
Photo by: Baylor Photography
No. 11 VB Defeats Kansas 3-1
10/14/2021 11:07:00 PM | Volleyball
Bears battled in four sets with the Jayhawks.
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
When the 11th-ranked Baylor volleyball has Lauren Harrison going well, joining with Yossiana Pressley and Avery Skinner in a balanced and dynamic attack, the Bears can be "really, really good."
Those words don't seem to do justice for Thursday's performance. Getting a combined 51 kills from that trio and hitting .354, Baylor (10-4, 4-1) rolled over Kansas, 3-1, in the first of back-to-back matches at the Ferrell Center and closed it out with an impressive 25-15 win in the fourth set.
It was a setter's dream having that many hitters going, said fifth-year senior Hannah Sedwick, who had 58 assists, 11 digs, four kills, three blocks and two service aces.
"All our hitters are good, and most of them were on tonight," Sedwick said. "It really is nice, because then it's just follow the game plan, and it's simplified from there."
Pressley, who had a match-high 21 kills, said Sedwick "made it easy for me." Skinner and Harrison had 15 kills apiece and hit .333 and .440, respectively.
"I just think Hannah made some great decisions," Pressley said. "Definitely, kudos to Hannah, because she put up a great offense, as you can see."
Kansas (11-7, 3-4) got 11 kills apiece from Jenny Moser and Caroline Crawford, but the Jayhawks were held to a .205 hitting percentage and were out-blocked, 13.0-7.0.
Kara McGhee put up a brick wall at the net, finishing with two solo blocks and seven assists, while fellow middle blocker Marieke van der Mark contributed nine kills and four blocks.
"I think after (last week's 3-0 win at North Texas), there was a focus, at least from me, to get our connection good," Sedwick said. "Tonight was really our opportunity to show what we've worked on, to show that intention."
In a back-and-forth first set, the sixth tie came at 17-17. The Bears scored eight of the next 10 points and closed out a 25-19 win with Skinner's fifth kill of the set.
Sedwick showed her versatility in a 28-26 second set, recording 20 assists, getting two first-touch dump kills and finishing it off with one of her two aces.
"The dump and the attacking have really been a threat," McGuyre said. "They were really keying on it, so we didn't necessarily have to do that as much, but pretty timely. What I like about Hannah is just her leadership this year. She's always been, I would say, a quiet, servant leader. Taking over from the service line, making great plays in clutch situations . . . . we're getting this great strength from within that's coming from her."
With Baylor two points away from a sweep, Kansas battled back to force a fourth set, getting a kill and block by Jenny Moser to win it, 25-23.
The middle blockers sparked an early 6-0 run with three blocks by McGhee and a kill by van der Mark, taking a lead the Bears would never relinquish. McGhee combined on a pair of blocks in a late 5-0 run and then Harrison closed it out, 25-15, with back-to-back kills as Baylor hit .520 with 13 kills and only two errors on 25 swings.
"We hit .354 against a really good Kansas team, top 20 in RPI," McGuyre said. "We were trying to hit over .300 last year and I think we finished something like .287 on the season. Tonight, good things happen, we hit .354 for the night and .520 the last set. If we're not doing that, we've got to move pieces around to get back to that."
In the back end of the two-game series, Baylor will host Kansas at 5 p.m. Friday. Sam Gore and Jennifer Hoffman will call the action on ESPNU.
"Like Coach Mac says, the better team wins the second night," said Pressley, who had a match-high 21 kills. "It just shows the sharpness that we have the intentionality and focus going into that next match."
WACO, Texas – No. 11 Baylor volleyball defeated Kansas 3-1 after a close match in the Ferrell Center on Thursday night, and will face the Jayhawks in the second match of the series on Friday night at 5 p.m.
Baylor improved to 10-4 overall and 4-1 in Big 12 play in its defeat of Kansas (11-7, 3-4) in four sets. The Bears took set one at 25-19, set two in 28-26, set three belonged to Kansas at 25-23, and Baylor finished it off in the fourth at 25-15.
