By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Ryan McGuyre dreamed it. On Sunday, it became reality. 
            The day after winning a share of its first Big 12 championship, Baylor volleyball (25-1) was named the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Championship and will host the opening rounds on Friday and Saturday at the Ferrell Center. 
            "We dreamed it, honestly we did," McGuyre said after Sunday's announcement on ESPNU. "I wanted to be a top-four seed. The schedule was intended to give us a regional host, and No. 1 falls into that top four, that's the best of the best of that group. That's what we wanted to do. How many of us dreamed it, how many of us believed it? That's hard to say. . . . But, it's definitely exciting. It's been a long time coming, and we want to make sure we finish strong."
            In what's become the team's traditional selection night event, the McGuyre family hosted the players and staff for a worship service around a bonfire behind their China Spring home and then came inside to watch the televised announcement. 
            "I saw this last year on social media, and I was like, 'I cannot wait to go,''' freshman middle blocker Kara McGhee said. "But then, to just add on top that we're No. 1 and all these amazing things are happening, just knowing these people, it's truly been a blessing that I could not have even expected."
            Hosting the first and second rounds at the Ferrell Center, top-seeded Baylor will face Northeast Conference champion Sacred Heart (20-11) at 7 p.m. Friday. Southland Conference champion Stephen F. Austin (31-1) plays USC (17-13) from the Pac-12 in the other first-round matchup at 5 p.m. Friday, with the winners playing for a spot in the Sweet 16 at 8 p.m. Saturday. 
            "It was truly incredible," fifth-year senior Shelly Stafford said of the No. 1 overall seeding. "It's something we've been working so hard for all season. And just to see that hard work pay off and see that tonight was super cool and a feeling that I can't describe."
            Baylor is making its eighth overall appearance and fourth-straight in the NCAA tournament, but the Bears have only advanced past the opening weekend once in program history with a Sweet 16 trip in 2009. They have lost in the second round each of the last three seasons, including getting swept at home by Colorado in 2017. 
            "We've tried to treat every match this year like a national championship match, like a Final Four match," McGuyre said. "We've got to go deeper in postseason than what we've done before. We'd like to make history with what we're doing. I feel the ladies have done a good job of how we've approached each game, and I think we'll approach them the same way."
            Baylor's challenging schedule includes wins over No. 2 seed Texas, fourth-seeded Wisconsin and 12^th-seeded Hawaii, along with an exhibition win over 13^th-seeded Texas A&M. The Bears were 11-1 overall against teams that made the 64-team NCAA tournament field, also beating UCLA, Creighton, Marquette and Missouri in pre-conference, sweeping Oklahoma and Iowa State in Big 12 play and splitting with co-conference champion Texas. 
            "You're not No. 1 until it's all said and done," McGuyre said. "We're only as good as our last match, and we were able to win our last one (3-0 sweep of TCU on Saturday), but there's things we need to do much better. i don't think any of our girls – we haven't tasted a national championship before, it's something new. We haven't gone to the Final Four before, we haven't gone to the Sweet 16 before. 
            "Until we hit each step, I think we'll remain humble. We don't feel like a No. 1 seed in that we're like, 'Oh, we've got this in the bag, we're No. 1,' by any means. We still feel like we have something to prove."
            For tickets, go to the web site at BaylorBears.com, or call the Baylor Athletics Ticket Office at 254-710-1000. The ticket office at the Ferrell Center is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
            "It's really cool to be able to play in front of our Baylor Family," Fanning said. "It's been fun all season, so we're just looking forward to hopefully getting to play in front of them four times."
            As a top-4 seed, Baylor would also host the regional round if it advances the following weekend, Dec. 13-14, with the Final Four held Dec. 19-21 in Pittsburgh, Pa. 


WACO, Texas – After a historic regular season, top-ranked Baylor volleyball earned the No. 1 overall seed in the 2019 NCAA Championship and will host the opening rounds Friday and Saturday in Waco, announced Sunday evening on ESPNU.

Hosting the Waco Regional, the Bears (25-1) will face Northeast Conference Champion Sacred Heart (20-11) Friday at 7 p.m. CT. In the other first-round match, Stephen F. Austin (31-1) from the Southland Conference will face the Pac-12's USC (17-13) at 5 p.m. CT at the Ferrell Center.

The winners will face off for a spot in the NCAA Round of 16 Saturday at 8 p.m. CT.

BU is a national seed for the second time in school history and first time as a top-four seed. The Bears were the No. 12 national seed in 2017.

Overall, BU is 6-7 all-time in NCAA tournament play after advancing to the second round the past three seasons. BU earned its eighth NCAA tournament bid in school history and will make its fourth-straight appearance.

Baylor goes into the NCAA Tournament with a 25-1 record and earned its first-ever Big 12 championship.

Ticket information can be found on the volleyball schedule page at BaylorBears.com.

Fans can follow the postseason action with the team's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorVBall.