Wednesday, October 5
Waco, Texas
8 PM
Baylor
vs
Oklahoma
No. 17 VB Hosting Oklahoma on Wednesday
10/4/2022 3:00:00 PM | Volleyball
Bears ready for home match with Sooners
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
After splitting a pair of tight matches on the road, the 17th-ranked Baylor volleyball team (12-3, 2-1) returns home to host Oklahoma (11-4, 1-2) at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Ferrell Center in a match that will be televised by ESPNU.
"It's amazing," freshman setter Averi Carlson said of the Bears' home-arena atmosphere. "It's just a lot of fun, being able to watch the games before (as a recruit) and then actually be in that position now, I'm just super grateful. I love playing with my team."
Bouncing back from a 3-1 loss at Iowa State, Baylor rallied from a set down to beat Kansas in five, 13-25, 27-25, 25-17, 13-25, 15-9, on Saturday. Outside hitter Lauren Harrison, who had missed four matches with an injury, returned to collect 16 kills versus Iowa State and her first double-double of the season with 22 kills and 10 digs against the Jayhawks.
"Good response within the match," