Thursday, November 29
Eugene, Ore.
6:30 p.m. CT
Baylor
vs
Hawai'i
Preview: No. 25 VB Takes on Hawai’i in NCAA First Round
11/28/2018 7:10:00 PM | Volleyball
Bears look to secure third NCAA tournament win under McGuyre
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Passed over as a host site for the NCAA Tournament despite finishing second in the Big 12 and beating two national seeds, Baylor volleyball (19-8) wants to "shine bright and pick a fight."
The Bears, making the tournament three years in a row for the first time in program history, will face Hawaii (18-8) at 6:30 p.m. CST Thursday in a first-round matchup in Eugene, Ore. Oregon (20-10), the No. 15 seed, faces New Mexico State (24-7) at 9 p.m., with the winners squaring off at 9 p.m. CST Friday for a berth in the Sweet 16.
"We're going to pick a fight this weekend," head coach Ryan McGuyre said. "It's not addressed to any person or program or anything like that, but I think that is kind of our mentality heading into it. We want to shine bright and pick a fight. We want to be the assertive ones. You have to do that when you travel, anyway. Your defense has to travel, and that go-for-it mentality has to travel."
Sophomore outside hitter Yossiana Pressley, who joined junior middle blocker Shelly Fanning on the All-Big 12 first team, called the NCAA snub "disappointing."
"At the same time, it was like, 'Oh, OK. So, we're the underdogs and we're going to beat everybody, and it's going to be great.' That's what we were thinking."
At least the Bears are prepared for a fight. They're as healthy as they've been, maybe all year, and as healthy as you can be heading into December.
"Now that we have everybody, we can go in with a full head of steam," said Pressley, who led the Big 12 in kills per set (4.83) for the second straight year. "We haven't even reached our peak yet, so that's something scary for the other teams."
Ten of Baylor's 17 players have been injured at some point this season, including six of the seven regular starters and three of the four true freshmen. Freshman DS Shanel Bramschreiber missed 15 matches with a preseason wrist injury; freshman middle blocker Sydney Sacra had surgery for a nagging knee injury and has missed 22 of the last 23 matches; and redshirt junior MB Jaelyn Jackson missed 15 matches with a preseason knee injury.
Two years ago, when Baylor made the NCAA Tournament despite having Fanning and two other starters out, McGuyre said it was easier because "when they were out, they were out."
"Here's the hand you've been dealt, and we played a good hand and we went through it," he said. "We had some great leadership . . . and we grew as the season went on."
The difficult part of this season is they've had so many players in and out of the lineup, or limited in practice because of injuries. Fanning hasn't missed a match despite dealing with a preseason leg injury, Pressley missed a couple matches with injuries and sophomore setter Hannah Lockin sat out three matches with a preseason foot injury.
"This year, we had people shine early. Others come back, trying to get their feet wet. And then different people getting hurt," McGuyre said. "So, there have been a lot more adjustments throughout the season. The way things looked, it could have spiraled. Other teams in our conference had some of those same issues, and it didn't work out the way they wanted. We found a way to arrive where we're at, we're back at 0-0."
Fanning has been the rock, playing in all 108 sets the team has played and averaging 3.2 kills and 1.2 blocks per set with a .401 hitting percentage that would break the school record she just set last season (.394).
"Shelly should be very deserving of All-American this year," McGuyre said. "I'd be disappointed if she doesn't get it. Lot of good middles out there, it's a battle. But, to carry us the way she did, especially when Yossi was hurt, was pretty impressive."
Because of her injury, Fanning is limited to about 80 jumps in each practice, "which gives her about 25 percent of each drill," McGuyre said.
"The challenge now is we're looking at back-to-back games, so you don't want to goo five sets with Hawaii and turn around and have to go five sets the next days, because she'll hit that limit."
Baylor is trying to avoid a third-straight loss in the second round, including last season when the Bears fell to Colorado, 3-0, as a host and No. 12 national seed.
"We learned a lot from last year, but it's just a matter of taking care of our own side and playing how we know we can play and playing at our best level," Fanning said. "We've got to play every game like it's our last, because if we don't, it will be."
A traditional power, Hawaii is a three-time national champion making its 37th NCAA Tournament appearance and 26th in a row. But, the Rainbow Wahine started this season getting swept 3-0 in back-to-back losses to Kansas State and snuck into the tournament as one of the last at-large teams with a No. 46 RPI ranking.
"We know we have to be playing at our best, and champions are at their best when their best is expected," said McGuyre, whose wife, Jennifer, played at Hawaii. "When we're getting the best out of ourselves, we're a very, very good team. We haven't been as consistent in that, but now is a great time to get hot. We've been playing our best in the second half of conference (7-1 record), and it's going to bleed into December."
