Aug. 14, 2008
WACO, Texas -
Taylor Barnes and Anna Breyfogle were named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team and the Bears were picked to finish in a tie for eighth place by the conference head coaches, the league office announced on Thursday.
Barnes, a junior setter, is selected to the preseason team for the second straight year, while Breyfogle, a junior middle blocker, earns her first preseason nomination. Last year, Barnes finished third in the league in service aces and ranked eighth in assists. Breyfogle led the conference in blocking and hit a team high .326 for the season.
Nebraska's Jordan Larson and Texas' Juliann Faucette were named Preseason Co-Players of the Year. Sydney Anderson of Nebraska was named the Newcomer of the Year, while Rachel Adams of Texas was tabbed the Freshman of the Year.
The Bears were picked to finish in a tie with Oklahoma for eighth place overall with 37 points. Texas received 10 of 11 first place votes as the coaches' choice to win the conference title.
Baylor will host an intrasquad scrimmage on Aug. 23 at the Ferrell Center. The scrimmage will be followed by a Meet the Bears autograph session. Baylor opens the regular season on Aug. 29 by hosting the Baylor Invitational. The Bears face SMU on Friday night at 7 p.m.
PRESEASON ALL-BIG 12
Name, School Pos. Cl. Ht. Hometown/Previous School
Taylor Barnes, Baylor S Jr. 5-11 Arlington, Texas/Martin
Anna Breyfogle, Baylor MB Jr. 6-0 Buda, Texas/Hays
Kaylee Manns, Iowa State S Jr. 5-10 Topeka, Kan./Washburn Rural
Natalie Uhart, Kansas MB Sr. 6-2 Lansing, Kan./Lansing
Megan Farr, Kansas State MB Sr. 5-10 Manhattan, Kan./Manhattan
Rita Liliom, Kansas State OH Sr. 6-0 Budapest, Hungary/Csik Ferenc
Nataly Korobkova, Kansas State OH Sr. 6-3 Krasnoyarsk, Russia/State Siberian Technological
Weiwen Wang, Missouri MB So. 6-0 Nanjing, China/Jiangsu Education Institute
Kori Cooper, Nebraska MB Jr. 6-2 Amarillo, Texas/Amarillo
Jordan Larson, Nebraska OH Sr. 6-2 Hooper, Neb./Logan View
Francie Ekwerekwu, Oklahoma MB So. 5-11 Arlington, Texas/Arlington
Ashley Engle, Texas S/RS Jr. 6-3 Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza
Juliann Faucette, Texas OH So. 6-2 San Diego, Calif./Westview
Destinee Hooker, Texas OH Jr. 6-4 San Antonio, Texas/Southwest
Lauren Paolini, Texas MB Sr. 6-5 Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline
Sarah Ammerman, Texas A&M OH Jr. 6-2 Parker, Colo./Cal State Northridge
Mary Batis, Texas A&M OH Jr. 6-0 San Antonio, Texas/Clark
