Preview: No. 1 VB Challenges Iowa State in Ames

Wednesday, October 9

Ames, Iowa

8:00 p.m. CT

Baylor

Iowa State

Preview: No. 1 VB Challenges Iowa State in Ames

10/8/2019 10:27:00 AM | Volleyball

Baylor Match Notes (PDF)Watch Live Live Stats

The top-ranked Bears will face Cyclones on Wednesday night on ESPNU

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Before the season, Baylor volleyball dared to dream big, setting a rather ambitious goal of not losing a set all year.
            That ended four matches into the season when the Bears dropped the opening set in a 3-1 win on the road at then-No. 4 Wisconsin.
            Now ranked No. 1 going into Wednesday's 8 p.m. match against Iowa State (11-4, 2-1) in Ames, Iowa, Baylor (13-0, 3-0) has won a program-record 22 consecutive sets since dropping the third set in a 3-1 home-court win over Houston on Sept. 12.
            "Sometimes, you've got to re-dream the dream, and we get to do that for conference," coach Ryan McGuyre said. "So, it's all right, let's go all conference without dropping a set. That's really hard to do, because there's a lot of great teams in conference. So, we can't think ahead to TCU or Texas or Tech or any of those matches. But, we can think about one set at a time for Iowa State, making sure we're good for that first set."
            After playing seven of their last eight matches at home, the Bears have back-to-back tests on the road with Iowa State on Wednesday and TCU (6-8, 1-2) at 1 p.m. Saturday in Fort Worth.
            "I think this year we've really loved traveling because they're such good friends," McGuyre said. "When we're traveling, we get to grow, we get to pour into each other."
            Senior middle blocker Shelly Stafford said she loves to go on the road, because "it's really fun to have a sleepover with your best friends."
            "We eat great food, it's super fun, it's a cool experience," she said.
            Sophomore right-side hitter Marieke van der Mark said the road trips allow the players and coaches to "spend time together and just be together all the time."
            "When we travel, everything is set up for us to win and to be at our best," she said. "I get to have new roommates every single time, so we always look forward to that and getting to know everyone more and more."
            Ranked in the top 20 all year, Baylor moved up to fifth after road wins over Wisconsin and Marquette, climbed to No. 2 with sweeps of Missouri and Hawaii and then earned the program's first-ever No. 1 ranking on Sept. 30.
            "There was some pressure, "because some people didn't expect us to be there," van der Mark said. "But, Coach always says that pressure is not knowing what you're doing. We knew what we were doing. it was good being recognized for good what and what we've been doing."
            Coming off last week's sweeps of Oklahoma and Kansas State, both at home, the Bears picked up a pair of conference awards. Junior outside hitter Yossiana Pressley was named Offensive Player of the Week, while junior Hannah Lockin became Baylor's first setter to earn Defensive Player of the Week accolades.
            Lockin, who leads the Big 12 with 11.5 assists per set, tied a career high with six blocks in Saturday's 3-0 win over K-State and recorded her sixth double-double with 35 assists and 10 digs. The Des Moines, Iowa, native is 4-0 against Iowa State, and the Bears have won three-straight in Ames.
            "Since having Hannah Lockin, who's from Iowa, come, we've had good success," McGuyre said. "She feels like it's a great place to play, and I feel that with her on the court."
            In addition to the AVCA coaches' poll, the Bears are also No. 1 in the initial RPI rankings that were released Sunday. Among Big 12 teams, Texas is No. 2, Oklahoma 24^th, Iowa State 25^th and TCU is 63^rd.
            Since assistant coach Sam Erger is pregnant and due in December, McGuyre said it's key for the Bears to remain in position to host the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournament so "she doesn't have to miss any matches along the way."
            "It takes me back to my first national championship when my son was born and I had to miss it," said McGuyre, who won an NAIA national championship at Cal Baptist in 2004. "I don't want Sam to have to go through that. . . . And just with the way our crowds have been at Baylor, I can only imagine what an amazing playoff atmosphere we're going to be able to have if we can continue to improve and be strong in the RPI."
            Wednesday's match will be televised by ESPNU, with Courtney Lyle and Salima Rockwell calling the action. Rockwell is a former All-American setter at Penn State and captain of the USA National Team who most recently was the associate head coach at her alma mater.