WACO, Texas – No. 25 Baylor volleyball (19-8) opens its 2018 NCAA Tournament run with a 6:30 p.m. CT matchup Thursday against Hawai'I (18-8) at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore.
The matchup will air on and be streamed by Spectrum Sports with Kanoa Leahey and Chris McLachlin on the call.
With a victory, Baylor will advance to the NCAA Second Round and face the winner of 14th-ranked and 15th-seeded Oregon and New Mexico State who face off following the BU-UH match at approximately 9 p.m. CT.
The second-round matchup will be contested at 9 p.m. CT on Friday.
Baylor is 5-6 all-time in six NCAA Tournament appearances and 2-2 in the McGuyre era.
BAYLOR NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES
• Baylor is 5-6 in six NCAA Championships trips, including a 2-2 record in the McGuyre era.
• Baylor is appearing in the NCAA Tournament for a school-record third consecutive season and seventh time overall.
• Baylor is making its eighth postseason appearance, including the Bears' 1993 run through the NIVC Tournament.
• Baylor looks to win its third consecutive NCAA first round match under McGuyre.
• Baylor has never faced Hawai'i, Oregon or New Mexico State in the postseason.
• Baylor is 2-5 against ranked opponents in the NCAA Tournament with wins over No. 9 UCLA (3-1 in Los Angeles) and No. 14 San Diego (3-2 in Los Angeles).
• Baylor has played seven total games against six different NCAA Tournament teams this season.
• BU is 4-3 against the 2018 NCAA Tournament field – No. 5 and fifth-seeded Texas (0-2), Rice (1-0), Texas State (1-0), No. 15 and 14th-seeded Marquette (1-0), San Diego (0-1) and No. 6 and sixth-seeded Wisconsin (1-0).
• Baylor is a combined 1-13 all-time against Hawai'i, Oregon and New Mexico State.
• Three of Baylor's eight losses this season came against 2018 NCAA Tournament teams.
• Eight players have recorded a total of 10 double-doubles during the NCAA Tournament.
• 12 players return from last season's NCAA Tournament team, including four starters.
• Last season, Baylor was the No. 12 overall seed and hosted the first and second rounds in Waco.
SUCCESS AT NEUTRAL SITES
• BU looks to advance to the NCAA Second Round for the third consecutive season.
• In its last neutral site postseason match, Baylor upended No. 14 San Diego in five sets at the
UCLA Regional in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
• BU is 9-4 all-time in neutral site matches under head coach Ryan McGuyre.
• BU is 1-1 this season in neutral site matches, dropping a five-set thriller to then-No. 10 UCLA in
San Diego and then dominating Virginia Tech in a sweep at the UTSA Invitational.
• Baylor has never played in the state of Oregon under McGuyre.
• Baylor is playing its first-ever neutral site match against Hawai'i on Thursday.
• Baylor and Hawai'i will be facing off for the second-straight season and first time ever at a neutral site.
LAST TIME VS. THE RAINBOW WAHINE (Sept. 8, 2017)
• Baylor pushed Hawai'i to the brink but ultimately dropped a tough five-set match Sept. 8, 2017
at the Stan Sheriff Center as part of the Outrigger Resorts Volleyball Challenge, 18-25, 25-14,
18-25, 25-17, 16-14.
• The Bears were led offensively by Yossiana Pressley who set a season-high 18 kills on a .359
hitting efficiency. Katie Staiger recorded another double-double with 16 kills and 12 digs while
Aniah Philo led the back row with 20 digs.
• The Bears hit .444 to start the match, compiling 15 kills on 27 attacks in the first set.
• Hawai'i's McKenna Granato led all players with 22 kills on a .222 efficiency.
BAYLOR AGAINST EUGENE REGIONAL OPPONENTS
• Baylor is 1-13 all-time against the Eugene Regional opponents but is only 0-1 against Hawai'i,
Oregon and New Mexico State under head coach Ryan McGuyre.
• In their 2017 nonconference meeting with Hawai'i, the Bears and Rainbow Wahine went back and
forth before Hawai'i eventually took a 16-14 win in set five to take the match in Honolulu.
• BU hasn't faced Oregon since 2008 (3-0 loss in Eugene) and New Mexico State since 2000 (3-0
win on neutral court).
CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
• Senior Aniah Philo is eight kills away (992) from reaching 1,000 career kills. She already surpassed that mark in digs with 1,346. In her freshman season at Louisville, she put down 177 kills.
• Junior Gia Milana is seven kills away (993) from reaching 1,000 career kills. She posted 801 kills in her two seasons at Maryland and has put away 192 kills at Baylor.
