By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider 
            Nobody can ever accuse Baylor volleyball coach Ryan McGuyre of shying away from a little competition. 
            Starting with the season-opening Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge that begins Friday in Madison, Wis., the 10^th-ranked Bears will play five of their first six matches – all on the road – against top-10 teams. They open against No. 7 Minnesota at 8:30 p.m. Friday and then play No. 2 Wisconsin at 6 p.m. Saturday at UW Field House, on the ESPNU and the Big Ten Network. 
            In a brutal non-conference slate, Baylor will also play No. 6 Florida on back-to-back days in Gainesville, take on No. 9 Pittsburgh and Tennessee in Knoxville and host 23^rd-ranked Rice on Sept. 16 in the home opener and first game of the Baylor Classic. 
            "We're going to go for it," McGuyre said. "If we get some (wins), I think it gives us a shot at a top-4 seed. And if we don't, it shows us where we need to get better. The preseason is brutal and deep, for sure, but we've got depth, we've got healthy bodies. Just glad we're doing it together."
            Adding All-American Avery Skinner as a grad transfer from national championship Kentucky, the consensus is that this Baylor team is at least as talented as the Final Four team in 2019. Skinner joins 2019 National Player of the Year Yossiana Pressley; fifth-year senior setter Hannah Sedwick, a first-team All-American that same season; and former North Carolina transfer Lauren Harrison, who earned honorable mention honors last season. 
            "We have so much talent," Sedwick said. "It's unfortunate that only six can be on the court at one time, because everyone deserves to play and everyone is working hard in practice and getting better with each other and connecting. What a cool thing to say, when we're playing six-on-six, we have the two best teams in the country. We are so deep and so good."
            That includes the setter position, where former Tennessee transfer Callie Williams took up the slack with Sedwick out the first half of the season and averaged a team-best 6.58 assists per set. 
            "We don't know exactly what it's going to look like throughout the season or even come this weekend. Who knows?" Sedwick said. "Callie's doing awesome, she's so good. That's just another awesome thing is to know that whether it's Callie, myself or Molly (Kipp), we all can get it done."
            With Pressley, Skinner and Harrison all listed as outside hitters, McGuyre is faced with some challenging decisions. 
            "I think our success this year really depends on how well we're willing to sacrifice for one another, because you can only put so many people on the court," McGuyre said. "I definitely have a lot of options. I'll be the first to say that it's not easy, it's not clear-cut who should go where, because everybody brings so much to the table."
            That's a good problem to have, though. Even for the setters, who are you going to pass to when in crunch time?
            "Honestly, it is sometimes a challenge, because you're like, 'I want to get so-and-so reps and I want to get this other person reps. I want to connect with all of them,''' Sedwick said. "In a game or in a practice, I know any one of them can get kills. Everyone's a good option, which is awesome, such a blessing as a setter to have. But also challenge, because they all want the ball."
            The Bears are also loaded at middle blocker with Kara McGhee, former transfers Preslie Anderson and Andressa Parise and the freshman trio of Kaitlyn Riley, Alicia Andrew and Ava Grace Haggard. McGhee is a returning first-team All-Big 12 pick, along with Pressley, Harrison and Big 12 Libero of the Year Shanel Bramschreiber. 
            "This is probably the most talented team I've been on," McGhee said, "which is exciting to see how we're going to go and just how we're going to honor the Lord and pour into each other while we do it."
            The No. 3 seed for last year's NCAA Tournament, Minnesota (16-3) was upset by Pitt in the Round of 16. Back for the Gophers is first-team All-American and reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Stephanie Samedy. 
            Wisconsin, which beat Baylor in the 2019 national semifinals, is coming off an 18-1 season that saw the top-seeded Badgers upset by Texas in the semifinals. Returning is four-time first-team All-American middle blocker Dana Rettke, the Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year in 2019-20. 
             "We are so pumped," Sedwick said. "This team needs to be battle-tested, and we will be this weekend. Wisconsin and Minnesota are two huge opportunities, obviously, and so fun to play them. They're so talented, but so are we."

THE RUNDOWN
MADISON, Wis. – No. 10 Baylor volleyball begins its season on the road at the Big Ten-Big 12 Challenge, hosted by Wisconsin at the UW Field House.

They will face No. 7 Minnesota on Friday at 8:30 p.m., and No. 2 Wisconsin on Saturday at 6 p.m. The matches will be broadcast on ESPNU and the Big Ten Network, respectively.
 
The Bears are coming off an exhibition win over Texas A&M and waste no time jumping into regular-season play with two top-10 matchups in the first weekend.
 
Baylor is stacked with talent, with Yossiana Pressley and Avery Skinner picked unanimously to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. Lauren Harrison, Pressley and Hannah Sedwick are the returning All-Americans, and Avery Skinner is a transfer All-American from the reigning champion Kentucky program. Shanel Bramschreiber was the first Bear in program history to be named the Big 12 Libero of the Year, and a quartet of players return after being named All-Big 12 in Bramschreiber, Harrison, Pressley and Kara McGhee. 
 
The program reached the NCAA Regional Semifinals for the third time in program history in the 2020 season, and for the first time in back-to-back seasons. They were 13-3 in Conference play which was second in the Big 12.
 
BEAR BITES

• If Baylor wins against both Minnesota and Wisconsin, it'll be the first time in program history that the Bears have defeated two top-10 programs in the same week.
• The Bears were picked to finish second in the Big 12 for the fourth-straight season.
• BU opens the season on the road for the third-consecutive season and third time overall with Ryan McGuyre at the helm.
• Baylor is 22-21 all-time in season openers, including a 12-7 record in neutral-site openers.
• There are six seniors competing in their fifth collegiate years this season: Preslie Anderson, Yossiana Pressley, Hannah Sedwick, Avery Skinner, Marieke van der Mark and Callie Williams.

THE GOPHERS
No. 7 ranked Minnesota is led by head coach Hugh McCutcheon who is in his tenth season with the Gophers. Since his first season, he has taken his team to three Final Fours, four Sweet 16's, and an Elite Eight appearance. Their 2020-21 season saw them make the NCAA Tournament for the 25^th time. The Gophers went 16-3 overall and 15-2 in the Big Ten last season, finishing as the Big Ten runner-up for the regular season. Stephanie Samedy is a fifth-year player and the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year.
 
To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.

WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears will face No. 2 Wisconsin on Saturday at 6 p.m. in UW Field House, broadcast on the Big 10 Network.