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BAYLOR
vs.
TEXAS
6 p.m.
Oct. 27, 2001
Ferrell Center
Waco, Texas
BAYLOR
vs.
KANSAS
5 p.m.
Oct. 28, 2001
Ferrell Center
Waco, Texas
Baylor will conclude a nine-day, five-match stretch this weekend, hosting Texas at 6 p.m. Saturday and Kansas at 5 p.m. Sunday. The Bears, 3-0 thus far during the nine-day span, enter the match 14-6 on the season and tied for seventh in the Big 12 Conference at 5-6. Baylor is coming off a 30-25, 30-27, 30-23 victory Wednesday at home against Iowa State. Texas comes to Baylor at 12-7 overall and fifth in the Big 12 with a 6-5 conference mark. The Longhorns have not played since Oct. 20, defeating Iowa State 36-34, 30-25, 30-27. Kansas enters the match at 13-9 overall and 3-8 (10th) in conference play. The Jayhawks defeated Oklahoma 30-24, 30-28, 33-31 at home Wednesday. Kansas will also play Saturday night at Texas Tech. Live stats for both the Texas match and the Kansas match will be available at www.GoBaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor Athletics.
Head coach Brian Hosfeld
Baylor is in its sixth season under the direction of head coach Brian Hosfeld. During his tenure, the Bears have compiled a 104-83 (.556) overall record and a 45-66 (.405) mark in the rugged Big 12 Conference. In 1999, Hosfeld led the Bears to the greatest season in the program's 24-year history. Baylor posted a 26-9 record and finished fifth in the conference at 13-7. The 1999 Bears matched the school record for wins in a season and shattered the standard for conference wins. The season culminated with the Green and Gold making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. There, Baylor knocked off Temple in the first round before falling to eventual national champion Penn State. Hosfeld holds the highest winning percentage in school history. He is tied for first all-time at Baylor in total wins and has amassed the most conference wins of any coach in school history.
Hosfeld claims Baylor wins record
With the Bears' five-game victory last Saturday at Kansas, head coach Brian Hosfeld claimed his 102nd-career victory as Baylor's head coach, breaking the Baylor record for career coaching victories. The mark was previously held by Tom Sonnichsen (1989-1995). Hosfeld reached 101 wins in his 182nd match, Sonnichsen took 247 matches to amass his win total. Hosfeld currently holds the highest career winning percentage of any coach in school history at .556 (104-83).
Hosfeld vs. Texas
Head coach Brian Hosfeld has a career record of 1-10 against Texas, however, that is the most successful any Baylor coach has ever been against the Longhorns. Hosfeld led the Bears to the only victory over UT in the 24-year history of Baylor volleyball, a five-game triumph at home during the 1999 season. In the other 10 matches, though, Baylor has won just four games.
The Texas series
This will be the 48th meeting between the two schools with the series dominated by the Longhorns, 46-1. In fact, Baylor has won just 13 of 149 games against Texas. Baylor's lone victory in the series came during the 1999 season when the Bears knocked off the then-12th-ranked Longhorns in five games. The teams first met Sept. 14, 1978 in Baylor's first match as a competing varsity member of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. Baylor is 1-20 all-time against Texas in Waco.
Last time against Texas
Stevie Nicholas tallied a match-high 21 kills, but it was not enough as then-No. 20 Baylor fell 30-28, 30-28, 34-32 to then-No. 25 Texas. The loss put an end to a school-record tying season-opening winning streak for the Bears. Baylor also opened the 1999 campaign with eight consecutive victories. The streak ties that 1999 run as the second-longest winning streak in the program's 24-year history. Baylor was playing without senior setter Dana Chuha. The two-time defending NCAA assists champion did not make the trip to Austin due to a severe case of the flu. Freshman Jillian Mazzarella ran the Baylor offense in her place, collecting match highs with 43 assists and 15 digs. As a team, though, the Bears hit just .150, by far their lowest mark of the season and some 141 percentage points below their season average. Baylor head coach Brian Hosfeld said he was pleased with the team's effort despite the outcome. For Stevie Nicholas, it was her school-record 17th-career match with at least 20 kills and her third of the 2001 season. However, her 21 kills were offset by 12 errors in 51 swings (.176).
Hosfeld vs. Kansas
Head coach Brian Hosfeld has a career record of 8-2 against Kansas with a 2-2 mark over the past two seasons. Hosfeld-coached Baylor squads are 3-2 against the Jayhawks in Lawrence, 5-0 in Waco.
The Kansas series
Baylor is 11-3 all-time against Kansas, holding a 9-2 advantage in the series since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1996. The teams first met in El Paso, Texas during the 1995 season, Kansas won that match in three games. Baylor and KU did not meet again until a 1993 five-game BU triumph in Lawrence. In 1995, the Bears defeated the Jayhawks in four games at the Arby's Classic in Lincoln, Neb.