Baylor Bear Insider
Passed over as a host site for the NCAA Tournament despite finishing second in the Big 12 and beating two national seeds, Baylor volleyball (19-8) wants to "shine bright and pick a fight."
The Bears, making the tournament three years in a row for the first time in program history, will face Hawaii (18-8) at 6:30 p.m. CST Thursday in a first-round matchup in Eugene, Ore. Oregon (20-10), the No. 15 seed, faces New Mexico State (24-7) at 9 p.m., with the winners squaring off at 9 p.m. CST Friday for a berth in the Sweet 16.
"We're going to pick a fight this weekend," head coach Ryan McGuyre said. "It's not addressed to any person or program or anything like that, but I think that is kind of our mentality heading into it. We want to shine bright and pick a fight. We want to be the assertive ones. You have to do that when you travel, anyway. Your defense has to travel, and that go-for-it mentality has to travel."
Sophomore outside hitter Yossiana Pressley, who joined junior middle blocker Shelly Fanning on the All-Big 12 first team, called the NCAA snub "disappointing."
"At the same time, it was like, 'Oh, OK. So, we're the underdogs and we're going to beat everybody, and it's going to be great.' That's what we were thinking."
At least the Bears are prepared for a fight. They're as healthy as they've been, maybe all year, and as healthy as you can be heading into December.
"Now that we have everybody, we can go in with a full head of steam," said Pressley, who led the Big 12 in kills per set (4.83) for the second straight year. "We haven't even reached our peak yet, so that's something scary for the other teams."
Ten of Baylor's 17 players have been injured at some point this season, including six of the seven regular starters and three of the four true freshmen. Freshman DS Shanel Bramschreiber missed 15 matches with a preseason wrist injury; freshman middle blocker Sydney Sacra had surgery for a nagging knee injury and has missed 22 of the last 23 matches; and redshirt junior MB Jaelyn Jackson missed 15 matches with a preseason knee injury.
Two years ago, when Baylor made the NCAA Tournament despite having Fanning and two other starters out, McGuyre said it was easier because "when they were out, they were out."
"Here's the hand you've been dealt, and we played a good hand and we went through it," he said. "We had some great leadership . . . and we grew as the season went on."
The difficult part of this season is they've had so many players in and out of the lineup, or limited in practice because of injuries. Fanning hasn't missed a match despite dealing with a preseason leg injury, Pressley missed a couple matches with injuries and sophomore setter Hannah Lockin sat out three matches with a preseason foot injury.
"This year, we had people shine early. Others come back, trying to get their feet wet. And then different people getting hurt," McGuyre said. "So, there have been a lot more adjustments throughout the season. The way things looked, it could have spiraled. Other teams in our conference had some of those same issues, and it didn't work out the way they wanted. We found a way to arrive where we're at, we're back at 0-0."
Fanning has been the rock, playing in all 108 sets the team has played and averaging 3.2 kills and 1.2 blocks per set with a .401 hitting percentage that would break the school record she just set last season (.394).
"Shelly should be very deserving of All-American this year," McGuyre said. "I'd be disappointed if she doesn't get it. Lot of good middles out there, it's a battle. But, to carry us the way she did, especially when Yossi was hurt, was pretty impressive."
Because of her injury, Fanning is limited to about 80 jumps in each practice, "which gives her about 25 percent of each drill," McGuyre said.
"The challenge now is we're looking at back-to-back games, so you don't want to goo five sets with Hawaii and turn around and have to go five sets the next days, because she'll hit that limit."
Baylor is trying to avoid a third-straight loss in the second round, including last season when the Bears fell to Colorado, 3-0, as a host and No. 12 national seed.
"We learned a lot from last year, but it's just a matter of taking care of our own side and playing how we know we can play and playing at our best level," Fanning said. "We've got to play every game like it's our last, because if we don't, it will be."
A traditional power, Hawaii is a three-time national champion making its 37th NCAA Tournament appearance and 26th in a row. But, the Rainbow Wahine started this season getting swept 3-0 in back-to-back losses to Kansas State and snuck into the tournament as one of the last at-large teams with a No. 46 RPI ranking.
"We know we have to be playing at our best, and champions are at their best when their best is expected," said McGuyre, whose wife, Jennifer, played at Hawaii. "When we're getting the best out of ourselves, we're a very, very good team. We haven't been as consistent in that, but now is a great time to get hot. We've been playing our best in the second half of conference (7-1 record), and it's going to bleed into December."
WACO, Texas – No. 25 Baylor volleyball (19-8) opens its 2018 NCAA Tournament run with a 6:30 p.m. CT matchup Thursday against Hawai'I (18-8) at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore.
