Thursday, April 15
Omaha, Neb.
11:00 a.m.
Baylor
vs
Pepperdine
No. 12 Seed VB Rematches with Pepperdine in NCAA Second Round Action
4/14/2021 1:30:00 PM | Volleyball
11th-ranked Bears are 2-4 all-time in the Round of 32
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BAYLOR BEARS (19-6, 13-3 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Ryan McGuyre (Biola, 1998) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
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PEPPERDINE WAVES (17-3, 16-2 WCC) Location: Malibu, Calif. Conference: West Coast Conference Head Coach: Scott Wong (Pepperdine, 2001) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
No. 11 (12-Seed) BAYLOR (19-6) vs. No. 20 PEPPERDINE (17-3)
Thursday, April 15, 2021 • 11 a.m. CT
2020 NCAA Tournament • Second Round
Omaha, Neb. • CHI Health Center Omaha
Live Stats: NCAA Scoreboard
WATCH: ESPN3
Baylor Social Media:
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
OMAHA, Neb. – A Final Four team just 16 months ago, the 12th-seeded and 11th-ranked Baylor volleyball team (19-6) certainly could have asked for a much easier path than the one laid out by the NCAA.
After a first-round bye as one of the 16 national seeds in the 48-team NCAA Tournament, the Bears will be matched against 20th-ranked Pepperdine (17-3) at 11 a.m. CDT Thursday at the CHI Health Center.
"I think we're more than capable of making the Final Four," said sophomore Lauren Harrison, an all-Big 12 and all-region pick who is making her NCAA Tournament debut after not making it in two seasons at North Carolina. "We were able to get some reps in this morning, so I think we're ready and excited to get the tournament started off."
Across the net is a Pepperdine team that Baylor played 46 days ago, pulling out a five-setter against the Waves in a Feb. 28 match at the Ferrell Center. Senior All-American Yossiana Pressley had a double-double with 17 kills and 14 digs, while Harrison had 15 kills.
"With any team you've seen before, I feel like the rush of the unknown isn't there," said Shanel Bramschreiber, an all-region pick and Big 12 Libero of the Year. "We're just going to use it to our benefit. We're going to go back and watch the film we have of playing them earlier this season. Just see their tendencies and see what they like to do against us personally. So overall, I think it's not going to be a detriment."
Baylor coach Ryan McGuyre, whose team is making its fifth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, said he would have scheduled the Waves this spring "no matter what."
"They're a good team, good program, and we wanted to have good matches in the spring," McGuyre said. "We went through all of conference in the fall, so there was no guarantee we were going to have anything. We wanted to play as many teams as possible, thought it would help us get ready."
There's also the Baylor-Pepperdine connection, with Baylor President Dr. Linda Livingstone and head baseball coach Steve Rodriguez both coming from Pepperdine.
"The original plan was to find a kindred spirit and have a team we could cheer for throughout the tournament as you bump shoulders in the hotel and maybe get them to cheer for us, regardless of win or lose," McGuyre said. "Bummed that we ended up seeing each other right away, but it's all good. It's a team we'll plan on playing again in the future, for sure."
Runner-up to 14th-ranked BYU in the West Coast Conference, Pepperdine advanced through the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a sweep of UMBC, 25-7, 25-22, 26-24, on Wednesday. The Waves hit .308 as a team, getting double-digit kills from Rachel Ahrens (15) and a double-double from Shannon Scully with 13 kills and 13 digs.
"We're excited about playing Baylor," Pepperdine coach Scott Wong said. "I think it's a huge advantage for us to be familiar with them. They do a lot of things really well, but we're excited about that opportunity, and we're going to go out and compete like heck."
In the first matchup, the difference was a Baylor defense that had 14 blocks and 74 digs. Cal transfer Preslie Anderson, who will also make her NCAA Tournament debut, led the way with a solo block and eight assists.
"When we played them the last time, when (our block) was relevant, we had clean-set wins," McGuyre said. "When it was irrelevant, they were beating us. . . . We need to make sure that when the ball is crossing the net two or three times that we're winning a high percentage of those points."
