Sept. 19, 2017 WACO, Texas -- Baylor volleyball (10-3) opens Big 12 action against Texas Tech (11-2) Wednes-day night at 6 p.m. CT at the Ferrell Center.
Baylor looks for its sixth-straight win over the Red Raiders, last falling on Oct. 1, 2014 at home to TTU. The Bears also look to extend its current five-match winning streak, dating back to the Bears' 3-2 upset over then-No. 10 BYU on Sept. 9 in Hawai'i.
The Big 12 matchup will be featured on Fox Sports Southwest with "Voice of the Bears" John Mor-ris (play-by-play) and Baylor volleyball alum Alex Banister (color) on the call.
The Bears will host Youth Team Night against the Red Raiders. Tickets will be $5 for a single ticket and $3 at a group rate (12 people or more).
All season long, fans can follow the team's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorVball.
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation ÃÆ'Æ' ¢ÃƒÆ' ¢' ¬ÃƒÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬ ¹Even though Baylor volleyball (10-3) has won 23 of the last 25 meetings with Texas Tech (11-2) going into Wednesday's Big 12 opener, the Bears know they can't take any team lightly.
ÃÆ'Æ' ¢ÃƒÆ' ¢' ¬ÃƒÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬ ¹"In the Big 12, every team is good, every night you have to show up," said reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week Katie Staiger. "We have to prepare for (Tech) just like we've prepared for everyone else. Just kind of coming into it with the mentality that every Big 12 game is going to be hard. That's the mentality we've had in the past and we still have."
ÃÆ'Æ' ¢ÃƒÆ' ¢' ¬ÃƒÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬ ¹Winless in conference play a year ago, Tech has made dramatic improvement under second-year head coach Tony Graystone and has already topped last year's overall win total (10-21). The Red Raiders claimed the Clemson Challenge title last weekend, beating Clemson and South Carolina in four-setters and sweeping Georgia Southern.
ÃÆ'Æ' ¢ÃƒÆ' ¢' ¬ÃƒÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬ ¹"The easy answer is we're just better," Graystone said. "The quality of our talent, the consistency that we play with day-in and day-out, our ability to be in system more often, how we play late in games and the confidence we are starting to show - you put it all together, and we're just a better group."
ÃÆ'Æ' ¢ÃƒÆ' ¢' ¬ÃƒÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬ ¹Junior Katy Keenan, who ranks fourth in the Big 12 with a .380 hitting percentage, averaged eight kills per match and hit a tournament-best .475 to earn MVP honors at Clemson. Filling the void left by All-Big 12 performer Lauren Douglass, sophomore Emily Hill leads the Red Raiders with 3.26 kills per set, while junior libero Reyn Akiu is a preseason all-conference pick who leads the defense with 4.98 digs per set.
ÃÆ'Æ' ¢ÃƒÆ' ¢' ¬ÃƒÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬ ¹Baylor is riding a five-match win streak, including a five-set thriller over then-No. 10 BYU in Hawaii, and is fifth among others receiving vote (30th overall) in the AVCA Coaches' poll that lists Texas (7-2), Kansas (11-2) and Iowa State (9-1) at sixth, 12th and 18th, respectively.
ÃÆ'Æ' ¢ÃƒÆ' ¢' ¬ÃƒÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬ ¹Staiger, who broke the program career record for kills in the rally-scoring era at last weekend's Jason Deli Baylor Classic, said the Bears learned how to "battle through things" during a tough non-conference schedule that included wins over UCSB, Washington State, BYU and LSU and close losses to 19th-ranked Florida State, Hawaii and College of Charleston.
ÃÆ'Æ' ¢ÃƒÆ' ¢' ¬ÃƒÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬ ¹"There were moments where we were flowing and then moments when it was ugly, but we found a way to win in five or to kind of power through whatever we were in," she said. "I think it was just developing more grit as a team."
ÃÆ'Æ' ¢ÃƒÆ' ¢' ¬ÃƒÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬ ¹The Bears, who won nine of 11 sets in taking the Baylor Classic title with wins over Texas State, St. John's and UTSA, have settled in with a lineup that features a pair of freshmen in Hannah Lockin at setter and Yossiana Pressley at right side.
ÃÆ'Æ' ¢ÃƒÆ' ¢' ¬ÃƒÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬ ¹"I think the freshmen are just more confident in what they're doing now," Staiger said. "At first, it's kind of that `big college game.' But, once you play in a couple, it's like you're a sophomore, so I think the freshmen are a ton more comfortable now."
ÃÆ'Æ' ¢ÃƒÆ' ¢' ¬ÃƒÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬ ¹After opening league play at home, the Bears go on the road for three of their next four, playing TCU on Saturday in Fort Worth, the Texas Longhorns next Wednesday in Austin and Iowa State on Oct. 4 in Ames.