WACO, Texas – The top-ranked Baylor volleyball team (13-0, 3-0 Big 12) will face (RV) Iowa State (11-4, 2-1 Big 12) in a Wednesday night battle at 8 p.m. CT at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa in front of a nationally-televised audience.

The match will be live on ESPNU with Courtney Lyle and Salima Rockwell on the call.

Fans can follow along for match coverage with Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.

BEARS HIT THE ROAD FOR WEDNESDAY MATCH
• Baylor is playing its eighth opponent who is ranked or has received votes in the AVCA poll.
• The Bears are still the only undefeated team left in D1 college volleyball and hold a perfect 13-0 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 win its fourth-straight match in Hilton Coliseum for the first time since the 2001-04 seasons. BU has not lost to Iowa State on the road since Coach McGuyre's first season in 2015.
• Baylor is riding a 13-match winning streak, including three straight on the road.
• BU is 5-3 against Iowa State under head coach Ryan McGuyre, including 3-1 in Ames.
• BU is riding a program-best 22-set winning streak. Baylor has won seven straight matches in three sets and won the fourth set against Houston on Sept. 12.
• Baylor is in the top-15 nationally in five different stat categories heading into Wednesday's match, and two players are among the nation's top 10 in four categories (full list on pg. 3).
• Baylor is tied with Stephen F. Austin for the longest-set win streak in the country. Both teams hold a 22-set win streak heading into Wednesday's matches. SFA plays at New Orleans on Wednesday.

A WIN WOULD…
• A Baylor win would extend the Bears' school-record with 14 consecutive wins and a program-best 14-0 mark to open a season. BU broke the original record last Wednesday against Oklahoma.
• A win would give BU an unblemished 4-0 record in road matches this season.
• A win would be Baylor's fifth consecutive win over the Cyclones for the first time since the 1998-2002 seasons where the Bears won nine in a row against ISU.
• A win would give BU a 4-0 Big 12 record to start league play for the first time under McGuyre.

LAST TIME VS. IOWA STATE IN AMES (Sept. 22, 2018)
• 19th-ranked Baylor volleyball bounced back from an early deficit to take down Iowa State in five sets in Hilton Coliseum, 15-25, 25-19, 25-14, 22-25, 15-8.
• Sophomore Yossiana Pressley broke a 17-year-old school record with a career-high 39 kills on 77 attacks for a .390 hitting efficiency. She became the sixth player in program history to record 30 kills in a single match.
• Pressley became the first player since Stevie Nicholas (school-record 36 kills in 2001) to record at least 35 kills in a match.
• Pressley posted her sixth double-double of the season with 39 kills and 13 digs.
• Junior Hannah Fluegel also set a career-high 52 assists in the win, more than doubling her previous personal best (25). Senior Aniah Philo recorded her fourth consecutive double-double with 12 kills and a team-high 15 digs against ISU.

BEARS ON TOP IN FIRST RPI RANKINGS
• The top-ranked Bears are also the No. 1-ranked RPI team, released Monday morning.
• BU has RPI top-25 wins over No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 10 Missouri, No. 12 Marquette, No. 14 Hawai'i, No. 15 UCLA, No. 18 Creighton and No. 24 Oklahoma.
• Baylor shatters its previous best of No. 12 in the RPI rankings set in 2017.
• BU could capture another top-25 RPI win Wednesday night against No. 25 Iowa State.
• BU is set to face No. 2 Texas twice in Big 12 action with the first meeting taking place on Oct. 23 in Austin.