Friday, August 31
San Diego, Calif.
3:00 p.m. CT
Baylor
vs
UCLA
Preview: No. 12 VB Faces Tough Test at USD Invitational
8/30/2018 5:27:00 PM | Volleyball
Bears face No. 10 UCLA, No. 19 San Diego in first neutral and road contest of 2018
WACO, Texas – 12th-ranked Baylor volleyball (4-0) will face two top-20 opponents at the USD Invitational, running Friday and Saturday at Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego, Calif.
The Bears face 10th-ranked UCLA in a neutral site match Friday at 3 p.m. CT and close out the weekend with a road contest against host and 19th-ranked San Diego Saturday at 9 p.m. CT.
Baylor looks for its second top-10 win under McGuyre and second in the past two seasons. BU is currently 4-0 as a ranked team in 2018.
Each match will be streamed live on WCCSports.com, and live audio will be available on Baylor All-Access at BaylorBears.com
BAYLOR FACES BIG COMPETITION AT USD INVITATIONAL
• Baylor volleyball will head west and compete against two top-20 teams at the USD Invitational this weekend.
• The Bears look to start the season 5-0 for the first time since 2009. That squad went 11-0 to open the year.
• All three teams played in the Los Angeles Regional of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. In the first round, Baylor topped San Diego in five sets and eventually fell to host and 10th-ranked UCLA in the second round.
• Baylor is 1-0 against San Diego and 0-1 against UCLA under McGuyre.
BEARS GARNER PROGRAM-BEST NO. 12 AVCA RANKING
• After a 3-0 start to the season for the first time since 2012, Baylor volleyball is ranked a program-best No. 12 in the AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll, released Monday afternoon.
• The No. 12 ranking shatters the previous the all-time program record set in 2009 at No. 17.
• During that season, BU was ranked for 10 straight weeks and peaked at No. 17, which stood as the program-high ranking for eight years in the 36-year history of the AVCA poll.
• The Bears are ranked for the 28th time in program history and have been listed in the poll for seven straight weeks dating back to the 2017 season.
• Baylor earned a preseason ranking for only the second time in program history and first since its No. 21 ranking in 2000, coming in at No. 16 on Aug. 8.
• Baylor has 11 matches slated against ranked opponents or teams receiving votes, including: No. 2 Texas, No. 8 Wisconsin, No. 10 UCLA, No. 19 San Diego, Iowa State, LSU, Marquette and Kansas.
• In 2017, the Bears were 9-3 as a ranked team.
• Baylor is currently 4-0 as a ranked team in 2018.
FANNING TABBED BIG 12 CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• After a stellar opening weekend, redshirt junior middle blocker Shelly Fanning was named the Big 12 Co-Offensive Player of the Week, announced by the conference office Monday afternoon.
• Fanning earns her third career weekly honor from the conference as she was named Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 13, 2017 and Rookie of the Week on Sept. 21, 2015.
• The Cypress, Texas native was the top attacker in the Big 12 last weekend, hitting an impressive .559 and totaled 41 kills on 59 attempts with only three errors.
• In the Bears' Friday night win over LSU, Fanning went 15-for-22 with no errors and posted the fourth-best single-match attack percentage in program history (.682).
• She followed up that performance with 11 kills against Texas State, and then posted 15 kills on 26 attempts with one error against Marquette to help BU win the Hampton Inn & Suites Waco North Baylor Invitational title. She was named the tournament's Best Attacker.
• The 2017 squad compiled a program-record 15 honors in a single season.
BAYLOR RECENTLY
• 12th-ranked Baylor volleyball started and finished strong in a four-set victory over North Texas Tuesday night at the Ferrell Center, winning 25-17, 21-25, 25-22, 25-18.
• Baylor was led by an impressive double-double performance from senior Aniah Philo as she posted a career-high 19 kills and added 21 digs in the win. Her previous career best (16) was at UCLA in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
TEAM NOTABLES
• Baylor is 4-0 to start the season for the first time since 2012.
• Baylor looks for its first win over a ranked opponent this season. Last season, BU went 4-4.
• BU has led in attacking percentage in all four matches this season and held its opponent under a .250 hitting effort.
• Baylor has won the first opening set in each of its first four matches this season.
• BU will play its first neutral site and road match of the 2018 season. BU went 8-2 in road matches and 3-1 at neutral sites in 2017.
• Baylor has never lost a match while leading 2-0 under McGuyre (44-0).
LAST TIME VS. UCLA
• Baylor volleyball saw its season come to a close with a three-set loss to the hosts, No. 10 UCLA Bruins (26-6), 21-25, 20-25, 20-25, on Dec. 3, 2016 in Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus.
• Aniah Philo (16 kills) paced the Bears on offense, tying her career-high kill mark, set last season against Wake Forest before Philo transferred from Louisville.
• Despite hitting an effective .205 in the match, BU couldn't slow the UCLA offense, with the Bruins posting a modest .261 hitting clip.
LAST TIME VS. SAN DIEGO
• Baylor volleyball clawed a five-set win over No. 14 San Diego (24-6), 16-25, 25-18, 17-25, 25-20, 15-13, on Friday evening in Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus.
• BU picked up the program's first postseason win since the 2009 season.
