No. 16 VB Set for Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge
8/25/2022 5:53:00 PM | Volleyball
Bears face Minnesota to start regular season on Friday in Fort Worth
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Three years removed from a trip to the Final Four, the 16th-ranked Baylor volleyball team dreams of getting back there again.
But, the Bears will have to do it without All-Americans Yossiana Pressley, Avery Skinner and Hannah Sedwick and former Big 12 Libero of the Year Shanel Bramschreiber.
"Hannah and Yossi are just dear to my heart," said eighth-year head coach Ryan McGuyre, whose team will open the season against fifth-ranked Minnesota and defending national champion Wisconsin in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge that begins Friday in Fort Worth. "I wouldn't be where I am without players like them coming a long way."
With Gatorade National Player of the Year Averi Carlson stepping in as a freshman setter – much like Sedwick did in 2017 – McGuyre is excited to see which combos develop that could be together for three or four years.
"She is very consistent in who she is," McGuyre said of Carlson, who won three-consecutive state championships at Lovejoy High School. "I don't have to worry about nerves or anything with her. She's one of the quickest learners I've ever coached. Her ability, even prior to her coming, to see the game and understand the flow instinctively . . . a brilliant setter."
Outside hitter Lauren Harrison, a two-time first-team All-Big 12 pick and honorable mention All-American, will likely have just one season with Carlson. But, she averaged 2.65 kills and hit .260 last season while rotating with Pressley and Skinner at outside hitter.
"Lauren has one of the heaviest arms in the gym in the country," McGuyre said. "She's going to continue to dominate and do well."
The same goes for 6-5 senior middle blocker Kara McGhee, who is hoping to return to her 2020 form, when she earned first-team All-Big 12 honors. Although, she potentially has an extra COVID year of eligibility remaining and could return next season.
"This is a completely new team with almost a complete new staff, so it's just fun seeing how we've evolved and how we connect so well," said McGhee, who finished fifth in the Big 12 last year with 1.17 blocks per set. "We've been training with this team since the spring. I'm just ready to see how we do."
McGhee and fifth-year transfer Mallory Talbert from Texas A&M make the middle blocker position the most experienced on the team. Talbert, who made 88 starts in four seasons at A&M, had a team-high 99 blocks last year with 2.25 kills per set and a .331 hitting percentage.
"For our middles to probably have a bigger influence on the match offensively than what we've seen over the last couple of years is really exciting for me to see," McGuyre said.
McGhee said the team has been "more intentional in setting the middles" during practice and the two preseason matches.
"It definitely makes our offense more dynamic, which makes it harder on the defense, them not knowing where to go," McGhee said. "Faster middles, faster pace, make it more chaotic on the other side."
Other than Harrison, outside options on the pins include 6-4 freshman Allie Sczech, 6-4 redshirt freshman Riley Simpson, 5-11 freshman Alexis Dacosta and 6-4 sophomore Elise McGhee, Kara's younger sister.
Simpson said her redshirt year was a "great option for me to just prepare and learn and watch the better, more experienced players like Kara, Avery, Yossi."
"Honestly, at times, it was a bit intimidating," Simpson said, "but it was really great to learn from Avery, Yossi and Kara and a bunch of other really experienced players. I definitely learned quickly what my weaknesses were, but it was also great, because they were pushing me to do my best every day."
The Bears will certainly be pushed this weekend, facing No. 5 Minnesota at 4 p.m. Friday and No. 3 Wisconsin at 4 p.m. Saturday at TCU's Schollmaier Arena. Last year, Baylor opened in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge in Madison, Wis., with a 3-1 win over Minnesota before getting knocked off by Wisconsin by the same score.
"Open up against two top-five-ranked opponents that are going to be in the mix for a national championship," McGuyre said. "That's our goal, that's our dream, and you've got to play the best to be the best. This weekend, I'm just looking for improvement. It'll be the first match for a lot of these athletes, and you play the game to be tested and see where you are."