Serving will also be a key, McGuyre said. In the first meeting, Baylor had three aces and only three service errors, while the Waves had five aces and 13 errors.
"They're a very strong in-system team," he said. "When they're out of system, we feel like those are opportunities we should be able to capitalize on and at least get good touches on our end. That puts the pressure back on us to make sure we can convert. I think we are at our best when we're getting good digs, where our middles are really involved and our setters have all the options. So, I think serving needs to be something that separates us."
The Baylor-Pepperdine winner advances to Sunday's region semifinals to face the winner of Thursday's match between fifth-seeded Nebraska and Texas State.
"They're a good team, especially defensively," Bramschreiber said. "They make it really tough on us to put balls away, so we're really just going to have to pick out some good spots for our hitters. They're feisty and they're not going to back down without a fight, so we've got to come out ready."
STORYLINES
TOURNEY TIME
- After a 19-6 regular-season and a second-place finish in the Big 12, Baylor volleyball enters its fifth-consecutive postseason, a program-best.
- BU earned its ninth NCAA tournament bid in school history.
- The Bears earned the No. 12 seed and a first round bye, awaiting the winner of UMBC and Pepperdine.
- BU is a top-16 national seed for the third time in school history and second year in a row. The Bears were the No. 1 overall seed in 2019 and No. 12 in 2017.
- Overall, Baylor is 10-8 all-time in NCAA tournament play after advancing to the National Semifinals for the first time in program history last season.
FRESH FACES
- Between UMBC and Pepperdine, Baylor has only faced the Waves once in program history, coming earlier this spring in Waco.
- The Bears defeated the Waves in five sets on Feb. 28 at the Ferrell Center.
- UMBC earned an automatic bid by winning the America East conference, while Pepperdine secured an at-large selection as the No. 20-ranked team in the latest AVCA poll.
BIG 12 LIBERO OF THE YEAR
- Shanel Bramschreiber was named the Big 12 Libero of the Year, Baylor's first such award in program history.
- In her first season as the Bears' libero, Bramschreiber led the conference with 357 digs and ranked sixth in the league with 3.72 digs per set.
- In 21 of Baylor's 25 matches, Bramschreiber recorded double-digit digs, including 13 outings with at least 15 and four instances above 20.
- The junior Plano, Texas, native also received Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week accolades on Oct. 13, 2020, following a 39-dig weekend against Oklahoma.
COLLECTING CONFERENCE HARDWARE
- In addition to Bramschreiber's award, Baylor also earned four All-Big 12 First Team nods.
- The junior L/DS was a first-team choice for the first time in her career.
- Sophomore OH Lauren Harrison was a unanimous selection after tallying 280 kills, 3.20 per set, and eclipsing double figures in kills 17 times in her first season as a Bear.
- Sophomore MB Kara McGhee earned a spot on the first team for the first time in her career after collecting 118 blocks, the second-most in the Big 12.
- Senior OH Yossiana Pressley was a unanimous first-team choice for the fourth time in her career. She led the Big 12 with 447 kills, 4.66 kills per set and 488 total points.
BEST IN THE SOUTHWEST
- Baylor had four AVCA Southwest All-Region honorees in Shanel Bramschreiber, Lauren Harrison, Kara McGhee and Yossiana Pressley.
- Bramschreiber, Harrison and Pressley were each named to the first team, while McGhee received honorable mention accolades.
- Pressley is a four-time All-Region First Team member, while Bramschreiber, Harrison and McGhee each earned their first-career honor.
-BaylorBears.com-
Players Mentioned
MB
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L/DS
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MB
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OH
/ VolleyballWould go to battle with this crew anytime 🫶
Monday, December 08
Hearts stopped. Records fell. Bears won!
Monday, December 08
Elevate ⬆️ and celebrate 🎉
Monday, December 08
💼 Workin' our way to match day
Monday, December 08