Last time against Kansas
Stevie Nicholas tied Baylor's single-match record with 36 kills and hit .405 on the night to lead the Bears past Kansas in a thrilling five-game match 34-32, 28-30, 35-33, 28-30, 15-10. For the third straight match, Baylor forced to go the distance, however, unlike last Saturday at Kansas State and Wednesday at home against Texas Tech, the Bears came out on the winning side. It marked Baylor's first win at Kansas since 1998. Baylor blasted Kansas for a team attacking percentage of .609 in game five, putting away 14 kills without an error in just 23 swings. The Bears finished the match with a .252 attacking percentage, moving to 64-5 since the beginning of 1998 season when hitting .250 or better. Stevie Nicholas led that game-five charge, tallying six errorless kills in nine swings. Her 36 kills on the night matches the total amassed by Elisha Polk in a five-game match against Kansas State during the 1998 campaign. Stevie Nicholas now has five-career matches with at least 30 kills, one shy of Polk's career mark. The five-point victory in game five put an end to an amazing streak for Baylor. Until that game, the Bears had played nine consecutive two-point games with six of those going past the normal winning score.
Sunny Nicholas joins 1,000 kill club
Senior MB Sunny Nicholas became the sixth member of Baylor's 1,000 kills club Wednesday thanks to her eight kills against Iowa State. The Fullerton, Calif., native now has 1,004 kills on her career, ranking sixth all-time at Baylor. Sunny Nicholas joins Elisha Polk (2,272 kills, 1996-1999), Heather Williams (1,506, 1989-1992), Kia Young (1,449, 1996-1999), Jenny DeLue (1,241, 1990-1993) and Cory Sivertson (1,016, 1991-1994) in Baylor's 1,000 kills club.
Weekend warriors
Baylor is 10-3 this season in matches played during the weekend, 4-0 on Fridays and 6-3 on Saturdays. On the other hand, the Bears are just 3-3 in midweek games, going 1-0 on Mondays, 1-0 on Tuesdays and 2-3 on Wednesdays.
Lloreda, Bears ace Southwest Texas State
Sophomore OH Laura Daniela Lloreda tied the Baylor school record with nine service aces in a match Monday to lead the Bears past Southwest Texas State. Lloreda matched the total amassed by Jana Ranly in a five-game match Oct. 3, 1985 against Rice. A native of Veracruz, Mexico, Lloreda's mark will stand alone as the school record for aces in a three-game match. Her total is also a Big 12 record for a match of any length. In all, Baylor had 14 service aces against SWT, one shy of the school record for aces in a three-game match.
Baylor in Big 12 rankings
The Bears lead the Big 12 Conference in three statistical categories and rank in the top five of eight others in the latest rankings released Oct. 22. Baylor's 2.30 service aces is atop the conference leaderboard, well ahead of second-place Texas A&M (1.97). Baylor is also tied with Nebraska for the fewest assists allowed (12.16). Meanwhile, the Bears fourth in attacking percentage (.246), third in assists per game (15.55), second in kills per game (17.19), fifth in digs per game (16.86), second in fewest kills per game allowed (13.47) and fourth in fewest digs per game allowed (15.30). In conference matches, Baylor is also fifth in attacking percentage (.215) and fifth in kills (15.92).
Five of six starters listed among conference statistical leaders
Baylor has the distinction of having five of six starters listed among the leaders in at least one of the six statistical categories the conference charts, according to the latest rankings released Oct. 22. Sophomore OH Stevie Nicholas leads the conference in kills per game (5.23), well ahead of Liz Wegner of Kansas State (4.70). She also is atop the leaderboard in service aces per game, averaging 0.62. Sophomore OH Laura Daniela Lloreda is third in service aces per game at 0.59, while senior RS Tatiana Kenon is sixth (0.43). Senior S Dana Chuha is second in the Big 12 with 13.28 assists per game, and Senior MB Sunny Nicholas is 10th in attacking percentage at .341. In conference matches, Stevie Nicholas ranks first in kills per game at 5.05, well ahead of second-place Mira Topic of Texas (4.72), and second in service aces per game (0.55). Lloreda is tied with Missouri's Lisa Morris for third with 0.47 aces per game, while Kenon is sixth at 0.40. Chuha ranks eighth in such matches with 12.14 assists per game. Lloreda is ninth in conference matches with 3.39 digs per game.
