Saturday, October 5
Waco, Texas
2:00 p.m. CT
Baylor
vs
Kansas State
Preview: No. 1 VB Hosts Texas Tech for “Dig Pink” Match
10/18/2019 11:28:00 AM | Volleyball
The top-ranked Bears honor the fight against breast cancer at Saturday’s match
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Two years ago, when Baylor volleyball reeled off five-straight sweeps and won 16 consecutive sets, coach Ryan McGuyre felt like the Bears were "slow to respond" when they finally got tested.
This year, top-ranked Baylor (15-0, 5-0) has been able to weather the storms, winning extended-point sets in its last three matches and running its consecutive streaks to nine-straight sweeps and a mind-boggling, school-record 28 sets.
"This team has been good," McGuyre said, "because even within sets, when teams make a small run or something, I think we've weathered the storms really well to sail through them quickly and stay focused and get back on track."
Coming off a midweek bye, the Bears will put their winning streaks on the line when they host Texas Tech (14-6, 4-2) in the "Dig Pink" game at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Ferrell Center. They haven't dropped a set since a 3-1 win over Houston on Sept. 12.
Senior libero Tara Wulf said it was nice to get some extra time between matches, "because we get to train."
"Our best training does come in the games," Wulf said, "but this whole week of long, good training practices are good for our next two matches."
Since his team hasn't been pushed to five sets all year, McGuyre said he tries to put them in "uncomfortable situations" in practice.
"We have to keep practices competitive, uncomfortable," he said. "it's always that fine balance of the girls needing to make mistakes in order to get better. We have to make sure we're making the right kind of errors so that we can make improvement. The end result is costly errors are diminished."
As near perfect as they've been this year, "there is still so much growth that we still have to come," freshman middle blocker Kara McGhee said. Being off Wednesday gave the Bears a chance to "get in the gym and work on some things that we needed to work on. We get to work on those things every single day."
McGuyre is 7-1 against Texas Tech, but the Bears will try to avenge last year's 3-1 home-court loss. Tied for third in the Big 12 standings, the Red Raiders have won three of their last four matches and beat Iowa State, 3-1, on the road.
The consecutive sets streak could become an issue "the more we talk about," McGuyre said, but "we still try to forget what lies behind and strain forward to what's happening next."
"If you know you're going to win the match, I would happily drop a set every time," he said. "But to drop a set and give the other team that momentum and let them be in rhythm, I'm not a fan of ever doing that. I'd like to see us keep sweeping all the way through. But, if you could guarantee we're going to win 100 percent, we could win 20-18 in five sets every time, that would be great. I have no problem with that. That's just not how it works."
Baylor has to avoid looking ahead to a showdown against No. 4 Texas (11-2, 5-0) at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Austin. The Longhorns have won seven of the last eight conference championships, including two in a row.
For the "Dig Pink" game, the Bears will wear pink jerseys to honor and raise awareness of the fight against breast cancer. Fans are also encouraged to wear pink.
WACO, Texas – The top-ranked Baylor volleyball team (15-0, 5-0 Big 12) continues conference action with a Saturday afternoon matchup against Texas Tech (14-6, 4-2 Big 12) at 2 p.m. CT at the Ferrell Center.
The match will be live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Derek Smith and Katie Staiger on the call.
Baylor will sport pink jerseys to honor and raise awareness of the fight against breast cancer for the annual "Dig Pink" match. Fans are encouraged to wear pink with the Bears.
Fans can follow along for match coverage with Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.
BEARS HOST RED RAIDERS ON DIG PINK NIGHT
• Baylor will honor the fight against breast cancer by wearing pink jerseys on "Dig Pink" Night on Saturday against the Red Raiders.
• The Bears are still the only undefeated team left in D1 college volleyball and hold a perfect 15-0 record.
• BU went undefeated through non-conference play for the first time since 2009 and only the third time in program history. The 2001 season was the first time the Bears went unblemished in non-conference action with an 8-0 record, and the 2009 squad went a program-best 11-0.
• Baylor looks to avenge last year's home loss against the Red Raiders. TTU took a 3-1 win over Baylor to open the conference schedule a season ago.
• Baylor is riding a 15-match winning streak, including eight straight at home dating back to 2018.
• BU is 7-1 against Texas Tech under head coach Ryan McGuyre, including 3-1 in Waco.
• BU is riding a program-best 28-set winning streak. Baylor has won nine straight matches in three sets and won the fourth set against Houston on Sept. 12.
