VB No. 5 Seed in NCAA Championships

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Baylor volleyball parlayed a challenging schedule into its sixth-consecutive and 10^th overall bid to the NCAA Tournament, pegged as the No. 5 national seed in selections that were announced Sunday night by ESPNU.
            The Bears (20-5) are 14-5 versus the NCAA Tournament field, including wins over three other national seeds, and finished second in a Big 12 Conference that is sending seven of its nine teams to the 64-team tournament.
            Hosting the first and second rounds at the Ferrell Center, Baylor will face Southland Conference champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (19-9) at 7 p.m. Thursday, following a first-round matchup between Big Sky Conference champion Northern Colorado (24-6) and Washington State (19-11) at 4:30. The winners will square off at 7 p.m. Friday for a spot in the region semifinals that will likely be hosted by No. 4 seed Wisconsin.
            "We are blessed and thankful that we get to continue our season," said Baylor coach Ryan McGuyre, whose team lost to Nebraska in the third round of last year's tournament after the program's first Final Four appearance in 2019. "Our team is hungry and eager to compete and represent Baylor. We are extremely invested in one another and ready to battle one round at a time."
            In addition to a 14-2 conference record highlighted by a 3-0 sweep of No. 2-seeded Texas, the Bears opened the season with a six-game road trip that included a season-opening 3-1 win over Minnesota and beating 10^th-seeded Florida in back-to-back matches in Gainesville.
            Baylor is led by All-American outside hitters Yossiana Pressley and Avery Skinner, a grad transfer who played for Kentucky's national championship squad last year. The Bears also returned Big 12 Libero of the Year Shanel Bramschreiber, two other all-conference picks in middle blocker Kara McGhee and outside hitter Lauren Harrison and 2019 All-American setter Hannah Sedwick from last year's 20-7 team.
            "I feel like our regular-season schedule prepared us well," McGuyre said. "We look forward to hosting first and second rounds and want to fill the Ferrell for each match."
            A&M-Corpus Christi swept the Southland Conference regular-season and tournament titles, defeating McNeese State, 3-1, in the Nov. 21 tournament final. The Islanders, 0-6 versus Baylor, are making their second-straight and fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
            Junior Faith Barnes was named the SLC Player and Setter of the Year and was joined on the all-conference team by Libero of the Year Carissa Barnes and senior middle blocker Rachel Young.
            Washington State tied for fourth in the Pac-12 with Oregon and Stanford and split the season series with No. 15 national seed Washington. Northern Colorado swept the Big Sky championships, defeating Weber State, 3-2, in the tournament final.
            Baylor is in the same region with fourth-seeded Wisconsin (25-3), which won an outright Big Ten championship. The Badgers defeated Baylor, 3-1, in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge earlier this year in Madison, Wis., and also handed the Bears a 3-1 loss in the 2019 Final Four.
            Louisville is the overall No. 1 seed, followed by Texas and Pittsburgh.
            Tickets are available at Baylor's Tournament Central page, which also includes directions to the Ferrell Center and other information regarding the First and Second Rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

WACO, Texas – Baylor volleyball heard its name called in the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, with the Bears being named the No. 5 seed for the NCAA Tournament.

Baylor (20-5) will host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Northern Colorado and Washington State for the three matches of the First and Second Rounds in the Ferrell Center.

The Bears will play Southand Conference champion TAMU-CC (19-9) in the first round at 7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 2, with UNC (24-6) facing Washington State at 4:30 p.m. earlier that day. The winner of both matches will play each other in a 7 p.m. matchup on Friday, Dec. 3, with a trip to the region semifinals on the line.

BU is no stranger to the Show, being a part of the 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 NCAA Tournaments. They also participated in four tournaments before 2016, as well as an appearance in the NIVC. In 2019, the Bears made it all the way to the National Semifinal and made it to the Regional Semifinal in 2020. Baylor is 8-5 in the NCAA Tournament under Ryan McGuyre and is 11-9 overall going into the First and Second Rounds.

The other four teams in Baylor's section of the bracket are Stanford, Iowa State, South Dakota and No. 12 Minnesota. The winner of both the Waco and Minneapolis First and Second Rounds will move on to the Regionals portion of the Tournament.

Fans are encouraged to visit Baylor's Tournament Central for all relevant information regarding the First and Second Rounds of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. Links for broadcasts, radio streams and live stats will be posted there as they become available.

To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVball.

-BaylorBears.com-

VB No. 5 Seed in NCAA Championships

Players Mentioned

Shanel Bramschreiber

Lauren Harrison

Kara McGhee

Yossiana Pressley

Hannah Sedwick

Avery Skinner

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