Stevie Nicholas etches name in Baylor records book yet again
Sophomore OH Stevie Nicholas tied Elisha Polk's school record for kills in a match Saturday when she pounded 36 in Baylor's five-game win at Kansas. She now has five matches with at least 30 kills in her career, one shy of Polk's school and Big 12 mark. Along with the fact that Stevie Nicholas posted her 36 kills under the new rally scoring format, what made the performance most amazing was that she hit .405 for the match. Entering the fourth game, she had already amassed 25 kills with only one error in 53 swings (.453). The percentages finally caught up with the Fullerton, Calif., native in the fourth game as she hit just .118 (5-3-17). However, an eye-popping 9-0-13 (.692) performance in the fifth game not only allowed Stevie Nicholas to tie Polk's record, it also led Baylor to victory.
Bears rank high in NCAA statistical rankings
Baylor ranks in the top 30 nationally in three of the six statistical categories charted by the NCAA Statistics Bureau, according to the latest rankings released Oct. 15. The Bears are sixth in kills per game, eighth in assists per game and 23rd in service aces per game. Individually, two Bears are ranked nationally. Sophomore OH Stevie Nicholas is 12th in kills per game, while senior S Dana Chuha is 14th in assists per game.
Bears looking strong at the service line
After averaging an all-time program-low 1.25 service aces per game a year ago, the Bears have been dominant at the line in 2001. Through 20 matches, Baylor is averaging a Big 12-best 2.36 per contest. OH Stevie Nicholas and DS Kimmy Scott led the Bears last season with 20 each. Thus far this season, OH Laura Daniela Lloreda has a team-high 45, OH Stevie Nicholas has 42 and RS Tatiana Kenon has 27. In all, seven Bears have tallied at least 10 service aces this season. As a team, Baylor has amassed 165, including 19 over the past two matches.
Big 12 Conference showing its strength
Easily one of the top volleyball conferences in the nation, the Big 12 is proving itself this season. Along with having three teams (Nebraska, Texas A&M and Colorado) currently ranked in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Poll, eight of the conference's 11 teams are playing .600-or-better ball, and nine teams are above .500. In all, seven Big 12 teams have been ranked at some point this season (add in Baylor, Kansas State, Missouri and Texas), while two others (Kansas and Texas Tech) have been listed among those also receiving votes at some point this season. Last year, the conference sent six teams (Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Colorado) to the NCAA Tournament with conference champion Nebraska winning the national championship. Since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996, 10 of the 11 schools have made at least one appearance in the NCAA Touranment.
Baylor reschedules four matches
Baylor has rescheduled four matches for the 2001 season, the changes include the rescheduling of the two matches postponed due to the national tragedy Sept. 11. The Sept. 12 match at Iowa State has been rescheduled for Friday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m., the night before the Bears' match at Missouri. Baylor's Sept. 15 contest against Kansas has been moved to Sunday, Oct. 28 at 5 p.m., the day following the Bears' match at home against Texas. Two other matches have been affected. Baylor was originally scheduled to host Southwest Texas State at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2. That match has been moved to Monday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. to accommodate the Bobcats' rescheduling efforts. Also, the Bears' final match of the regular season, Nov. 24 at home against Missouri, has been moved from a 7 p.m. start to 7:30 p.m. That match will be the final event in a triple-header of Baylor athletic events, including football and men's basketball.
Bears match best start in program's history
With its four-game victory over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Baylor moved to 8-0 on the season and matched the best start in the 24-year history of the BU volleyball program. The Bears started the 1999 season 8-0 before dropping a five-game decision at Southern Methodist. That team finished 26-9, tying the school record for best winning percentage and tying the school mark for most victories in a season. This marks the fifth time in school history the Bears have started the season with at least five wins, three of those have come in the past three seasons. Baylor opened the 1993 season 7-0, the Bears finished 26-15 that season and advanced to the championship match of the NIVC Tournament.
Bears claim fifth Baylor Classic title
Baylor's four-game triumph over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo gave the Bears the team title at the Baylor Classic, marking the fifth time in 11 Classics that BU has claimed first place. The Bears also won their own event in 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1999. Baylor is now 30-10 (.750) all-time in the Baylor Classic after winning 13 of its last 14 such contests dating back to the 1996 tournament. The lone loss in that time was at the hands of then-No. 11 UCLA in the championship match of the 2000 Baylor Classic.
Stevie Nicholas again leads all-tournament squad
Sophomore OH Stevie Nicholas claimed her third-career tournament MVP award at the Baylor Classic, earning such honors for the second time this season. She was so honored in her first weekend of collegiate volleyball last season at the Crowne Plaza Invitational hosted by Rice and again in this season's opening weekend at the NOKIA Sugar Bowl Classic hosted by Tulane. Joining Stevie Nicholas on the all-tournament squad at the Baylor Classic were fellow Bears S Dana Chuha and MB Sunny Nicholas. Cal Poly SLO was represented on the team by S Carly O'Halloran and MB Worthy Lien, other all-tournament selections were North Texas S Kristin Sheppard, and Rhode Island MB Yolanda Bogacz.