Simpson, a second-team All-American in 2020 when she led Rampart High School to the 5A state championship in Colorado, said the matches this weekend will "push us to be our best."
"You don't know all the areas you need to work on," Kara McGhee said. "Having top teams like (Wisconsin), that's already won the national championship, it really helps pick you apart and see where your holes are. And it helps you fill them early on in the season instead of later."
Live scoring for both matches will be available at gofrogs.com.
WACO, Texas – The No. 16-ranked Baylor volleyball program begins the 2022 regular season on Friday with the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge hosted by TCU in Fort Worth.
The Bears will face No. 5 Minnesota on Friday with a 4 p.m. start time and then No. 3 Wisconsin on Saturday at 4 p.m., both in Schollmaier Arena.
BU started the 2021 season with the same matchups, held by the Badgers in the Wisconsin Field House. The season will open the same way for the next two years as part of a four-year deal. The Bears closed out the 2021 campaign against the Gophers as well, falling in a five-set bout in the NCAA Regional Semifinals of the tournament.
Baylor is coming off a 3-2 win over Texas A&M in a five-set exhibition game at the Ferrell Center. TAMU took set one, 25-22, for the Bears to come back in set two, 25-23. Set three repeated the pattern, with Texas A&M winning 25-23, but BU coming back to dominate in set four with a 25-17 win. In the fifth set, the Aggies kept close, but the Bears pulled away with a 15-12 set win to clinch the match.
Baylor returns two of its six starters from last season, and returns nine of last season's 14 letterwinners to the squad.
The 2022 Baylor squad consists of three seniors, one junior, four sophomores, two redshirt freshmen and five true freshmen.
McGuyre is in his eighth season as head coach of the Bears and has a career record of 154-56 while at BU.
Season and single-game tickets are on sale for the 2022 volleyball season, available for purchase here. The ticketing setup has shifted from years past, now using the same format employed by men's basketball.
Fans can find the list of promotions for the season here.
To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.
-BaylorBears.com-
Baylor Bear Insider
Three years removed from a trip to the Final Four, the 16th-ranked Baylor volleyball team dreams of getting back there again.
But, the Bears will have to do it without All-Americans Yossiana Pressley, Avery Skinner and Hannah Sedwick and former Big 12 Libero of the Year Shanel Bramschreiber.
"Hannah and Yossi are just dear to my heart," said eighth-year head coach Ryan McGuyre, whose team will open the season against fifth-ranked Minnesota and defending national champion Wisconsin in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge that begins Friday in Fort Worth. "I wouldn't be where I am without players like them coming a long way."
With Gatorade National Player of the Year Averi Carlson stepping in as a freshman setter – much like Sedwick did in 2017 – McGuyre is excited to see which combos develop that could be together for three or four years.
"She is very consistent in who she is," McGuyre said of Carlson, who won three-consecutive state championships at Lovejoy High School. "I don't have to worry about nerves or anything with her. She's one of the quickest learners I've ever coached. Her ability, even prior to her coming, to see the game and understand the flow instinctively . . . a brilliant setter."
Outside hitter Lauren Harrison, a two-time first-team All-Big 12 pick and honorable mention All-American, will likely have just one season with Carlson. But, she averaged 2.65 kills and hit .260 last season while rotating with Pressley and Skinner at outside hitter.
"Lauren has one of the heaviest arms in the gym in the country," McGuyre said. "She's going to continue to dominate and do well."
The same goes for 6-5 senior middle blocker Kara McGhee, who is hoping to return to her 2020 form, when she earned first-team All-Big 12 honors. Although, she potentially has an extra COVID year of eligibility remaining and could return next season.
"This is a completely new team with almost a complete new staff, so it's just fun seeing how we've evolved and how we connect so well," said McGhee, who finished fifth in the Big 12 last year with 1.17 blocks per set. "We've been training with this team since the spring. I'm just ready to see how we do."
McGhee and fifth-year transfer Mallory Talbert from Texas A&M make the middle blocker position the most experienced on the team. Talbert, who made 88 starts in four seasons at A&M, had a team-high 99 blocks last year with 2.25 kills per set and a .331 hitting percentage.
