No. 9 VB Handles K-State with 3-0 Sweep

Wednesday, March 31

Waco, Texas

2:00 p.m.

Baylor

19-5,13-3Big 12

Kansas State

13-8,10-6Big 12

Kansas St.

Baylor

No. 9 VB Handles K-State with 3-0 Sweep

3/31/2021 5:14:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Bears improve to 19-5 on the season, 4-1 following a loss

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Like most middle blockers, Cal transfer Preslie Anderson doesn't typically like blocking with the setter in the front row, "because usually they're a liability."
            Not Hannah Sedwick. The 6-1 senior setter assisted on six of Baylor volleyball's 10 blocks and added 34 assists, 11 digs and three kills in the ninth-ranked Bears' 3-0 sweep of Kansas State, 26-24, 25-16, 25-23, in Wednesday afternoon's matinee match at the Ferrell Center.
            "I 100% think Hannah is our best blocker on the team," said Anderson, who had five kills, four blocks and no hitting errors in her cleanest match at Baylor. "She's so smart, she's always engaged, and it really helps me out having such a good blocker, because my block assists definitely go up when I'm standing next to her."
            Head coach Ryan McGuyre, whose team improved to 19-5 going into Thursday's 6 p.m. regular-season finale against Texas State (29-8), said Sedwick is "probably the best blocking setter in the country."
            "She gets it, understands it," McGuyre said. "And she not only had good blocks today, but good blocks where they covered it or maybe we did have some miscues with our connection."
            Sedwick helped the Bears hold the Wildcats' Aliyah Carter, "the Big 12 Rookie of the Year, most likely," McGuyre said, to a negative hitting percentage with just nine kills and 11 errors in 41 total swings.
            "That's probably the highlight of the match for us is taking out their top player," McGuyre said.
            Bouncing back from last Friday's 3-1 loss to second-ranked Texas, Baylor won a tight opening set with back-to-back kills from Lauren Harrison and KJ Johnson. After dominating the second set, the Bears had to rally from a 19-16 deficit in the third set and closed it out with three kills by Harrison in the last four points.
            "That probably entered a danger zone, and I loved that the team addressed it," McGuyre said. "They never felt like out of control of the match. That part is healthy, like, 'Hey, we can side out and each time we serve we have a chance to score and come back in it.' Maybe I wish we would have focused a little bit better to not be in that spot, but they get it."
            Harrison and All-American Yossiana Pressley led the Bears with 13 kills apiece, while Shanel Bramschreiber had a match-high 15 digs to go with two service aces. Recording 10 blocks and 46 digs, Baylor held K-State (13-8) to a .124 hitting percentage.
            Thursday's match against Texas State will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
            The NCAA Tournament selections will be announced at 3 p.m. CDT Sunday on ESPNU, with Baylor in line for a potential top-8 seed for the second-straight year. In 2019, the Bears made their first Final Four appearance, losing to Wisconsin in the national semifinals.

THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – No. 9 Baylor volleyball bounced back nicely with a 3-0 sweep of Kansas State Wednesday afternoon at the Ferrell Center, 26-24, 25-14, 25-23.

BU (19-5) collected its third win of the season over the Wildcats (13-8) and improved its season record to 4-1 in matches following a loss.

For much of the opening set, the two sides traded points back-and-forth with a wealth of service errors on both ends. Lauren Harrison, KJ Johnson and Yossiana Pressley combined for 13 of Baylor's 17 kills in the first frame, leading the team to a .405 clip. A Hannah Sedwick dump at 24-23 proved to be enough for the Bears to break away and take the first set.

In the second, BU brought out the defense to the tune of six blocks, with Preslie Anderson, Kara McGhee and Sedwick each tallying three. Anderson's stuff at 8-8 and kill at 9-8 kickstarted the Bears and a four-point run a few points later swelled the lead to 19-11. McGhee accounted for a three-point service run before Anderson and Sedwick sealed the 2-0 match advantage with another block at 25-14.

The third set resembled much of the first, with both teams going back and forth. Baylor led 5-2, but K-State knotted the score and later led 19-16. Following a timeout, Pressley put one away to spark the Bears, Shanel Bramschreiber recorded an ace and a Wildcat error evened the tally. Harrison took over late in the frame, registering three kills as part of BU's final four points as the Bears clinched their 12^th sweep of the season.

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

HIGHLIGHTS
• BU collected its third win of the season over K-State.
• Baylor notched its 12^th sweep of the year.
• The Bears recorded 10 total blocks on the afternoon, the 11^th time in the 2020-21 campaign that they have eclipsed double figures.
• Lauren Harrison and Yossiana Pressley led the Bears with 13 kills apiece.
• It was Pressley's 23^rd outing of the season with double-digit putaways.
• Harrison has surpassed 10 kills in each of her last seven matches.
• Hannah Sedwick collected her third double-double of the season with 34 assists and 11 digs. She also led BU with six blocks.
• Kara McGhee also chipped in six blocks to tie Sedwick for the team-most.
• Shanel Bramschreiber tallied 15 digs, her 20^th double-digit performance of the season and 12^th outing with at least 15.

STAT OF THE MATCH
.625 – Preslie Anderson hit .625 with five kills on eight swings and no errors

TOP QUOTES
Head coach Ryan McGuyre
On getting a sweep and building momentum down the stretch of the regular season…
"This is the time of the year when you want to play your best volleyball and start moving forward. You want to learn and grow from each match. I'm probably most pleased with the energy the girls brought themselves. The atmosphere didn't seem to affect them too much."

Senior Preslie Anderson
On what made the difference in today's match…
"I think we never lost sight of our overall goal. We definitely wanted to come in here and get a clean sweep, but we knew K-State was going to put up a battle. Even in times when we were down, it didn't feel like it. The energy was good out there, it might not have been our cleanest volleyball but it definitely was one of the most fun matches that I've played here so far. I think always finding a way to incorporate joy in our culture when we're playing [is important] because we always play better when we're having fun."

WHAT'S NEXT
No. 9 Baylor (19-5) will finish its regular-season slate with a 6 p.m. tilt against Texas State (29-8) Thursday evening at the Ferrell Center.

-BaylorBears.com-