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MISSOURI
at
BAYLOR

7:30 p.m.
Ferrell Center
Waco, Texas

Baylor will put the wraps on its 2001 regular season Saturday, hosting Missouri for a 7:30 p.m. match at the Ferrell Center. The Bears enter the match at 17-11 on the season and 8-11 in Big 12 Conference play. Baylor is coming off a 26-30, 30-28, 31-29, 20-30, 15-9 loss Wednesday night at Texas Tech. Missouri enters the match at 20-9 and 10-9. The Tigers dropped a 30-26, 30-23, 30-19 match at home Wednesday to No. 19 Kansas State. Baylor won its first with Missouri this season, a four-game triumph in Columbia, Mo. Live stats for Saturday's match will be available at www.GoBaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor Athletics and a member of the FansOnly Network.

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 107-88 (.549) overall record and a 48-71 (.403) 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 has amassed the most wins, both overall and in conference play, of any coach in school history.

Hosfeld Baylor's winningest coach
With the Bears' five-game victory Oct. 20 at Kansas, head coach Brian Hosfeld claimed his 102nd-career victory at Baylor, breaking the Baylor record for career coaching victories. The mark was previously held by Tom Sonnichsen (1989-1995). Hosfeld reached 101 wins in 182 matches, Sonnichsen took 247 matches to amass his win total. Hosfeld currently holds the highest career winning percentage of any coach in school history at .549 (107-88).

Hosfeld against Missouri
Head coach Brian Hosfeld has a career record of 7-4 against Missouri. He has coached the Bears in all of the schools' meetings. Hosfeld led the Bears to victories against the Tigers in each of their first four meetings.

The Missouri series
This will be the 12th meeting between Baylor and Missouri with the Bears holding a 7-4 advantage in the all-time series. All 11 meetings have come since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1996. Baylor and Missouri first met Sept. 28, 1996 in Waco, Texas, that was the second-ever Big 12 match for the Bears, and they were victorious 15-4, 15-9, 15-12. Baylor went on to win each of the first four meetings in the series, also taking the second meeting in three games. However, Baylor's success against Missouri came to an end in 1998 when the Bears dropped a four-game decision in Columbia, Mo. Since then, MU holds a 4-3 advantage in the series, including sweeping last season's meetings. However, Baylor posted its first victory in Columbia since 1997 earlier this season, winning in four games.

Last time against Missouri
Baylor head coach Brian Hosfeld picked up career win No. 100 as the Bears defeated Missouri 25-30, 30-21, 30-21, 30-27 in Columbia, Mo. Tatiana Kenon pounded a career-high 23 kills and hit .465 to lead Baylor to its first win at Missouri since 1997. Kenon led a strong senior charge for Baylor, collecting four more kills than she ever had before. She also had a career-high seven assists, tied her season high with three service aces, notched nine digs and blocked a pair of balls. Meanwhile senior setter Dana Chuha also posted a career high in kills with 12, four better than her previous career best. Chuha had 12 errorless kills in 20 swings for a .600 attacking percentage. She also had 52 assists, nine digs and two blocks. Stevie Nicholas added 17 kills, and Sunny Nicholas had 11. Laura Daniela Lloreda made up for a negative .160 attacking percentage with a match-high 20 digs, the first 20-dig performance of her career. Kimmy Scott came off the bench for 13 digs. As a team, the Bears hit .244 and held Missouri to a .159 percentage. Baylor out-killed Mizzou 78-55 and out-dug the Tigers 85-75.

Five Bears earn Academic all-Big 12 honors
Carol Selman and Sunny Nicholas headlined Baylor's five-member class on the 2001 Academic all-Big 12 team, announced Monday by the league office. Selman and Sunny Nicholas earned first-team honors, while Dana Chuha, Stevie Nicholas and Kimmy Scott were second-team selections. Scott, a professional writing major, earns academic all-conference honors for the fourth time in her career, she was eligible as a freshman after taking a medical redshirt in 1997. Sunny Nicholas (pre-nursing), who was named first-team Verizon Academic all-District VI last week, has been honored three times and Chuha (nutrition) twice, Stevie Nicholas (pre-business) and Selman (human resource management) are both first-time honorees. Since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996, 15 Baylor volleyball players have received academic all-conference honors 32 times, second only to Nebraska. The Cornhuskers led the conference with nine selections this year, followed by Colorado and Kansas State with seven each, and Baylor and Texas A&M with five each.