"For our middles to probably have a bigger influence on the match offensively than what we've seen over the last couple of years is really exciting for me to see," McGuyre said.
McGhee said the team has been "more intentional in setting the middles" during practice and the two preseason matches.
"It definitely makes our offense more dynamic, which makes it harder on the defense, them not knowing where to go," McGhee said. "Faster middles, faster pace, make it more chaotic on the other side."
Other than Harrison, outside options on the pins include 6-4 freshman Allie Sczech, 6-4 redshirt freshman Riley Simpson, 5-11 freshman Alexis Dacosta and 6-4 sophomore Elise McGhee, Kara's younger sister.
Simpson said her redshirt year was a "great option for me to just prepare and learn and watch the better, more experienced players like Kara, Avery, Yossi."
"Honestly, at times, it was a bit intimidating," Simpson said, "but it was really great to learn from Avery, Yossi and Kara and a bunch of other really experienced players. I definitely learned quickly what my weaknesses were, but it was also great, because they were pushing me to do my best every day."
The Bears will certainly be pushed this weekend, facing No. 5 Minnesota at 4 p.m. Friday and No. 3 Wisconsin at 4 p.m. Saturday at TCU's Schollmaier Arena. Last year, Baylor opened in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge in Madison, Wis., with a 3-1 win over Minnesota before getting knocked off by Wisconsin by the same score.
"Open up against two top-five-ranked opponents that are going to be in the mix for a national championship," McGuyre said. "That's our goal, that's our dream, and you've got to play the best to be the best. This weekend, I'm just looking for improvement. It'll be the first match for a lot of these athletes, and you play the game to be tested and see where you are."
Simpson, a second-team All-American in 2020 when she led Rampart High School to the 5A state championship in Colorado, said the matches this weekend will "push us to be our best."
"You don't know all the areas you need to work on," Kara McGhee said. "Having top teams like (Wisconsin), that's already won the national championship, it really helps pick you apart and see where your holes are. And it helps you fill them early on in the season instead of later."
Live scoring for both matches will be available at gofrogs.com.
WACO, Texas – The No. 16-ranked Baylor volleyball program begins the 2022 regular season on Friday with the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge hosted by TCU in Fort Worth.
The Bears will face No. 5 Minnesota on Friday with a 4 p.m. start time and then No. 3 Wisconsin on Saturday at 4 p.m., both in Schollmaier Arena.
BU started the 2021 season with the same matchups, held by the Badgers in the Wisconsin Field House. The season will open the same way for the next two years as part of a four-year deal. The Bears closed out the 2021 campaign against the Gophers as well, falling in a five-set bout in the NCAA Regional Semifinals of the tournament.
Baylor is coming off a 3-2 win over Texas A&M in a five-set exhibition game at the Ferrell Center. TAMU took set one, 25-22, for the Bears to come back in set two, 25-23. Set three repeated the pattern, with Texas A&M winning 25-23, but BU coming back to dominate in set four with a 25-17 win. In the fifth set, the Aggies kept close, but the Bears pulled away with a 15-12 set win to clinch the match.
Baylor returns two of its six starters from last season, and returns nine of last season's 14 letterwinners to the squad.
The 2022 Baylor squad consists of three seniors, one junior, four sophomores, two redshirt freshmen and five true freshmen.
McGuyre is in his eighth season as head coach of the Bears and has a career record of 154-56 while at BU.
Season and single-game tickets are on sale for the 2022 volleyball season, available for purchase here. The ticketing setup has shifted from years past, now using the same format employed by men's basketball.
Fans can find the list of promotions for the season here.
To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.
-BaylorBears.com-
Players Mentioned
L/DS
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OPP
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballWould go to battle with this crew anytime 🫶
Monday, December 08
Hearts stopped. Records fell. Bears won!
Monday, December 08
Elevate ⬆️ and celebrate 🎉
Monday, December 08
💼 Workin' our way to match day
Monday, December 08
