VB Notches Big Wins over Washington State, Charleston

Volleyball 9/18/2016 12:00:00 AM

Sept. 17, 2016

Baylor-Washington State Highlights

Baylor-Charleston Highlights

By John Shellenberger
Baylor Bear Foundation

Capping off a great run at its own tournament, the Baylor volleyball team (10-4) survived a five-set thriller to knock off the Washington State Cougars Saturday night at the Ferrell Center.

After sweeping both Virginia (3-9) and College of Charleston (7-5), the Bears displayed incredible composure and resilience in beating WSU, 25-23, 21-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-9, in what amounted to the championship match of the Baylor Classic.

The Bears came out on fire, jumping out to a 10-2 lead in the first set. Despite Washington State (10-2) putting up eight blocks and using a late 5-1 run to pull within one, Baylor pulled it out to take the early one-set advantage.

Led by Kyra Holt's eight kills, the visiting Cougars came back with a vengeance in the second set, ending the Bears' consecutive sets win streak at 16, one shy of the all-time record. WSU took charge at the net with 13 blocks in the first two sets.

Rallying from an 11-15 deficit, Baylor took the third set, 25-21, on a clinching kill by senior setter Morgan Reed.

Sophomore transfer Aniah Philo from Louisville struggled to get going, but she said her "teammates' support really helped my mental game."

"(Washington State) was a brick wall," Philo said. "And because of that, you couldn't just swing through the block. You've got to be smarter, find your holes and work around the block."

Philo paid back her teammates' support when she rattled off three service aces in the first five points of the fourth set. But the Cougars rallied from a five-point deficit and took the set, 25-22, to knot the match at two sets apiece.

With the match on the line, the 5-foot-8 Philo came up with three straight kills to give Baylor a 10-8 lead in the fifth set. And then Katie Stager and Jaelyn Jackson notched the next three to help the Bears close it out.

"For Katie to struggle and then get going; and for Aniah to struggle, though she played great defense all night, and then play this great set . . . it's a testament to our character," head coach Ryan McGuyre said. "This is a significant win because of that composure and how we fought."

"It was good for our confidence," said Philo, who overcame 10 hitting errors to collect eight kills and 18 digs to go with her three aces. "Washington State is a Pac-12 team, so this proves that we can win, that we've got potential."

Staiger, who posted her second double-double of the weekend with 16 kills and 21 digs, earned her second tournament MVP honor of the season and was joined on the all-tournament team by Reed (best setter), Washington State's Claire Martin and Holt and Charleston's McKala Rhodes (best libero).

For the three-match tournament, Staiger finished with 45 kills and 32 digs.

"Morgan trusted her hitters, and you've got to trust first and then the wins will come," McGuyre said of his senior setter. "It's hard to go back to your hitters when they aren't putting the ball away, but she did some great things with Jaelyn Jackson in the fifth (set)."

Baylor, which has won its last six matches in a row, will look to extend that streak with a matchup against North Texas (6-8) at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Ferrell Center. The Bears open conference play next Saturday, hosting 25th-ranked Kansas State (11-2) at 2 p.m.

"This is how we're going to have to win all of our Big 12 matches," McGuyre said. "This is how we're going to play, this is how we're going to fight. If our opponents don't bring it, we're going to be ready to jump all over them before they can catch in and then weather the storm like we did tonight in a way that's consistent and gives us a chance to win."

THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas -- Baylor volleyball (10-4) earned two wins Saturday to win the 2016 Baylor Classic at the Ferrell Center. BU swept College of Charleston (7-5) and edged Washington State (10-2) to take home the tournament title.

With the tournament field sweep, Baylor is currently on a six-match win streak.

Baylor 3, Washington State 2 (25-23, 21-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-9)

Baylor earned a five-set win over Washington State on Saturday evening to cap off the tournament, 25-23, 21-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-9. It's the first win in the McGuyre era over a team who has received votes in the AVCA Coaches' Poll.

BU jumped out to a 6-1 lead behind the serving of freshman Tara Wulf, prompting an early Cougar timeout. The Bears held off a late WSU run, taking the opening frame 25-23.

Baylor got off to a strong start in the second set for a 7-4 lead, but WSU went on a series of runs to create separation in the middle of the set. The Bears could never recover, dropping set two, 25-21.

Set three was tightly contested, and Baylor was forced to burn a timeout after three straight hitting errors dropped the Bears behind, 15-11. BU clawed its way back into the frame with kills from redshirt junior Katie Staiger and sophomore Ashley Fritcher. A kill by senior Morgan Reed ended the third set for a 25-21 win and the 2-1 match advantage.

The Bears were outhit in the fourth frame .279-.068 and recorded eight kills and five errors as WSU ran away late to force a fifth set, 25-22.

BU took an early 6-3 lead in the fifth set, but the Cougars went on a 4-0 run to grab the lead at 7-6. After the changeover, sophomore Aniah Philo provided a spark for the Bears with three straight kills, and the Bears held WSU to one point the rest of the way, clinching the match in the decisive fifth set, 15-9.

Baylor 3, College of Charleston 0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-17)

Baylor opened the second day of the Baylor Classic with a sweep over College of Charleston, 25-23, 25-21, 25-17.

BU could not create any separation early in set one, but the Bears used back-to-back kills by redshirt junior Katie Staiger to claim a 23-21 edge. BU sealed the net to take the first frame, 25-23.

A kill by junior Camryn Freiberg got the Bears out to a 7-3 lead that they never relinquished in set two. Staiger snapped a late Charleston run with a kill to end set two, 25-21.

The Bears fell behind early in set three, but an ace by junior Jana Brusek tied up the set at 13-13 to bring BU back into the game. Baylor then went on a 4-0 run en route to a 25-17 third-set win for the sweep.

HIGHLIGHTS
- Baylor wins its second straight Baylor Classic tournament title with a perfect 3-0 record this weekend. Washington State finished in 2nd (2-1), followed by the College of Charleston (1-2) and Virginia (0-3).
- Katie Staiger (MVP) and Morgan Reed (Best Setter) earned all-tournament honors for BU. WSU's Claire Martin (Best Blocker) and Kyra Holt (WSU) and Charleston's McKala Rhodes (Best Libero) rounded out the all-tournament team.
- Staiger posted two double-doubles this weekend, finishing with 45 kills and 32 digs in three matches, respectively.
- Baylor hit .345 for 11 kills and one error in the decisive fifth set vs. Washington State.
- Baylor's current six-match winning streak dates back to Sept. 9 where BU swept Little Rock and Florida A&M on the road.

STAT OF THE DAY
90 - the amount of digs Baylor posted to win the Baylor Classic over Washington State.

WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor will host North Texas Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Ferrell Center. The match with the Mean Green will be the last nonconference home match for BU before starting Big 12 play.

#SicEm

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