**This story was featured in Friday's Northwestern State game program.**

FANNING THE FLAMES
Rising Sophomore Gains Confidence, Experience with USA Volleyball

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

Shelly Fanning didn't get anywhere close to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the Olympics. But, the Baylor sophomore did suit up for USA Volleyball this summer.

The 6-foot-2 Fanning, a sophomore Houston product, survived a February tryout at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., to nab one of 36 spots for the U.S. National Collegiate Team that trained and competed in Indianapolis in July.

"The coaching was amazing," said Fanning, ," said Fanning, a second-team All-Big 12 pick who was also named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team last season. "It was a lot of the same coaching words that (Baylor coach Ryan McGuyre) uses. It was really cool to see what he says is how the USA is training . . . just to know that what I'm learning was the best of the best. Practice makes perfect, obviously, and I got the chance to work on different mentalities with each skill."

McGuyre, who worked as a volunteer assistant with the 2006 USA men's volleyball team, said there is "something special" about putting a USA jersey on your back.

"Shelly knows what she can do, but for some it gives you that affirmation that you have what it takes," McGuyre said. "When you get in that environment and you see girls that are as good as you are, better than you, . . . it's natural that you measure yourself against what they're doing. For Shelly to go into that and block well, hit well, to receive feedback from the USA coaches . . . just gives her more experience. Our confidence comes from our experiences.

"I think it just adds to her confidence, adds to her experience and gives her something to look forward to beyond Baylor," he added. "But if that's something she really wants, she's got to put the time and work in here, which I know she's excited and wants to do."

Fanning has already proven she can play at the elite collegiate level, averaging 2.71 kills and 0.53 blocks per set last season with a .244 hitting percentage.

"It was awesome having a freshman come in and make such a big impact," said Katie Staiger, a fourth-year junior who averaged 2.82 kills last season. "A lot of people have that learning curve where it takes them a couple years to kind of get comfortable with it. Shelly just brought a lot of confidence and energy to our team and gave us confidence being next to her on the court."

It might have been smaller than most, but Fanning insists there was a learning curve last season in adapting to the speed and power of teams from the Big 12 Conference. Texas and Kansas both made it to the Final Four a year ago.

"It was learning how to hit over big blocks or hit a quick set," she said. "On the court, it was just fun to play with my teammates. They really brought me on. I guess they really took me under their wings and encouraged me throughout the way. In the classroom, it was learning how to time manage and study."

The Bears barely missed the NCAA Tournament last year, finishing 17-13 overall and seventh in the Big 12 at 5-11 in McGuyre's debut season. Now, the expectations are much higher.

"I really want us to go deep in the tournament," Staiger said. "I know we had the talent last year to do it and kind of came up short. But, I just think with this team this year, we really could make a big stride in the Big 12 and also the NCAA Tournament. . . . I think last year we were one of the first four teams out. It came down to maybe one game we should have won that would have gotten us in. This year, we're really going in with the mentality to not just make it, but make more of a statement."

Baylor began this season a little handicapped. McGuyre got news just before the start of preseason practices that senior middle blocker Tola Itiola would be out 6-8 weeks with an injury. The hits kept coming with sophomore transfer Aniah Philo out with a concussion, freshman setter Braya Hunt sidelined with a hamstring injury and redshirt freshman middle Jaelyn Jackson aggravating a shoulder injury.

Then, the week of the season-opening Hampton Inn Waco North Baylor Invitational, Fanning suffered a foot injury that leaves her somewhat restricted "for the rest of the season until we can get her fully healthy."

"I eventually want to get her the reps to strengthen some of her skills," McGuyre said of Fanning. "But she's athletic enough that if she's got to sit out a couple days, she can jump in there and still help us."

With an outstanding recruiting class that includes Philo, junior transfer Camry Freiberg from High Point and freshmen Hannah Fluegel, Daria Richards, Nicole Thomas and Hunt, McGuyre said, "Top to bottom, we have a lot more depth."

"We're not at the point where we've got to put liberos in the middle or anything like that," he said, "but we're getting close."

After opening at home, the Bears are on the road the next two weeks with the Thunderdome Classic in Santa Barbara, Calif., and the Seminole Tournament in Tallahassee, Fla. They come back to host Virginia, College of Charleston and Washington State in the Baylor Classic Sept. 16-17 at the Ferrell Center.

"As a program, we've got to continue to get more physical," McGuyre said, "but we've also gotten a lot faster, a lot stronger, a lot smarter. We'll see as we start the season if we can be a lot more consistent."