The matchup will air on and be streamed by Spectrum Sports with Kanoa Leahey and Chris McLachlin on the call.
With a victory, Baylor will advance to the NCAA Second Round and face the winner of 14th-ranked and 15th-seeded Oregon and New Mexico State who face off following the BU-UH match at approximately 9 p.m. CT.
The second-round matchup will be contested at 9 p.m. CT on Friday.
Baylor is 5-6 all-time in six NCAA Tournament appearances and 2-2 in the McGuyre era.
BAYLOR NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES
• Baylor is 5-6 in six NCAA Championships trips, including a 2-2 record in the McGuyre era.
• Baylor is appearing in the NCAA Tournament for a school-record third consecutive season and seventh time overall.
• Baylor is making its eighth postseason appearance, including the Bears' 1993 run through the NIVC Tournament.
• Baylor looks to win its third consecutive NCAA first round match under McGuyre.
• Baylor has never faced Hawai'i, Oregon or New Mexico State in the postseason.
• Baylor is 2-5 against ranked opponents in the NCAA Tournament with wins over No. 9 UCLA (3-1 in Los Angeles) and No. 14 San Diego (3-2 in Los Angeles).
• Baylor has played seven total games against six different NCAA Tournament teams this season.
• BU is 4-3 against the 2018 NCAA Tournament field – No. 5 and fifth-seeded Texas (0-2), Rice (1-0), Texas State (1-0), No. 15 and 14th-seeded Marquette (1-0), San Diego (0-1) and No. 6 and sixth-seeded Wisconsin (1-0).
• Baylor is a combined 1-13 all-time against Hawai'i, Oregon and New Mexico State.
• Three of Baylor's eight losses this season came against 2018 NCAA Tournament teams.
• Eight players have recorded a total of 10 double-doubles during the NCAA Tournament.
• 12 players return from last season's NCAA Tournament team, including four starters.
• Last season, Baylor was the No. 12 overall seed and hosted the first and second rounds in Waco.
SUCCESS AT NEUTRAL SITES
• BU looks to advance to the NCAA Second Round for the third consecutive season.
• In its last neutral site postseason match, Baylor upended No. 14 San Diego in five sets at the
UCLA Regional in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
• BU is 9-4 all-time in neutral site matches under head coach Ryan McGuyre.
• BU is 1-1 this season in neutral site matches, dropping a five-set thriller to then-No. 10 UCLA in
San Diego and then dominating Virginia Tech in a sweep at the UTSA Invitational.
• Baylor has never played in the state of Oregon under McGuyre.
• Baylor is playing its first-ever neutral site match against Hawai'i on Thursday.
• Baylor and Hawai'i will be facing off for the second-straight season and first time ever at a neutral site.
LAST TIME VS. THE RAINBOW WAHINE (Sept. 8, 2017)
• Baylor pushed Hawai'i to the brink but ultimately dropped a tough five-set match Sept. 8, 2017
at the Stan Sheriff Center as part of the Outrigger Resorts Volleyball Challenge, 18-25, 25-14,
18-25, 25-17, 16-14.
• The Bears were led offensively by Yossiana Pressley who set a season-high 18 kills on a .359
hitting efficiency. Katie Staiger recorded another double-double with 16 kills and 12 digs while
Aniah Philo led the back row with 20 digs.
• The Bears hit .444 to start the match, compiling 15 kills on 27 attacks in the first set.
• Hawai'i's McKenna Granato led all players with 22 kills on a .222 efficiency.
BAYLOR AGAINST EUGENE REGIONAL OPPONENTS
• Baylor is 1-13 all-time against the Eugene Regional opponents but is only 0-1 against Hawai'i,
Oregon and New Mexico State under head coach Ryan McGuyre.
• In their 2017 nonconference meeting with Hawai'i, the Bears and Rainbow Wahine went back and
forth before Hawai'i eventually took a 16-14 win in set five to take the match in Honolulu.
• BU hasn't faced Oregon since 2008 (3-0 loss in Eugene) and New Mexico State since 2000 (3-0
win on neutral court).
CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
• Senior Aniah Philo is eight kills away (992) from reaching 1,000 career kills. She already surpassed that mark in digs with 1,346. In her freshman season at Louisville, she put down 177 kills.
• Junior Gia Milana is seven kills away (993) from reaching 1,000 career kills. She posted 801 kills in her two seasons at Maryland and has put away 192 kills at Baylor.
Players Mentioned
L/DS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballFlyin' High to 4️⃣-0️⃣ in Big 12 Conference play!
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