Baylor dominates NOKIA field
With wins over Nevada-Las Vegas, Louisiana State and host Tulane, Baylor claimed the team title at the NOKIA Sugar Bowl Classic last weekend as the only undefeated team. It marked the 14th regular-season tournament title in the program's history, the eighth during head coach Brian Hosfeld's tenure. The Bears enjoyed two impressive attacking games during the weekend. In game two against LSU, Baylor went 20-2-36 (.500). The Bears came out on fire against Tulane, going 19-1-32 (.562) in the first game. The lone error was a back-row attack call on an attempted set by S Dana Chuha. In that game, OH Stevie Nicholas was 10-0-13 (.769).
Four Bears selected NOKIA all-tournament, Stevie Nicholas named MVP
Just as the NOKIA Sugar Bowl Classic was dominated Baylor, the all-tournament team was also dominated by the Bears. Of the seven athletes chosen to the team, four donned the Green and Gold. OH Stevie Nicholas led the way as a unanimous MVP selection. She tallied 57 kill sin the three matches, averaging 5.40 per game and hitting at a .319 clip. Stevie Nicholas also averaged 3.40 digs and 0.80 service aced per game. Joining her on the all-tournament team were S Dana Chuha, RS Tatiana Kenon and MB Tisha Schwartz. It was the third all-tournament selection of Kenon's career, while Chuha and Schwartz were so honored for the first time in their careers.
Smith out for season with ACL tear
Less than two weeks before the beginning of the 2001 season, Baylor volleyball learned Wednesday that junior OH Lisa Smith will be forced to miss the entire season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee. Smith is in her first season with the Baylor program after transferring to the school from Blinn County College in January. A second-team junior college all-America selection last season at Blinn, Smith sustained the injury Aug. 16 during the Bears' final practice of their two-week training session in Japan. It is expected that she will receive a medical redshirt for the 2001 season.
Baylor conducts two-a-days in Japan
Baylor got a taste of international volleyball during the preseason two-a-days session, spending Aug. 6-17 in Japan. The Bears held daily practices and scrimmaged against various teams during their two-week stay in the Land of the Rising Sun. During the first week, Baylor was stationed at Tohoku Fukushi University in Sendai, Japan. There, the Bears competed against the host team, which has won four national collegiate titles and has reached the national tournament in each of the past 23 seasons. Baylor also held scrimmages against Shokei Women's Junior College, the top-ranked junior college team in Japan, and various area high school teams. The Bears spent the second week in Tendo/Yamagata, Japan, training with and competing against the Pioneer Red Wings. Coached by legendary international coach Arie Selinger, the Red Wings are Japan's top professional team. Selinger also coached the U.S. women's national team from 1978 to 1984, under Selinger's leadership, Team USA won gold medals at the 1980 World Championships and at the Games of the 23rd Olympiad in Los Angeles, Calif.
Big 12 coaches tab Baylor to finish seventh
Perhaps following status quo from the 2000 season, the 11 head coaches in the Big 12 Conference picked Baylor to finish seventh in their annual preseason poll. The Bears tied Texas for seventh last year, both with 8-12 records in conference play, UT was picked to finish eighth this season. Nebraska was an overwhelming selection to win its fourth consecutive Big 12 title and fifth in the league's six-year history. Texas A&M was picked to finish second, and Colorado was slotted for third. Kansas State and Missouri tied for fourth, followed by Texas Tech. Kansas, Oklahoma and Iowa State rounded out the coaches' preseason rankings.
Stevie Nicholas, Lloreda earn preseason Big 12 honors
Stevie Nicholas, the 2000 Big 12 and AVCA South Central Region freshman of the year, joined seven other athletes on the preseason all-conference team. Meanwhile, Laura Daniela Lloreda was chosen preseason newcomer of the year. Nicholas, a first-team all-Big 12 pick last season, joins Greichaly Cepero (S, Nebraska), Nancy Metcalf (OH, Nebraska), Laura Pilakowski (OH/MB, Nebraska), Jenna Moscovic (S, Texas A&M) and Elizabeth Gower (S, Colorado) on the team. Lloreda joins Baylor this season from Universidad de las Americas in Mexico, she also played for the Mexican National Team last year. Cepero was chosen preseason player of the year, while fellow Cornhusker Allyne Rebholz was tabbed preseason freshman of the year.
Baylor on the web
Baylor volleyball information can be accessed 24 hours a day at the school's athletic website www.GoBaylorBears.com. Fans and media alike can find the latest news and notes on the site along with match recaps, box scores, player features, player and coach bios and various other informational resources. Live stats will also be available for all Baylor volleyball matches, beginning with the first home conference match.
