Preview: No. 1 VB Seeks First Big 12 Title on Senior Day

WACO, Texas – Top-ranked Baylor volleyball (24-1, 14-1 Big 12) eyes a share of the program's first-ever Big 12 title during a Saturday matchup against TCU (9-16, 4-11 Big 12) at the Ferrell Center in Waco.

The match is slated for a 2 p.m. CT start and will be televised on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Lincoln Rose and Katie Staiger on the call.

Fans are encouraged to stay after the match to honor Hannah Fluegel, Nicole Thomas, Gia Milana, Tara Wulf, Braya Hunt and Shelly Stafford for Senior Day.

Fans can follow along for match coverage with Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.

BEARS EYE CONFERENCE CROWN ON SENIOR DAY
• No. 1 Baylor will close out its regular season with a key Saturday matchup against TCU.
• Baylor looks to capture a share of its first-ever Big 12 title, currently tied with Texas at the top of the conference standings on the last day of the regular season (14-1).
• BU looks to match its school record for wins in the regular season set in 1999 (25).
• BU will honor its six seniors on Senior Day in a postmatch ceremony.
• The senior class has amassed four 20-win seasons and holds a 90-29 career record on the court. They are the first-ever group to potentially advance to the NCAA Tournament all four years of their careers.
• The senior class has compiled over 2,500 career kills, 700 assists, 2,500 digs and 190 aces in their time at Baylor.
• Baylor holds a 12-0 record in home matches this season.
• BU is 6-3 against TCU under head coach Ryan McGuyre.
• Baylor is in the top-35 nationally in five different stat categories heading into Saturday's match, and three players are among the nation's top 50 in five categories.

A WIN WOULD…
• A win would give BU at least a share of the team's first-ever Big 12 title.
• A win would be Baylor's sixth consecutive win over the Horned Frogs since the all-time series started in 1996. BU opened the series with a seven-match win streak running though 2010.
• A win would give Baylor a program-best 15-1 conference record in 2019.
• A win would give Baylor an unblemished 8-0 record in the second half of Big 12 action and in conference home matches.
• A win would give Baylor the season sweep over the Horned Frogs for the third-straight season.
• A win would give Baylor an unblemished 13-0 record at home in 2019.

BACK ON TOP OF THE AVCA POLL
• Baylor volleyball came in as the top-ranked team in the latest AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll, released Monday afternoon. This is the fifth week this season the Bears are No. 1.
• Before Baylor's loss to No. 4 Texas on Oct. 23, the Bears were the top-ranked team in the poll for four consecutive weeks earlier this season.
• The No. 1 ranking achieved originally on Sept. 30 topped the previous all-time program record set at No. 2 a week earlier. BU's 61 first-place votes are also a program record set on Sept. 30.
• Volleyball is the ninth Baylor program to earn a No. 1 ranking and the third BU team in 2019 (women's basketball, acrobatics & tumbling).
• Baylor is the third Big 12 program to garner the No. 1 AVCA ranking, joining Texas and former member Nebraska. BU was the first conference team since 2017 to hold the top spot in the poll.
• BU was the last unbeaten team in DI college volleyball with an 16-0 record.
• Prior to last season's program-best No. 12 ranking, BU was ranked for 10 straight weeks and peaked at No. 17 in 2009, which stood as the program-high ranking for eight years.
• The Bears are ranked for the 51st time in program history and have received votes in the poll for 40 straight weeks dating back to the 2017 season.

HOME SWEET HOME
• BU is 56-17 all-time in home matches under head coach Ryan McGuyre.
• Baylor improved to 30-3 in home non-conference matches under McGuyre, finishing 5-0 in 2019.
• At home, BU is 9-0 in three sets, 2-0 in four sets and 1-0 in five-set matches.
• BU has broken the single-match attendance record in three straight seasons, most recently with 7,357 at the Texas match. It shattered the previous high set against Tennessee earlier this season.
• BU has had eight top-10 crowds at the Ferrell Center under McGuyre, including four this season.
• Baylor is 26-13 in Big 12 matches at home under McGuyre.

BIG 12 TITLES… IN PERSPECTIVE
• Baylor would become only the third team since 2010 to win a Big 12 volleyball title, joining Texas (2011-15, 2017-18) and Kansas (2016).
• Nebraska leads all-time with 12 titles, followed by Texas with 11. Besides KU's 2016 title, K-State is the only other team to win a Big 12 championship in volleyball since 1997 (2003).

LAST TIME VS. TCU (Oct. 12, 2019)
• No. 1 Baylor remained perfect on the season with a sweep of TCU at the University Recreation Center in Ft. Worth, 25-18, 25-20, 34-32.
• Baylor won its longest set of the season, converting on its fifth match point in set three to remain unblemished in nine straight matches.
• Pressley logged a match-high 18 kills on a .433 clip while Stafford added 12 kills on a .526 efficiency to lead the offense.
• The Bears outblocked the Horned Frogs, 14.0-5.0, and were led by McGhee's season-high eight blocks. Lockin added a career-high seven blocks and led with 36 assists.

Preview: No. 1 VB Seeks First Big 12 Title on Senior Day

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Players Mentioned

Hannah Fluegel

Braya Hunt

Gia Milana

Shelly Stafford

Nicole Thomas

Tara Wulf

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