Schwartz stepping into spotlight
Sophomore MB Tisha Schwartz has stepped into her own over the past four weeks. In the Bears last nine matches, she is hitting .331 (121-39-248) with 3.36 kills and 1.25 blocks per game. Wednesday, she tallied a career-high 19 kills to go along with a season-high eight blocks. Schwartz put down 16 kills, four blocks and hit .323 against Texas A&M, followed by a 12-0-25 (.480) performance with two blocks at Oklahoma. Last Saturday at Nebraska, she had Baylor's best all-around night with 11 kills, seven blocks and a .333 attacking percentage. The Amarillo, Texas, native has now gone 13 consecutive matches with at least one block, she has also posted eight straight matches with at least 10 kills. Schwartz started each of the Bears' first 16 matches before head coach Brian Hosfeld readjusted his starting line up for defensive reasons. Since that point, Schwartz is averaging 3.02 kills and 1.18 blocks per game while attacking at a .332 clip.

Lloreda breaks first-year 10-dig match mark
Sophomore OH Laura Daniela Lloreda posted her 19th match of the season with at least 10 digs, collecting a match-high 16 last Saturday against Nebraska. That breaks the school record for matches with at least 10 digs in a season by a first-year player. Cory Sivertson (1991) and Stevie Nicholas (2000) shared the record at 18, both were freshmen during those seasons. Lloreda, who transferred to Baylor this year from Universidad des la Americas in Veracruz, Mexico, leads the Bears with 3.50 digs per game, the second-best season average in school history. Her 343 total digs ranks 12th all-time at Baylor and is the second-highest first-year total in school history behind only Sivertson's 421 in 1991.

Kenon moves into eighth on kills chart, on the verge of No. 1,000
Senior RS Tatiana Kenon moved into eighth place on Baylor career kills list Wednesday with 15 kills against Texas Tech. She now has 999 on her career, jumping over Sarah Sivertson (992, 1995-1998). Kenon is now on the verge of becoming the seventh member of Baylor's 1,000-kill club, she would be the third member to join this season, joining Stevie and Sunny Nicholas. Next on the list is Cory Sivertson, who amassed 1,016 kills from 1991 to 1994. Kenon is currently second on the Baylor squad this season with 2.80 kills per game.

Chuha closing in on career assists mark
Senior S Dana Chuha is 15 assists shy of claiming the only Baylor assists record she does not already own. With 4,832 career assists entering the Missouri match, Chuha is nipping at the heels of Cory Sivertson's school record of 4,846 established from 1991 to 1994. During her time at Baylor, Chuha has established school marks for assists in a season, assists in a match, assists per game in a season, assists in a conference season, assists per game in a conference season, most matches with at least 60 assists, most matches with at least 70 assists and most matches with at least 80 assists. In 1999, she posted an NCAA Tournament record for a four-game match with 94 in the first round against Temple. Her current career average of 12.03 assists per game is the highest in school history by nearly two full assists per game.

Sunny Nicholas named first-team Verizon Academic all-District VI
Senior MB Sunny Nicholas became the third Baylor volleyball player to ever earn academic all-district honors this week, being selected first-team Verizon Academic all-District VI. She joins Kia Young (first team, 1999) and Elisha Polk (second team, 1999) as Baylor's three all-time honorees. Nicholas currently ranks sixth all-time at Baylor with 1,065 career kills. Her career attacking percentage of .288 is the second-highest mark in the program's 24-year history. This season, Nicholas is tops on the team with a .311 attacking percentage, she is averaging 2.53 kills, 2.16 digs and 0.60 blocks per game.

Weekend warriors
Baylor is 12-5 this season in matches played during the weekend, 4-0 on Fridays, 7-5 on Saturdays and 1-0 on Sundays. On the other hand, the Bears are just 5-6 in midweek games, going 1-0 on Mondays, 1-0 on Tuesdays and 3-6 on Wednesdays.

Bears familiar with five-game matches
After not playing a five-game match in their first 16 matches this season, the Bears played six in their next eight matches. That is a school record for an eight-match stretch. Since the beginning of the 1999 season, Baylor has played 19 five-game matches, a school record for a three-year span.

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 27 matches, Baylor is averaging a Big 12-best 1.92 per contest. Stevie Nicholas leads the team with 54, OH Laura Daniela Lloreda has 51 and RS Tatiana Kenon has 33. Stevie Nicholas and Lloreda are the first Baylor teammates to have 50 or more service aces in the same season, ranking second and third, respectively, all-time at Baylor. In all, seven Bears have tallied at least 10 service aces this season. As a team, Baylor has amassed 198 service aces on the season, the most since the 1993 squad had 213.

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 four teams (Nebraska, Texas A&M, Colorado and Kansas State) currently ranked in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Poll, six 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.

Lloreda, Bears ace Southwest Texas State
Sophomore OH Laura Daniela Lloreda tied the Baylor school record with nine service aces in a match Oct. 20 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.

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 Oct. 20 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.

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. Baylor volleyball matches will also be webcast, beginning with the first home conference match.