• The Bears were paced on offense by Katie Staiger (20 kills) and Aniah Philo (14 kills, 13 digs), with Morgan Reed matching her season-high kills mark with six, adding 34 assists and 12 digs.
• Defensively, the Bears outblocked the Tereros, 15-14, including a 12-7 margin in the three decisive sets won by BU.
The Bears face 10th-ranked UCLA in a neutral site match Friday at 3 p.m. CT and close out the weekend with a road contest against host and 19th-ranked San Diego Saturday at 9 p.m. CT.
Baylor looks for its second top-10 win under McGuyre and second in the past two seasons. BU is currently 4-0 as a ranked team in 2018.
Each match will be streamed live on WCCSports.com, and live audio will be available on Baylor All-Access at BaylorBears.com
BAYLOR FACES BIG COMPETITION AT USD INVITATIONAL
• Baylor volleyball will head west and compete against two top-20 teams at the USD Invitational this weekend.
• The Bears look to start the season 5-0 for the first time since 2009. That squad went 11-0 to open the year.
• All three teams played in the Los Angeles Regional of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. In the first round, Baylor topped San Diego in five sets and eventually fell to host and 10th-ranked UCLA in the second round.
• Baylor is 1-0 against San Diego and 0-1 against UCLA under McGuyre.
BEARS GARNER PROGRAM-BEST NO. 12 AVCA RANKING
• After a 3-0 start to the season for the first time since 2012, Baylor volleyball is ranked a program-best No. 12 in the AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll, released Monday afternoon.
• The No. 12 ranking shatters the previous the all-time program record set in 2009 at No. 17.
• During that season, BU was ranked for 10 straight weeks and peaked at No. 17, which stood as the program-high ranking for eight years in the 36-year history of the AVCA poll.
• The Bears are ranked for the 28th time in program history and have been listed in the poll for seven straight weeks dating back to the 2017 season.
• Baylor earned a preseason ranking for only the second time in program history and first since its No. 21 ranking in 2000, coming in at No. 16 on Aug. 8.
• Baylor has 11 matches slated against ranked opponents or teams receiving votes, including: No. 2 Texas, No. 8 Wisconsin, No. 10 UCLA, No. 19 San Diego, Iowa State, LSU, Marquette and Kansas.
• In 2017, the Bears were 9-3 as a ranked team.
• Baylor is currently 4-0 as a ranked team in 2018.
FANNING TABBED BIG 12 CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• After a stellar opening weekend, redshirt junior middle blocker Shelly Fanning was named the Big 12 Co-Offensive Player of the Week, announced by the conference office Monday afternoon.
• Fanning earns her third career weekly honor from the conference as she was named Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 13, 2017 and Rookie of the Week on Sept. 21, 2015.
• The Cypress, Texas native was the top attacker in the Big 12 last weekend, hitting an impressive .559 and totaled 41 kills on 59 attempts with only three errors.
• In the Bears' Friday night win over LSU, Fanning went 15-for-22 with no errors and posted the fourth-best single-match attack percentage in program history (.682).
• She followed up that performance with 11 kills against Texas State, and then posted 15 kills on 26 attempts with one error against Marquette to help BU win the Hampton Inn & Suites Waco North Baylor Invitational title. She was named the tournament's Best Attacker.
• The 2017 squad compiled a program-record 15 honors in a single season.
BAYLOR RECENTLY
• 12th-ranked Baylor volleyball started and finished strong in a four-set victory over North Texas Tuesday night at the Ferrell Center, winning 25-17, 21-25, 25-22, 25-18.
• Baylor was led by an impressive double-double performance from senior Aniah Philo as she posted a career-high 19 kills and added 21 digs in the win. Her previous career best (16) was at UCLA in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
TEAM NOTABLES
• Baylor is 4-0 to start the season for the first time since 2012.
• Baylor looks for its first win over a ranked opponent this season. Last season, BU went 4-4.
• BU has led in attacking percentage in all four matches this season and held its opponent under a .250 hitting effort.
• Baylor has won the first opening set in each of its first four matches this season.
• BU will play its first neutral site and road match of the 2018 season. BU went 8-2 in road matches and 3-1 at neutral sites in 2017.
• Baylor has never lost a match while leading 2-0 under McGuyre (44-0).
LAST TIME VS. UCLA
• Baylor volleyball saw its season come to a close with a three-set loss to the hosts, No. 10 UCLA Bruins (26-6), 21-25, 20-25, 20-25, on Dec. 3, 2016 in Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus.
• Aniah Philo (16 kills) paced the Bears on offense, tying her career-high kill mark, set last season against Wake Forest before Philo transferred from Louisville.
• Despite hitting an effective .205 in the match, BU couldn't slow the UCLA offense, with the Bruins posting a modest .261 hitting clip.
LAST TIME VS. SAN DIEGO
• Baylor volleyball clawed a five-set win over No. 14 San Diego (24-6), 16-25, 25-18, 17-25, 25-20, 15-13, on Friday evening in Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus.
• BU picked up the program's first postseason win since the 2009 season.
• The Bears were paced on offense by Katie Staiger (20 kills) and Aniah Philo (14 kills, 13 digs), with Morgan Reed matching her season-high kills mark with six, adding 34 assists and 12 digs.
• Defensively, the Bears outblocked the Tereros, 15-14, including a 12-7 margin in the three decisive sets won by BU.
Players Mentioned
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