No. 1 Texas Ventures to Ferrell to Face No. 18 VB

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Even Texas' very best volleyball teams had a few flaws here and there, maybe something you could exploit or attack.
            Ryan McGuyre, whose 18^th-ranked Baylor team (15-3, 4-1) has handed the Longhorns their only two conference losses over the last four seasons, doesn't see one area of weakness in a top-ranked Texas team (13-0, 5-0) that will visit the Ferrell Center for a 2 p.m. matchup on Saturday.
            "What makes this Texas team unique is, there's not maybe one area of the game that we can maybe target and kind of blow up and exploit," McGuyre said. "That just means we've got to be good to great in each area and not have a bad area in our game that maybe they exploit."
            Already loaded, with returning National Player of the Year Logan Eggleston at outside, 6-5 Molly Phillips at opposite and All-Big 12 pick Asjia O'Neal at middle blocker, the Longhorns added two-time Pac-12 Libero of the Year Zoe Fleck from UCLA and 6-2 sophomore outside hitter Madisen Skinner off a 2020 national championship Kentucky team.
            "This year's team is just very well-balanced," McGuyre said. "Logan is playing at another National Player of the Year-type level for her. The pins are a really important part of volleyball, and they all have great arms, great experience. Fleck is a digging machine and brings an experienced fifth-year (player) as well. Their depth, they're strong at all positions."
            That's the challenges facing a Baylor team that comes in riding a 14-game home winning streak that started with beating Texas, 3-1, last year when the Bears took a marathon fourth set, 32-30. Three years ago, Yossiana Pressley had 31 kills and a career-best 24 digs in a 3-2 win over the Longhorns before a program-record crowd of 7,357 at the Ferrell Center.
            Texas has been the conference's dominant team, particularly since the departure of Nebraska, winning at least a share of all but one regular-season title over the previous 11 seasons. Kansas won it in 2016 and Baylor shared it with the Longhorns in 2019.
            "When we've had matches here in Waco, it's been No. 1 (in the Big 12) versus No. 2, or 2 versus No. 1," McGuyre said. "It's been record-breaking crowds, the gym's loud. The Longhorn fans travel, so now we've got people yelling at each other in the stands as we're battling each other on the court. That part's fun. . . . Even though it's early, they're sitting No. 1, we're sitting No. 2, and this would move us into a tie for first with them."
            Fifth-year senior Lauren Harrison said it's "always a challenge" to go up against Texas. "I'm just hyped up and ready to get after it."
            Harrison is hitting her stride again after missing four games with an injury. She has averaged 3.69 kills per set in the Bears' four-game winning streak, including 12 in a 3-0 road sweep of 22^nd-ranked Rice on Wednesday.
            "It was definitely challenging starting the season and then stopping," Harrison said, "just because I had to be out for a few games. But I think now I'm starting to get comfortable and back where I need to be to be successful and help our team."
            The Bears are also getting production from 6-4 outside hitter Elise McGee, who had 11 kills with a .320 hitting percentage against Rice. Elise is the younger sister of senior middle blocker Kara McGhee, who is ranked third in the country in blocks (1.58 per set) and fourth in hitting percentage (.441).
            "I think feeling comfortable and getting into a rhythm," Elise said of a four-game stretch that has seen her average 10 kills per match. "Me and (freshman setter Averi Carlson) are really working well on our connection. So, talking with her, the energy was great (at Rice), the team chemistry was great. It just made me feel at ease playing."
            McGuyre said there are phases of her game where Elise, whose nickname is The Hulk, is "scary good."
            "For all outside hitters, we talk about managing your swings," McGuyre said. "What was good (for her) at Rice was the ones that were maybe out of system, off blocks or well-formed, you've got to locate. And she was very, very accurate. . . . That's what separates the good pins. Logan is great at that. She's not going to give us any free balls, 'here you go.' She's going to move the ball around, and we've got to move around or be a step ahead to convert those."
            Saturday's match will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with "Voice of the Bears" John Morris and former Baylor player Braya (Hunt) Choquette calling the action.

