Oct. 14, 2016 By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
In a matchup that features the Big 12 Conference's top two "terminators," Katie Staiger and the Baylor volleyball team (15-6, 3-2) will face West Virginia (11-9, 2-4) and freshman sensation Payton Caffrey at 2:30 p.m. CDT Saturday in Morgantown, W. Va.
Staiger leads the Big 12 and ranks third nationally with 5.58 kills per set, while Caffrey is second in conference and sixth nationally at 4.92.
"They're kind of set up similar to how we are in their rotation and what they're doing," Baylor coach Ryan McGuyre said. "They've been living and dying by a dynamic outside hitter and hoping the rest of their role players produce enough."
Caffrey, who's already earned four Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors, has made a huge difference with a West Virginia team that was winless in league play just a year ago. The Mountaineers have already posted wins over Texas Tech and TCU and squandered a late 14-11, fifth-set lead in a loss at home to Iowa State.
"Their ball control is a lot better," McGuyre said, "and they have a terminator that when she gets hot . . . They'll make some noise this year. I'm not sure they'll necessarily get into the (NCAA) tournament, but I think they'll have some impact on who does get in."
That includes the Bears, who have put themselves in position for their first postseason berth in four years with three RPI top-20 wins. They're third in the Big 12 standings and 37th in the latest RPI rankings.
"It's still early, but every match matters for us," McGuyre said. "We don't want to be in a position where we're just crossing our fingers at (NCAA) tournament time. But, it's also early enough where if the right things happen, we could do something special. There's a certain number of wins we've got to get (20), and I feel like this is one we need to win."
Baylor had reeled off 10 straight wins before a pair of 3-1 losses to fourth-ranked Texas and on the road at No. 6 Kansas. In Wednesday's loss at home to the Longhorns, UT had a .374 hitting percentage and out-blocked the Bears, 16-3.
"Defensively, we didn't slow them down," McGuyre said. "We've been kind of grinding. All of our matches have really been battles, and our defense has always kept us in the match. . . . They just set it higher to their outsides and let them hit over us. Their hitters were good, and they changed the depth of that attack a lot. So, it wasn't like they just blasted away at (libero Jana Brusek). They blasted away at a lot of different spots."
After getting four or their first five Big 12 games at home, the Bears will turn around to play five of their next six on the road. They will play Iowa State (9-8, 1-4) at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Ames, Iowa, in a game that will be televised on ESPNU.
"I like this team, how we've traveled," McGuyre said. "To be successful, you have to travel well. At Kansas, we just didn't finish off the match. But, you always look at the first set to make sure we're ready and dialed-in. And we've done that at other places where we've traveled, like Florida State. At that point, it's not a travel issue, it's not a crowd issue or anything like that. It's just an adjustment issue the rest of the match. I feel like every time we've traveled this year, we were ready to go in that first set."
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. - Baylor volleyball (15-6, 3-2) takes its longest road trip on the Big 12 circuit, facing the West Virginia Mountaineers (11-9, 2-4) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT in the WVU Coliseum.
After a midweek loss to No. 4 Texas in Waco, the Bears look to bounce and pick up another conference road win, maintaining BU's position in the top third of the Big 12 field.
The Bears lead the all-time series with WVU, 8-3, including a 3-1 record in Morgantown. The Bears swept the series in 2015, while a win Saturday against WVU would lock in a winning record for BU in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2011-2012.
For this and all other Baylor road matches, fans can tune into the live internet radio broadcast on BaylorBears.com/allaccess.
Additionally, there will be a live online video stream of the match, hosted on WVUSports.com.
Keep up with the team all season long by following Baylor Volleyball's official accounts on Twitter (@BaylorVball), Facebook (Baylor Volleyball), Instagram (@BaylorVolleyball), and Snapchat (@BaylorVball).
MATCH INFO:
Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016 at 2:30 p.m. CT
WVU Coliseum | Morgantown, W. Va.
Audio: BaylorBears.com (Paid)
Talent: Jonathan Hill
Video: WVUSports.com
Live Stats: WVUSports.com
BAYLOR BEARS
2015 Record: 17-13
2016 Record: 15-6
2016 Big 12 Record: 3-2
Head Coach: Ryan McGuyre (2nd season)
All-Time Record vs. West Virginia: 8-3
All-Time Record vs. West Virginia in MORGANTOWN: 3-1
WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS
2015 Record: 5-24
2016 Record: 11-9
2016 Big 12 Record: 2-4
Head Coach: Reed Sunahara (2nd season)
#SicEm
