By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Baylor versus Texas, a top-10 volleyball matchup in the Ferrell Center, with a Big 12 championship and NCAA Tournament seeding on the line. 
            As Baylor head coach Ryan McGuyre put it, "This is what we all signed up for."
            Riding a six-match winning streak and coming off it second bye, the 10^th-ranked Bears (13-4, 7-1) will host No. 1 Texas (17-0, 8-0) at 8 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday, likely needing to win both to claim their second conference title in three years. 
            "Texas is playing great, they're undefeated, the Big 12 championship is at stake this weekend," McGuyre said. "Perfect opportunity to be battle-tested, this is what we all signed up for, wanted to be a part of. Really looking forward to the atmosphere at the Ferrell Center and seeing how we compete and get after it."
            After sharing the Big 12 title with Baylor in 2019, the Longhorns went through the COVID-affected 2020-21 conference season unscathed and made it all the way to the NCAA Tournament final before losing to Kentucky, 3-1. 
            They have four All-Americans returning off that team, including Big 12 Player of the Year Logan Eggleston at outside hitter, and also brought in honorable mention All-American setter Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres as a transfer from Utah. 
            "I would say, in my seven years, this is the best Texas team that I've seen," McGuyre said. "And like us, they're senior-heavy. I think they're playing hungry, there's no holes or weaknesses. I feel the same about our team, we're good at every position. We've just got to play better volleyball."
            Baylor counters with a lineup that includes two-time first-team All-American Yossiana Pressley, the 2019 National Player of the Year, along with All-American setter Hannah Sedwick, honorable mention All-American outside hitter Lauren Harrison, Big 12 Libero of the Year Shanel Bramschreiber and first-team All-Big 12 middle blocker Kara McGhee. 
            Added to that mix and creating a logjam at outside hitter was returning first-team All-American Avery Skinner, a transfer from that 2020 national championship Kentucky team. 
            "It was definitely difficult in the beginning, for the coaches, to try to figure out what they were going to do," Skinner said, "because we have so many weapons and just trying to figure out the best spot for everyone. It's a matter of being adaptable and, whatever we're doing that day, is what we're going to do our best in."
            Playing for the Wildcats, Skinner had 14 kills, six digs and four blocks versus Texas in the national championship game April 24 in Omaha, Neb. 
            "We definitely had a game plan going in, and it worked," said Skinner, whose father, Brian, is a Baylor Hall of Famer who played 14 years in the NBA. "I want to help in any way that I can. But, I'm excited. I've played Texas, but obviously not in the Baylor-Texas rivalry. I know for everyone, there's going to be a little extra fire."
            Sedwick called it "just another match on the way to where we want to be." That includes getting back to the Final Four and winning conference and national championships. 
            "It's kind of weird playing them for the fifth time this year," Pressley said, "but it's awesome to have them here and have the Baylor crowd behind us."
            McGuyre would love to replicate the atmosphere in the Bears' 3-2 win over the Longhorns on Nov. 24, 2019, when a program-record crowd of 7,357 packed into the Ferrell Center, nearly doubling the previous attendance record (3,878). 
            "What a fun experience," McGuyre said. "We talk about multiplying joy as a family all the time. To have our crowd be a part of something to celebrate and know there are so many great teams here at Baylor . . . it's just fun. Definitely looking forward to a big crowd Friday, and it looks like even bigger Saturday. It should be rocking and rolling."
            Skinner, who knows a thing or two about beating Texas, says the Bears need to "just focus on our side."
            "Obviously, they're a very talented team, and they've been very successful this season. But, so have we," said Skinner, who is second on the team and eighth in the league with 3.44 kills per set. "For us, we need to play Baylor Volleyball. We know what we can do. We can be very balanced, and I think we can use that as an asset, just spreading the ball around so that they can't just go with one person."
            For Friday's match, fans will receive free "Beat Texas" buttons and fan banners, while supplies last. Paul Sunderland and Salima Rockwell will call the action for the nationally televised match on ESPNU. 
            Sedwick, who's third in the Big 12 with 10.31 assists per game, said it's a "perfect time to play a team like Texas." The Bears close out the regular season with road trips to TCU and Oklahoma and a two-game home series with Iowa State, with the NCAA Tournament beginning with the first and second rounds at campus sites Dec. 2-4. 
            "We have a bunch of matches under our belt," she said, "but we still have a lot of time to continue to grow."
            

WACO, Texas – No. 10 Baylor volleyball is set for a clash with No. 1 Texas in back-to-back matches on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 5-6, in the Ferrell Center.
 
Friday's match will start at 8 p.m., and fans will receive free "Beat Texas" buttons along with fan banners upon entry to the Ferrell, while supplies last. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
 
The matchup between the Bears (13-4, 7-1) and the Longhorns (17-0, 8-0) is the most-played matchup for BU at 89. Baylor's wins against UT have all come at the Ferrell Center, including a memorable five-setter in 2019 when the Bears won a share of the Big 12 Championship.
 
The weekend series is considered the top matchup of the weekend by the NCAA's Michella Chester. The top-10 matchup goes one step further, with Baylor at No. 8 in the committee's top 10 and Texas at No. 2. The two Conference foes have a long-standing history.

The Longhorns have one top-10 win on the season, having defeated No. 10 Minnesota at the beginning of September. 
 
BU outside hitter Avery Skinner faced practically the same Longhorn team just a few months ago in the 2020 National Championship match. Skinner and the Kentucky Wildcats prevailed, 3-1, with Skinner recording 14 kills. After transferring to Baylor this summer, she will take on Texas this time wearing the green and gold.
 
The Bears saw Texas four times last season alone, including three in Austin, with two counting toward their Big 12 records. The first two, back-to-back in November 2020, both went to five sets.
 
BU returns three All-Americans and added a fourth to the squad in Skinner, while UT returns five.
 
The match will be called by Paul Sunderland and Salima Rockwell on ESPNU.
 
A full recap of the match, as well as the final box score, will be posted to 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.