No. 1 VB Blanks USC for NCAA Regional Berth

Saturday, December 7

Waco, Texas

8:00 p.m. CT

Baylor

27-1

USC (Second Round)

18-14

USC

Baylor

No. 1 VB Blanks USC for NCAA Regional Berth

12/7/2019 11:23:00 PM | Volleyball

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Bears secure their second-ever regional ticket and first under McGuyre

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Facing a hurdle that had tripped it up in each of the last three seasons, Baylor volleyball (27-1) finally got past the second round of the NCAA Tournament and back in the Sweet 16 for the first time in a decade.
            Getting double-digit kills from Marieke van der Mark (13), Yossiana Pressley (12) and Shelly Stafford (12), the top-seeded Bears swept tradition-rich USC in three sets, 25-23, 25-17, 25-22, in Saturday night's second-round match at the Ferrell Center and broke the program record for single-season wins.
            "I'm excited to get to move into the Sweet 16," said coach Ryan McGuyre, whose team will face 16^th-seeded Purdue (24-7) in the region semifinals next Friday at the Ferrell Center. "We've tasted this round a few times before. Glad, especially for the season, who put the work in. . . . I'm really proud of my team's grit tonight to come back in the first (set) and then for the most part sustain it and maintain it."
            USC (18-14) came out on fire, scoring five-straight points and taking a 17-12 lead in the first set on back-to-back-to-back kills by Khalia Lanier and an attack error by Kara McGhee.
            Pressley ended the Trojans' run with a kill, but it was consecutive service aces by senior Braya Hunt that seemed to shift the momentum over to the home team.
            "Coach always says, 'One way,''' Hunt said. "I went back there and said, 'Hit the mat.' He says it every day. So, I hit the mat. I was thankful for that. But, I think it's been that way all season – one way at a time. We know we're not going to play complacent, we're going to keep going for it, keep going for it, keep going for it."
            Pressley had a service ace and back-to-back kills to give Baylor the lead and then Stafford closed out the first set, 25-23, on a floor-rocking kill from the middle.
            "It was a huge momentum shift," Stafford said of Hunt's aces. "It could have been a whole different game if it had gone a different way. So, we are super thankful that Braya trusted her training and just went for it. That was huge, just her leadership and her grit."
            Carrying that momentum over to the second set, Baylor jumped out to a 6-0 lead and never trailed. Van der Mark, who had a career-high 13 kills in Friday's 3-0 sweep of Sacred Heart, matched that Saturday night and had five in the second set alone.
            McGuyre said van der Mark, whose previous high was 10 kills, "grew up tonight" with an MVP-worthy performance.
            "I think she's crossed over where she's a gamer," McGuyre said. "I just loved how she played, and I thought that consistency was a difference in the match. We got great things from Yossi and Gia, definitely Shelly hitting at such a high percentage, Kara going early. But, I think Marieke was the X factor tonight."
            That kind of performance is "100 percent expected" moving forward, McGuyre said. She added five more kills in the third set and closed it out with one to the back line that was reviewed and upheld.
            "She's always been confident, she's always had the energy," McGuyre said. "But on such a big stage, to execute the way she did, she knew she was going to do it. . . . Tonight, it was, 'I'm going to do it,' and gave us such great results. What great timing to have her moving forward playing the way she is right now."
            USC's defense did a good job containing Pressley, who had 12 kills for the second-straight match after coming into the weekend ranked second nationally with 5.52 kills per set.
            "We held Pressley to (a .171 hitting percentage, did a nice job on the other outside (Gia Milana)," Crouch said. "Most of the time, if you can do that, if you win the outside hitter battle, hyou win the matches. But, they did a nice job getting us in trouble, and then their opposite (van der Mark) did a nice job hitting lines. She had kind of a career night. Hitting .706 is pretty impressive."
            Also advancing to the Waco regional will be eighth-seeded Washington and ninth-seeded Kentucky, who will play in Friday's other region semifinal. The winners will play on Saturday, Dec. 14, for a spot in the Final Four the Dec. 19-21 weekend in Pittsburgh.
            "It's just pure joy," said Stafford, who hit .733 with 12 errors and only one error on 15 swings. "We had an awesome celebration in the locker room that I'll be able to cherish forever. We're not done yet, and there's a lot of work to be done. I'm super excited what's next for us."

THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – No. 1 Baylor volleyball (27-1) overcame an early deficit to close out a strong 3-0 sweep over USC (18-14) in the NCAA Second Round on Saturday at the Ferrell Center, 25-23, 25-17, 25-22.

BU advances to the NCAA Round of 16 for the second time in program history and first time under head coach Ryan McGuyre. The Bears also advanced to the third round 10 years ago where BU upset ninth-ranked UCLA on the road to earn a spot in the regional semifinals.

BU has a school-record 27 wins on the season after three Bears posted double-digit kills. Sophomore Marieke van der Mark led the way for the second-straight night with 13 kills on a .706 efficiency while senior Shelly Stafford logged 12 while hitting .733. Junior Yossiana Pressley also put up 12 kills.

The Bears used a big 8-3 advantage at the service line, led by Pressley, senior Braya Hunt and sophomore Shanel Bramschreiber with two aces apiece.

BU started slow in the match and trailed 17-12 after an attack error. Out of the timeout, the Bears took seven of the next eight points with three aces leading the way. Stafford had the final two kills as she gave the Bears the opening set, 25-23.

Baylor jumped out to the 6-0 lead in the second frame and kept the distance despite a late Trojan rally. The Bears limited USC to a .120 hit percentage to take the set, 25-17.

BU and USC battled early in the third set. After a 7-7 tie, the Bears went on a 6-1 run to force the Trojan timeout. BU led 20-13 after a Pressley kill, but the Women of Troy fought back to within two at 22-20 with a kill. BU used a van der Mark kill to end the match in straight sets, 25-22.

To keep up with things all season long, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor advances to the NCAA Round of 16 for the second time in program history and first time under McGuyre.
• BU has now won 81 sets and only dropped 11 during the 2019 season.
• Baylor improved its home record to 15-0 with the win.
• BU now has a school-record 27 wins this season.
• Marieke van der Mark led the Bears with a career-high 13 kills on a .706 percentage.
• Kara McGhee tied a program-best six blocks in the postseason.
• Shelly Stafford had a team-high .733 hit percentage for 12 kills on 15 swings.
• Three Bears had two service aces in the match (Pressley, Hunt, Bramschreiber).
• Baylor is now 50-12 as a ranked team under McGuyre.
• Baylor has swept 21 matches this season.
• Baylor improved to 1-0 all-time against USC.
• Baylor improved to 2-4 against Pac-12 teams in the NCAA Tournament.
• Baylor improved to 3-1 in postseason matches at home.

STAT OF THE MATCH
8 – the service ace count for the Bears.

TOP QUOTE #1
Head coach Ryan McGuyre
On the win…
"What an exciting match for us to play at home. I'm excited to get to move into the (NCAA Regional). We've tasted this round a few times before, so I'm glad for these seniors who really put the work in. USC came ready to play. So much fire power. They served really tough in that first set. We were fortunate that our serves brought us back into the match in that first set then we just went back and forth from there. I thought Braya (Hunt)'s serves were contagious for the rest of the team. After that, to pull off that first set, whenever you get that first win under your belt, it adds to the confidence. I'm really proud of my team's grit to come back in that first set. They sustained it and, for the most part, maintained it. Always a team effort, but Marieke van der Mark grew up tonight. She's the MVP for the past two matches we've had this weekend. I loved how she played, and that consistency was the difference maker in the match. We got great things from Yossi (Pressley), Gia (Milana) and Shelly (Stafford) because she was hitting it at such a high percentage. Kara (McGhee) went out early. Marieke was the x-factor tonight."

TOP QUOTE #2
Senior Braya Hunt
On advancing to the NCAA Regional…
"It feels great. It's been getting past this hump since preseason. It's been national championship after national championship after national championship. For it to be our senior year, it couldn't get any better. It's exciting to play with this team. It started in the summer with the grit that we had in the gym. I just want to give my all for the team and I know all 19 other girls on the team want to do the same. It's been really fun."

WHAT'S NEXT
Top-seeded BU will host the NCAA Regionals next Friday and Saturday at the Ferrell Center. Baylor faces No. 16 seed and 14^th-ranked Purdue in the Round of 16. Time and TV designations will be announced by the NCAA at a later date.

Fans can purchase tickets online at www.BaylorBears.com/tickets or call 254-710-1000.