Yossiana Pressley led the team in kills with 21, with Avery Skinner and Lauren Harrison just behind her, both with 15 kills on the night. Hannah Sedwick had a double-double, recording 58 assists and 11 digs against the Jayhawks. Shanel Bramschreiber led the team in digs however, recording 13.
Avery Skinner's ninth kill of the night was the 1,000th in her career across both Kentucky and Baylor, and she ended the night with 1,006 overall. She joins Pressley and Sedwick in reaching major career milestones this season.
Not to be outdone, Marieke van der Mark had quite the match, posting nine kills on 17 attempts for a .412 hitting percentage against KU. She also had one assist and four block assists. Kara McGhee also had a good night against Kansas, with two solo blocks and seven block assists for nine overall.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set One
Kansas stepped into Ferrell with some confidence, and scored the first point of the match with a kill from Caroline Crawford. The Bears responded well with an ace from Sedwick. The two teams traded points for the majority of the first set. BU pulled away with their tenth point, an ace from freshman Lauren Briseño to make it 10-7. Baylor went on to record kills from van der Mark, McGhee, and Harrison to make it 15-12. After the media timeout, the Jayhawks looked like they had a little more fire in their attacks, catching up to the Bears at 17-17. It was all BU after a Skinner kill made it 20-17, with a kill by Skinner finishing off the set at 25-19.
Set Two
Baylor started the set with the first point off a kill from Pressley, but Kansas made it clear they were there to tousle. The squads matched point-for-point through the entirety of the set, pushing each other back and forth. After the media timeout as Baylor was down 15-14, KU's Rachel Langs recorded a kill, but three-straight points from the Bears off kills from Skinner and Pressley and a Jayhawk ball handling error forced Kansas into a timeout at 18-16. BU kept pushing, and made it 24-22 from Pressley, Skinner and Harrison to nudge KU into another timeout. Lauren Harrison made it 25-24 Baylor when Kansas challenged the call unsuccessfully. At 25-25, Kansas challenged again, this time successfully reversing the score. Jayhawk Langs recorded a kill to tie it up 26-26, but Skinner responded with a kill followed by another Sedwick ace to finish it at 28-26.
Set Three
Baylor was up by two sets, but Kansas showed their determination at the end of the second and carried that spirit into the third. Once again matching each other point-for-point early in the set, Kansas pulled just ahead of Baylor at 10-7. BU would score two off block assists from Skinner and McGhee, but then KU trudged on to lead 15-12 at the media break. The Jayhawks continued their push, dialing the score up to 18-14 to make Baylor call timeout. The pause did as intended and the Bears responded with three points for the Green and Gold. Pressure was on, tensions were high, and Kansas called timeout. Plays from Pressley and Harrison caught BU up with their opponent at 22-all. Marieke van der Mark had a kill, but Jenny Mosser had two as well as a block assist with Langs to finish the set, 25-23.
Set Four
War was being waged. Kansas started the set on a three-point run, but Baylor answered with a six-point run to boot, which had KU call a timeout. The Jayhawks countered and pulled within one at 7-6, but the Bears decided that was too close. Harrison and Pressley helped make it 14-8, with Kansas calling another pause in play. BU paid it no mind, and blocked their way through to the end with kills intermingled to complete the match at 25-15.
BEAR BITES
Friday's contest will be televised on ESPNU with a 5 p.m. start time. Sam Gore and Jennifer Hoffman will be on the call. There will also be a beach towel giveaway for patrons while supplies last.
Live stats can be found at BaylorStats.com. A full recap as well as final stats can be found on BaylorBears.com after the conclusion of the match.
To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.
-BaylorBears.com-
Baylor Bear Insider
When the 11th-ranked Baylor volleyball has Lauren Harrison going well, joining with Yossiana Pressley and Avery Skinner in a balanced and dynamic attack, the Bears can be "really, really good."
