van der Mark, Ashley Fritcher, Taylor Marburger and Bri Coleman have come up big at times in sub roles.
"It excites me, because I think our grit and our strength is going to continue to grow," McGuyre said. "And the adversity builds, I think we're already more prepared for it this year."
Hunt, who had a career-high four service aces in Saturday's 3-0 sweep of Virginia Tech, said the depth gives the Bears an edge "because you never when it's your time to shine."
"There's going to be adversity during the season, and you just never know what the matchups are going to look like," said Hunt, a junior setter/defensive specialist. "Marieke, Ashley, Gia (Milana), they're all in each other's ear, they're all pushing each other on the right side, and it's not anybody's spot. We're all just trying to keep getting better, keep pushing. It's going to help us win a national championship and a Big 12 championship, for sure."
While last year's second-place finish was a program best, sophomore All-American Yossiana Pressley says the team is definitely chasing a Big 12 title.
"We all have the same goal," said Pressley, who earned her second tournament MVP honor after averaging 18.5 kills in two matches at the UTSA Invitational. "If you just dream the big dream and work toward that every single day, it's going to happen. No doubt."
Texas Tech comes into the conference opener riding a five-match winning streak, with junior outside hitter Emily Hill earning MVP honors at the UTRGV Tournament. McGuyre says the Red Raiders are strong in the middle with Allison White and Katy Keenan.
"Shelly (Fanning) is going to have to work a little bit harder to still get her kills," McGuyre said of the Bears' 6-foot-2 redshirt junior. "They've done a really good job limiting their errors, so Tech really makes you earn your points."
McGuyre said the emergence of Thomas has helped soften the impact of Sacra's injury.
"Nicole has really always been a good vocal leader for us," McGuyre said. "And now, she's got to do it a little bit more physically, have a presence, get more offensive, continue to make great blocking moves. She's always been alert. That's a testament to who she was last year, not playing really hardly at all. But when we looked at who was watching the most game film, it was normally Nicole. And she was the first one in Camryn (Freiberg's) ear, Tola (Itiola's) ear, Shelly's ear, saying, 'Hey, here's what I'm seeing.'
"So now, we get to take a great mind and a great athlete, and as she gets more experience working on putting those together for herself, applying it for herself, it's really helping us."
Wednesday's match will be televised live by FOX Sports Southwest, with "Voice of the Bears" John Morris and former Baylor All-American Katie Staiger calling the action.
After the conference home opener, the Bears will go on the road to face Iowa State (7-6) at 3 p.m. Saturday in Ames.
WACO, Texas – 19th-ranked Baylor volleyball (8-3) will open Big 12 play against Texas Tech Wednesday night at 7 p.m. CT at the Ferrell Center.
Looking for their eighth consecutive win over the Red Raiders, the Bears swept Texas Tech last season with a 3-1 win in Waco and 3-0 victory in Lubbock.
Last year's road win over Texas Tech sparked a seven-match winning streak in conference play which became a new program best.
Wednesday's showdown will be live on Fox Sports Southwest with "Voice of the Bears" John Morris and BU volleyball record holder Katie Staiger on the call.
Tickets for the match are $5 for general admission and $3 for groups of 12 or more.
BEARS OPEN BIG 12 SLATE AGAINST RED RAIDERS
• Baylor volleyball will open Big 12 play against Texas Tech Wednesday night at the Ferrell Center. This is the second consecutive year the Bears and Red Raiders will open conference action in Waco.
• The Bears look for their eighth-straight victory over the Red Raiders dating back to the 2014 season.
• Texas Tech and Baylor are second and third in the conference standings after nonconference play.
• Texas Tech leads the all-time series over the Bears, 47-33, but Baylor is 6-0 against the Red Raiders under fourth-year head coach Ryan McGuyre.
• BU has won 25 of the last 27 matchups against the Red Raiders.
• Opening Big 12 action, Baylor is 2-0 at home and 2-1 overall in conference openers under McGuyre.
