VB Faces Louisville in Sweet 16

Thursday, December 8

Louisville, Ky.

12:30 PM

Baylor

Louisville

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Kara McGhee and Elise McGhee go up for a block against Iowa State

VB Faces Louisville in Sweet 16

12/7/2022 5:40:00 PM | Volleyball

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Bears in fourth-straight Regional Semifinals

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            As the lone holdover from Baylor volleyball's 2019 Final Four team, Kara McGhee would love to end her career with a bookend trip to the sport's biggest stage.
            "I think when you go there and taste it a little bit, making it to the semifinals my freshman year, then coming down to my senior year, I think, 'Man, I want to get past that point that I hit my freshman year,''' said McGhee, a first-team All-Big 12 and All-Southwest middle blocker for the 17^th-ranked Bears (25-6), who will face No. 2 national seed Louisville (28-2) in Thursday's region semifinals at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
            "I definitely think that's motivating."
            McGhee had 12 kills and nine blocks in a five-set win over Rice that pushed Baylor to its fourth-straight NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 and fifth in program history. Senior outside hitter Lauren Harrison had a double-double with 19 kills and 10 digs.
            "I'm really proud of this team this year, where we started and where we've arrived," said Baylor coach Ryan McGuyre. "It's been a different season than the past three or four. Really want to cherish the opportunity to be here in the regional. With this team, it's been about growth and humility, and we're just trying to extend it, because I feel like we keep getting better each day as we move along."
            While last year's region semifinalist team was loaded with COVID seniors, this year's squad has a blend of youth and experience. This is the last go-around for McGhee and fellow seniors Harrison and Mallory Talbert, while setter Averi Carlson, right-side hitter Allie Sczech and defensive specialist Alexis Dacosta are freshman starters.
            "I would definitely say that our approach is the same for any game," said Carlson, the Big 12 and Southwest Region Freshman of the Year. "We know that our opponents are really good in this round. We're just ready to play Baylor volleyball."
            One thing is for sure, the Bears shouldn't be in awe playing a Louisville team that lost to eventual national champion Wisconsin in last year's national semifinals, the Cardinals' first Final Four.
            Baylor defeated Minnesota, 3-1, in the season-opening Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge in Fort Worth and bounced back to defeat Wisconsin, 3-2, the next day. In a challenging conference schedule, the Bears pushed top-ranked Texas twice and beat a trio of Big 12 teams (TCU, Kansas and Iowa State) that made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
            "I thought in our first match way back in August, we were a lot different then, but we learned a lot about ourselves and played with good grit," McGuyre said. "One thing this team didn't have was experience. So, each game we could learn from, and we were really able to apply it to the next one and battled and got a win over Wisconsin. Since then, there's been, 'Hey, we can do well.'
            "We were disappointed that we couldn't get that win at Texas, but we were right there in the match. Knowing we could be one degree better and keep growing . . . there's always very specific things we could work on. The game of volleyball is going to be fun as long as you are learning."
            McGuyre said he sees a lot of similarities between Louisville and Wisconsin "when they are moving their big 6-8 girl around."
            Fifth-year senior outside hitter Claire Chaussee, the ACC and East Region Player of the Year, leads the Cardinals with 1,171 kills. She was joined on the All-Southwest Region team by 6-3 senior middle blocker Amaya Tillman (1.49 blocks per set), setter Raquel Lazaro (10.02 assists per set), sophomore libero Elena Scott (404 digs) and 6-2 right-side hitter Aiko Jones (1,055 career kills).
            "Ultimately, we are not always caught up on the number of blocks we have," McGuyre said. "Our block needs to have an impact on the match as far as changing what our opponents are doing. Kara has been on the forefront of not only doing that herself, but also teaching her teammates as well."
            Ninth-ranked Oregon (25-5) faces No. 7 Nebraska (26-5) at 10 a.m. CT Thursday, with the Baylor-Louisville match starting 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first. Saturday's region final starts at 3 p.m. CT, with the winner advancing to the NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship Dec. 15-17 at CHI Healthy Center in Omaha, Neb.
            "I feel like this regional is extremely tough with four great teams," said Louisville coach Dani Busboom Kelly. "We are going to have to play great, and we are excited mostly to be in front of our fans."
            The Thursday and Sunday games will be broadcast by ESPNU.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Ranked 17th and seeded fourth in the regional, Baylor volleyball is set to face Louisville in the Regional Semifinals – or "Sweet 16" – on Thursday at the KFC Yum! Center.

The Bears, the No. 15 overall seed, face Louisville, the No. 2 overall seed, for just the second time in program history.

Match time is slated for 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Nebraska-Oregon match that starts at 10 a.m. CT.

This is BU's seventh-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, 11^th overall and fourth-straight Regional Semifinal appearance.

The Bears (25-6) are one of just seven teams who have reached the Regional round in the past four years, joined by Florida, Louisville, Minnesota, Nebraska, Texas and Wisconsin.

BU is led by Mallory Talbert for attacking percentage (.399), while Lauren Harrison leads the team with 340 kills at 3.58 per set. Freshman Averi Carlson has dished out 1,232 assists at 10.81 assists/set, while Lauren Briseño leads the team in aces with 34 and digs with 381. Kara McGhee is Baylor's leading blocker with 172 total at 1.51 blocks per set.

Carlson was named the AVCA's Southwest Region Freshman of the Year on Tuesday, while McGhee was named first team All-District by the organization. Carlson, Talbert and Harrison were each named Honorable Mention.

Louisville, the No. 1 seed in the regional bracket, is 28-2 on the year and is coming off wins over Samford and Purdue from the first and second rounds of the tournament, both sweeps. The Cardinals have swept each of their last five opponents.

Fans can watch the match on ESPNU or ESPN+ with Katie George and Eric Frede on the call. Live stats can be found at ncaa.com.

A full recap and final stats will be available on BaylorBears.com after the conclusion of the match.

To keep up to date with Baylor volleyball all year long, follow the Bears on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook: @BaylorVBall.

-BaylorBears.com-