• Baylor is in the top-20 nationally in five different stat categories heading into Saturday's match, and two players are among the nation's top 15 in four categories (full list on pg. 3).
• Baylor is second behind Stephen F. Austin for the longest-set win streak in the country. Baylor holds a 28-set win streak. SFA extended its streak to 31 straight sets with a Thursday win over Nicholls State.
A WIN WOULD…
• A Baylor win would extend the Bears' school-record with 16 consecutive wins and a program-best 16-0 mark to open a season. BU broke the original record against Oklahoma on Oct. 2.
• A win would give BU an unblemished 8-0 record in home matches this season.
• A win would be Baylor's 27th victory over Texas Tech in the last 30 meetings.
• A win would give BU a 6-0 Big 12 record to start league play for the first time under McGuyre.
• A win would give head coach Ryan McGuyre 99 wins at Baylor.
HOME SWEET HOME
• BU is 51-17 all-time in home matches under head coach Ryan McGuyre.
• Baylor improved to 30-3 in home non-conference matches under McGuyre, finishing 5-0 in 2019.
• At home, BU is 6-0 in three sets, 1-0 in four sets and 0-0 in five-set matches.
• Baylor has broken the single-match attendance record in three straight seasons, most recently with 3,878 fans at the Tennessee match. It shattered the previous high set against LSU last season with 3,858 fans.
• BU has had seven top-10 crowds at the Ferrell Center under McGuyre, including two this season.
• Baylor is 21-13 in Big 12 matches at home under McGuyre.
LAST TIME VS. TEXAS TECH IN WACO (Sept. 19, 2018)
• 19th-ranked Baylor volleyball hit a season-low .151 offensive efficiency to drop a four-set loss to Texas Tech at the Ferrell Center, 13-25, 25-11, 25-21, 25-18.
• The Bears' loss snapped a seven-match winning streak against the Red Raiders and first defeat to Texas Tech under fourth-year head coach Ryan McGuyre.
• Sophomore Yossiana Pressley led the Bears with 16 kills and posted 11 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Senior Aniah Philo matched a season-high 21 digs and added 10 kills for her third-straight double-double and sixth of the season.
Baylor Bear Insider
Two years ago, when Baylor volleyball reeled off five-straight sweeps and won 16 consecutive sets, coach Ryan McGuyre felt like the Bears were "slow to respond" when they finally got tested.
This year, top-ranked Baylor (15-0, 5-0) has been able to weather the storms, winning extended-point sets in its last three matches and running its consecutive streaks to nine-straight sweeps and a mind-boggling, school-record 28 sets.
"This team has been good," McGuyre said, "because even within sets, when teams make a small run or something, I think we've weathered the storms really well to sail through them quickly and stay focused and get back on track."
Coming off a midweek bye, the Bears will put their winning streaks on the line when they host Texas Tech (14-6, 4-2) in the "Dig Pink" game at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Ferrell Center. They haven't dropped a set since a 3-1 win over Houston on Sept. 12.
Senior libero Tara Wulf said it was nice to get some extra time between matches, "because we get to train."
"Our best training does come in the games," Wulf said, "but this whole week of long, good training practices are good for our next two matches."
Since his team hasn't been pushed to five sets all year, McGuyre said he tries to put them in "uncomfortable situations" in practice.
"We have to keep practices competitive, uncomfortable," he said. "it's always that fine balance of the girls needing to make mistakes in order to get better. We have to make sure we're making the right kind of errors so that we can make improvement. The end result is costly errors are diminished."
As near perfect as they've been this year, "there is still so much growth that we still have to come," freshman middle blocker Kara McGhee said. Being off Wednesday gave the Bears a chance to "get in the gym and work on some things that we needed to work on. We get to work on those things every single day."
McGuyre is 7-1 against Texas Tech, but the Bears will try to avenge last year's 3-1 home-court loss. Tied for third in the Big 12 standings, the Red Raiders have won three of their last four matches and beat Iowa State, 3-1, on the road.
The consecutive sets streak could become an issue "the more we talk about," McGuyre said, but "we still try to forget what lies behind and strain forward to what's happening next."
"If you know you're going to win the match, I would happily drop a set every time," he said. "But to drop a set and give the other team that momentum and let them be in rhythm, I'm not a fan of ever doing that. I'd like to see us keep sweeping all the way through. But, if you could guarantee we're going to win 100 percent, we could win 20-18 in five sets every time, that would be great. I have no problem with that. That's just not how it works."