BEARS CAP OFF NONCONFERENCE SEASON WITH 8-3 RECORD
• With plenty of ups and downs in just the first four weeks of the 2018 season, Baylor volleyball enters conference action with a No. 19 AVCA ranking and an 8-3 record.
• Already facing three ranked opponents in 2018 (all of them in a row), Baylor is 1-2 against ranked foes.
• BU captured its highest ranked win in program history by knocking off then-No. 2 Wisconsin on Sept. 7 in Waco.
• In the 3-1 win, Yossiana Pressley posted a career-high 32 kills on an impressive .313 clip.
• Baylor started 4-0 for the first time since 2012 after wins over LSU, Texas State, now-No. 21 Marquette and North Texas at home.
• The Bears went 0-2 the next weekend at the San Diego Invitational, falling to then-No. 10 UCLA in five sets and then-No. 19 San Diego in four sets.
• In week three, BU defeated Wisconsin Friday night but stubbed its toe against UTRGV the next morning in five sets. Baylor came back that night and topped Rice in four.
• Last weekend, Baylor went 2-0 at the UTSA Invitational with wins over UTSA and Virginia Tech.
• BU has recorded at least eight wins in every nonconference season under McGuyre.
BAYLOR RECENTLY
• 18th-ranked Baylor volleyball used its offensive efficiency and service game to win the UTSA Invitational with a sweep of Virginia Tech (9-2) last Saturday at the Convocation Center, 28-26, 25-18, 25-16.
• Led by Yossiana Pressley's match-high 17 kills, the Bears hit an impressive .354 for its best offensive showing of the season. She was named the tournament's MVP after posting 37 kills in two matches this weekend.
• Aniah Philo (12) and Shelly Fanning (11) joined Pressley on the all-tournament team after producing double-digit kills against Virginia Tech. Philo collected her fifth double-double of the season after she added 10 digs.
• Junior Braya Hunt led all players with a career-high four aces, helping BU earn the sweep.
• On Friday, Baylor powered back from a late deficit to take a five-set win over UTSA at the Convocation Center, clinching a 25-21, 20-25, 26-28, 25-20, 15-9 victory to open the UTSA Invitational.
• Philo broke her career kills mark for the second time this season with a 20-kill performance while hitting .474 on the outside. With 17 digs, she also recorded her fourth double-double of the season and 24th of her career.
• The Bears recorded over 15 blocks for the first time since Dec. 2, 2016 against San Diego in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. BU finished with 16 team blocks.
LAST TIME VS. TEXAS TECH (Oct. 25, 2017)
• Baylor's road win over Texas Tech sparked a program-best seven-match winning streak in Big 12 action.
• No. 24 Baylor volleyball (17-5, 7-2 Big 12) used a dominant offensive performance to roll past Texas Tech on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at the United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, 25-23, 25-9, 25-16.
• Without senior All-American Katie Staiger in the lineup, the Bears put up a .452 hitting clip, led by Yossiana Pressley with a match-high 14 kills on a .346 efficiency.
• Camryn Freiberg, Shelly Fanning and Aniah Philo all contributed nine kills each, and Philo added a match-high 10 digs in the win.
• Baylor had six players hitting over .300 for 51 kills (Pressley, Fritcher, Fanning, Freiberg, Philo and Lockin).
• BU handed Texas Tech its worst set loss of the season in set two (25-9).
PHILO, PRESSLEY CAPTURE RARE 20-20 COMBO
• Senior Aniah Philo and sophomore Yossiana Pressley became the first Baylor duo to finish a match with 20 kills each since Oct. 21, 2015 and only the sixth duo in the conference in the past three seasons.
• Philo and Pressley each had 20 kills in the Bears' five-set win over UTSA last Friday.
• During that match, Philo also recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 17 digs.
• The last time a Baylor duo recorded at least 20 kills was Katie Staiger and Andie Malloy against TCU during the 2015 season.
Players Mentioned
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