Those words don't seem to do justice for Thursday's performance. Getting a combined 51 kills from that trio and hitting .354, Baylor (10-4, 4-1) rolled over Kansas, 3-1, in the first of back-to-back matches at the Ferrell Center and closed it out with an impressive 25-15 win in the fourth set.
It was a setter's dream having that many hitters going, said fifth-year senior Hannah Sedwick, who had 58 assists, 11 digs, four kills, three blocks and two service aces.
"All our hitters are good, and most of them were on tonight," Sedwick said. "It really is nice, because then it's just follow the game plan, and it's simplified from there."
Pressley, who had a match-high 21 kills, said Sedwick "made it easy for me." Skinner and Harrison had 15 kills apiece and hit .333 and .440, respectively.
"I just think Hannah made some great decisions," Pressley said. "Definitely, kudos to Hannah, because she put up a great offense, as you can see."
Kansas (11-7, 3-4) got 11 kills apiece from Jenny Moser and Caroline Crawford, but the Jayhawks were held to a .205 hitting percentage and were out-blocked, 13.0-7.0.
Kara McGhee put up a brick wall at the net, finishing with two solo blocks and seven assists, while fellow middle blocker Marieke van der Mark contributed nine kills and four blocks.
"I think after (last week's 3-0 win at North Texas), there was a focus, at least from me, to get our connection good," Sedwick said. "Tonight was really our opportunity to show what we've worked on, to show that intention."
In a back-and-forth first set, the sixth tie came at 17-17. The Bears scored eight of the next 10 points and closed out a 25-19 win with Skinner's fifth kill of the set.
Sedwick showed her versatility in a 28-26 second set, recording 20 assists, getting two first-touch dump kills and finishing it off with one of her two aces.
"The dump and the attacking have really been a threat," McGuyre said. "They were really keying on it, so we didn't necessarily have to do that as much, but pretty timely. What I like about Hannah is just her leadership this year. She's always been, I would say, a quiet, servant leader. Taking over from the service line, making great plays in clutch situations . . . . we're getting this great strength from within that's coming from her."
With Baylor two points away from a sweep, Kansas battled back to force a fourth set, getting a kill and block by Jenny Moser to win it, 25-23.
The middle blockers sparked an early 6-0 run with three blocks by McGhee and a kill by van der Mark, taking a lead the Bears would never relinquish. McGhee combined on a pair of blocks in a late 5-0 run and then Harrison closed it out, 25-15, with back-to-back kills as Baylor hit .520 with 13 kills and only two errors on 25 swings.
"We hit .354 against a really good Kansas team, top 20 in RPI," McGuyre said. "We were trying to hit over .300 last year and I think we finished something like .287 on the season. Tonight, good things happen, we hit .354 for the night and .520 the last set. If we're not doing that, we've got to move pieces around to get back to that."
In the back end of the two-game series, Baylor will host Kansas at 5 p.m. Friday. Sam Gore and Jennifer Hoffman will call the action on ESPNU.
"Like Coach Mac says, the better team wins the second night," said Pressley, who had a match-high 21 kills. "It just shows the sharpness that we have the intentionality and focus going into that next match."
WACO, Texas – No. 11 Baylor volleyball defeated Kansas 3-1 after a close match in the Ferrell Center on Thursday night, and will face the Jayhawks in the second match of the series on Friday night at 5 p.m.
Baylor improved to 10-4 overall and 4-1 in Big 12 play in its defeat of Kansas (11-7, 3-4) in four sets. The Bears took set one at 25-19, set two in 28-26, set three belonged to Kansas at 25-23, and Baylor finished it off in the fourth at 25-15.
Yossiana Pressley led the team in kills with 21, with Avery Skinner and Lauren Harrison just behind her, both with 15 kills on the night. Hannah Sedwick had a double-double, recording 58 assists and 11 digs against the Jayhawks. Shanel Bramschreiber led the team in digs however, recording 13.