Baylor has to avoid looking ahead to a showdown against No. 4 Texas (11-2, 5-0) at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Austin. The Longhorns have won seven of the last eight conference championships, including two in a row.
For the "Dig Pink" game, the Bears will wear pink jerseys to honor and raise awareness of the fight against breast cancer. Fans are also encouraged to wear pink.
WACO, Texas – The top-ranked Baylor volleyball team (15-0, 5-0 Big 12) continues conference action with a Saturday afternoon matchup against Texas Tech (14-6, 4-2 Big 12) at 2 p.m. CT at the Ferrell Center.
The match will be live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Derek Smith and Katie Staiger on the call.
Baylor will sport pink jerseys to honor and raise awareness of the fight against breast cancer for the annual "Dig Pink" match. Fans are encouraged to wear pink with the Bears.
Fans can follow along for match coverage with Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.
BEARS HOST RED RAIDERS ON DIG PINK NIGHT
• Baylor will honor the fight against breast cancer by wearing pink jerseys on "Dig Pink" Night on Saturday against the Red Raiders.
• The Bears are still the only undefeated team left in D1 college volleyball and hold a perfect 15-0 record.
• BU went undefeated through non-conference play for the first time since 2009 and only the third time in program history. The 2001 season was the first time the Bears went unblemished in non-conference action with an 8-0 record, and the 2009 squad went a program-best 11-0.
• Baylor looks to avenge last year's home loss against the Red Raiders. TTU took a 3-1 win over Baylor to open the conference schedule a season ago.
• Baylor is riding a 15-match winning streak, including eight straight at home dating back to 2018.
• BU is 7-1 against Texas Tech under head coach Ryan McGuyre, including 3-1 in Waco.
• BU is riding a program-best 28-set winning streak. Baylor has won nine straight matches in three sets and won the fourth set against Houston on Sept. 12.
• Baylor is in the top-20 nationally in five different stat categories heading into Saturday's match, and two players are among the nation's top 15 in four categories (full list on pg. 3).
• Baylor is second behind Stephen F. Austin for the longest-set win streak in the country. Baylor holds a 28-set win streak. SFA extended its streak to 31 straight sets with a Thursday win over Nicholls State.
A WIN WOULD…
• A Baylor win would extend the Bears' school-record with 16 consecutive wins and a program-best 16-0 mark to open a season. BU broke the original record against Oklahoma on Oct. 2.
• A win would give BU an unblemished 8-0 record in home matches this season.
• A win would be Baylor's 27th victory over Texas Tech in the last 30 meetings.
• A win would give BU a 6-0 Big 12 record to start league play for the first time under McGuyre.
• A win would give head coach Ryan McGuyre 99 wins at Baylor.
HOME SWEET HOME
• BU is 51-17 all-time in home matches under head coach Ryan McGuyre.
• Baylor improved to 30-3 in home non-conference matches under McGuyre, finishing 5-0 in 2019.
• At home, BU is 6-0 in three sets, 1-0 in four sets and 0-0 in five-set matches.
• Baylor has broken the single-match attendance record in three straight seasons, most recently with 3,878 fans at the Tennessee match. It shattered the previous high set against LSU last season with 3,858 fans.
• BU has had seven top-10 crowds at the Ferrell Center under McGuyre, including two this season.
• Baylor is 21-13 in Big 12 matches at home under McGuyre.
LAST TIME VS. TEXAS TECH IN WACO (Sept. 19, 2018)
• 19th-ranked Baylor volleyball hit a season-low .151 offensive efficiency to drop a four-set loss to Texas Tech at the Ferrell Center, 13-25, 25-11, 25-21, 25-18.
• The Bears' loss snapped a seven-match winning streak against the Red Raiders and first defeat to Texas Tech under fourth-year head coach Ryan McGuyre.
• Sophomore Yossiana Pressley led the Bears with 16 kills and posted 11 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Senior Aniah Philo matched a season-high 21 digs and added 10 kills for her third-straight double-double and sixth of the season.
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
Would go to battle with this crew anytime 🫶
Monday, December 08
Hearts stopped. Records fell. Bears won!
Monday, December 08
Elevate ⬆️ and celebrate 🎉
Monday, December 08
💼 Workin' our way to match day
Monday, December 08