WACO, Texas -- No. 18 Baylor volleyball will return home to host No. 1 Texas in a crucial conference clash on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Ferrell Center. The match will be televised live on ESPN+ with John Morris and Braya Choquette on the call.

Baylor (15-3, 4-1 Big 12 Conference) will face No. 1 Texas (13-0, 5-0 Big 12) in the first of two matchups in the 2022 season. The teams will also face each other on Nov. 19 in Austin.

The Bears have won four straight, including wins at Kansas, Oklahoma and No. 22 Rice on the road and a home win over Oklahoma. BU averages 13.34 kills, 12.02 assists, 1.38 aces, 12.48 digs and 2.7 blocks per set, hitting .283 as a team.

Texas enters the matchup unbeaten and as the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation according to the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. The Longhorns have won all 15 tests of the year and haven't lost a set since Sept. 21 at Kansas, winning 15 straight sets. The Longhorns lead the nation with a .326 hitting percentage. UT averages 14.36 kills, 13.66 assists and 1.52 aces per set, sporting 13.52 digs and 2.09 blocks per set.

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

FACING THE LONGHORNS
• BU has beaten Texas twice before when they were ranked No. 1, both coming at home.
• The Longhorns and Bears have been picked to finish No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in the past few years.
• UT's two losses in Big 12 play have both come to Baylor in Waco since 2019.

BIG 12 BEARS
• BU is 84-33 all-time in the Big 12 under McGuyre's tutelage.
• The Bears are 5-3 in overall Conference openers and 6-2 in Big 12 openers at home under head coach Ryan McGuyre. In road openers, BU is 4-4.

COUNTRY ROADS
• The Bears won their ninth sweep of the season against the West Virginia Mountaineers.
• They won the first two sets outright before WVU put up a fight in the third, but still came away victorious.
• Senior middle blocker Kara McGhee had her second career double-double with 10 kills and 10 blocks, earning her Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors. She currently is third in the nation and first in the conference for blocks per set as of 10/10.

MIDWEST ROAD SWING
• In a five-set bout with Kansas, BU came away with the win and Averi Carlson had 52 assists in the match, while senior Lauren Harrison recorded a double-double with 22 kills and 10 digs.
• Baylor fell in just its second true road match of the season at Iowa State, stopping a 10-match winning streak for the Bears.
• The last time BU went on a 10-match streak was in 2020 when they won 11-consecutive, starting on Sept. 26 and stopping on Oct. 30.
• Lauren Harrison returned to play for the first time in four matches and was BU's leader in kills (16), attempts (51) and points (17.0) against the Cyclones.

MILESTONES FOR McGUYRE
• McGuyre is now 14 wins away from becoming the winningest Baylor volleyball coach with 182 wins. He currently sits at 168. Jim Barnes, McGuyre's predecessor, currently holds the title with 181 over his 10 years at Baylor (2004-14).
• Head coach Ryan McGuyre, in his eighth season at the helm of the Bears' program, earned his 500th career win on 9/21 against TCU, making his all-time record 500-191 across his 21 years as a women's HC as of that match. He spent three years at Biola and 10 at Cal Baptist.

SCZECH IT OFF THE LIST
• Freshman opposite Allie Sczech has earned her first conference weekly award, being named Rookie of the Week for Sept. 27.
• Against the Frogs, she led the team in kills (12), blocks (6) and points (15) to help get the win (9/21). It was just her second time recording 10+ kills on the season.
• With the award, a Baylor Bear has earned the Rookie of the Week honor for four out of the five possible weeks.

No. 1 Texas Ventures to Ferrell to Face No. 18 VB

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Players Mentioned

Averi Carlson

Lauren Harrison

Kara McGhee

Yossiana Pressley

Allie Sczech

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