Avery Skinner's ninth kill of the night was the 1,000th in her career across both Kentucky and Baylor, and she ended the night with 1,006 overall. She joins Pressley and Sedwick in reaching major career milestones this season.
Not to be outdone, Marieke van der Mark had quite the match, posting nine kills on 17 attempts for a .412 hitting percentage against KU. She also had one assist and four block assists. Kara McGhee also had a good night against Kansas, with two solo blocks and seven block assists for nine overall.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set One
Kansas stepped into Ferrell with some confidence, and scored the first point of the match with a kill from Caroline Crawford. The Bears responded well with an ace from Sedwick. The two teams traded points for the majority of the first set. BU pulled away with their tenth point, an ace from freshman Lauren Briseño to make it 10-7. Baylor went on to record kills from van der Mark, McGhee, and Harrison to make it 15-12. After the media timeout, the Jayhawks looked like they had a little more fire in their attacks, catching up to the Bears at 17-17. It was all BU after a Skinner kill made it 20-17, with a kill by Skinner finishing off the set at 25-19.
Set Two
Baylor started the set with the first point off a kill from Pressley, but Kansas made it clear they were there to tousle. The squads matched point-for-point through the entirety of the set, pushing each other back and forth. After the media timeout as Baylor was down 15-14, KU's Rachel Langs recorded a kill, but three-straight points from the Bears off kills from Skinner and Pressley and a Jayhawk ball handling error forced Kansas into a timeout at 18-16. BU kept pushing, and made it 24-22 from Pressley, Skinner and Harrison to nudge KU into another timeout. Lauren Harrison made it 25-24 Baylor when Kansas challenged the call unsuccessfully. At 25-25, Kansas challenged again, this time successfully reversing the score. Jayhawk Langs recorded a kill to tie it up 26-26, but Skinner responded with a kill followed by another Sedwick ace to finish it at 28-26.
Set Three
Baylor was up by two sets, but Kansas showed their determination at the end of the second and carried that spirit into the third. Once again matching each other point-for-point early in the set, Kansas pulled just ahead of Baylor at 10-7. BU would score two off block assists from Skinner and McGhee, but then KU trudged on to lead 15-12 at the media break. The Jayhawks continued their push, dialing the score up to 18-14 to make Baylor call timeout. The pause did as intended and the Bears responded with three points for the Green and Gold. Pressure was on, tensions were high, and Kansas called timeout. Plays from Pressley and Harrison caught BU up with their opponent at 22-all. Marieke van der Mark had a kill, but Jenny Mosser had two as well as a block assist with Langs to finish the set, 25-23.
Set Four
War was being waged. Kansas started the set on a three-point run, but Baylor answered with a six-point run to boot, which had KU call a timeout. The Jayhawks countered and pulled within one at 7-6, but the Bears decided that was too close. Harrison and Pressley helped make it 14-8, with Kansas calling another pause in play. BU paid it no mind, and blocked their way through to the end with kills intermingled to complete the match at 25-15.
BEAR BITES
- Baylor is 70-31 in Big 12 play under Ryan McGuyre and 196-269 overall.
- BU is seventh in the RPI and ranks No. 11 in the AVCA Coaches Poll.
- Avery Skinner hit her 1,000th career kill across Kentucky and Baylor against Kansas.
- Shanel Bramschreiber and KU's Rachel Langs were high school teammates at Lovejoy in Lucas, Texas.
Friday's contest will be televised on ESPNU with a 5 p.m. start time. Sam Gore and Jennifer Hoffman will be on the call. There will also be a beach towel giveaway for patrons while supplies last.
Live stats can be found at BaylorStats.com. A full recap as well as final stats can be found on BaylorBears.com after the conclusion of the match.
To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.
-BaylorBears.com-
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