BAYLOR RECENTLY - Baylor went 3-0 at the Jason's Deli Baylor Classic last weekend, coming away with a sweep of St. John's and four-set victories over Texas State and UTSA.
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Katie Staiger was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, and
Shelly Fanning was awarded the Best Blocker honor as the Bears earned the team title.
- Staiger led all players with 24 kills on a .412 attack clip against Texas State last Friday, and the de-fense limited the Bobcat offense to a .047 hitting efficiency in the four-set victory.
- The Bears had a quick turnaround against St. John's Saturday morning, but BU made quick work of the Red Storm as it hit .375 as Staiger broke all-time kills record in the rally scoring era with 20 kills.
- Baylor faced UTSA in the Saturday nightcap, cruising in the first two sets but stubbing its toe in the third. Tied at 19-19, the Bears went on a 6-1 run to close out the match and get the four-set victory.
BU VS. TTU HISTORICALLY
- The Bears trail the all-time series against the Red Raiders, 47-31. However, Baylor has taken 23 of the last 25 matchups, dating back to Sept. 14, 2005.
- Last season, the Bears swept the Red Raiders at home and then went on the road and handed TTU a four-set loss in Lubbock.
- Last season, Jana Brusek had a career-high 32 digs against Texas Tech in Lubbock.
- The Bears have not lost at home to Texas Tech since Oct. 1, 2014 where the Bears dropped a five-set thriller during conference play.
- Baylor has not lost to Texas Tech under current head coach Ryan McGuyre (4-0).
SCOUTING THE RED RAIDERS
- Texas Tech comes into conference play with an 11-2 record under second-year head coach Tony Graystone. Graystone came from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in 2016. - The Red Raiders have only dropped matches to Cal and Georgia during the non-conference sea-son, both of which were four-set losses on the road. - TTU is on a three-game winning streak after going 3-0 at the Clemson Challenge last weekend.
- After graduating All-Big 12 performer Lauren Douglass a season ago, sophomore Emily Hill leads the offense with 3.26 kills per set.
- Preseason All-Big 12 pick Reyn Akiu (libero) leads the defense with 4.98 digs per set.
STAIGER EARNS BIG 12 HONOR AFTER RECORD-BREAKING WEEK
- Staiger earned Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors on Monday after an impressive week against the Bears' final non-conference opponents.
- Staiger became Baylor's all-time kills leader in the rally scoring era when she notched 20 kills against St. John's last Saturday, passing Katie Sanders (2006-09) with 1,570 career kills in the Bears' 4-0 week.
- Staiger notched double-doubles against LSU, Texas State and UTSA and is now averaging a dou-ble-double on the season (17.5 kills/match, 11.4 digs/match).
- She was also named the Jason's Deli Baylor Classic MVP after tallying 68 kills and averaging 6.18 kills per set. - For Staiger, it was the seventh conference offensive award of her collegiate career and her eighth Big 12 weekly award overall, after earning Big 12 Rookie of the Week on Sept. 29, 2014.
- Her eight career weekly awards are a Baylor record for career honors from the conference, snap-ping Anna Breyfogle's mark of five last season.
- Staiger is the sixth player in program history to have at least 1,500 kills in her Baylor career.
OTHER CAREER MILESTONES
- Last weekend, Jana Brusek became the sixth BU player to reach 1,500 career digs and first since Kristen Schramek (2004-07).
- Hannah Lockin is 53 assists away from 600 in her freshman season.
BEARS HAVE STRONG NON-CONFERENCE SEASON
- For the fourth-straight year and third since head coach Ryan McGuyre's arrival, the Bears secured at least 10 wins in the non-conference slate (10-3).
- The Bears's non-conference slate is highlighted by wins over No. 10 BYU in Hawai'i and at (RV) Washington State.
FANNING, STAIGER AMONG BIG 12'S BEST
- Going into conference play, Shelly Fanning and Katie Staiger rank atop two offensive categories in the Big 12.
- Fanning leads with a .421 hitting efficiency while Staiger leads all players with 227 kills this sea-son.
RECEIVING RECOGNITION IN AVCA COACHES POLL
- Baylor volleyball received 36 votes in the Sept. 18 edition of the American Volleyball Coaches As-sociation (AVCA) Poll.
- The Bears have received votes for four straight weeks (last week: 31 votes).
- Four Big 12 teams are either ranked or receiving votes: No. 6 Texas, No. 12 Kansas, No. 18 Iowa State and Baylor (RV).
BAYLOR TABBED THIRD IN BIG 12 PRESEASON POLL
- For the first time in program history, Baylor volleyball was picked to finish third in the 2017 Big 12 Preseason Coaches' Poll, released on Aug. 3. It's the highest the team has been picked in the 22-year history of the poll.
- BU's previous high was No. 5 in the poll (2009, `12).
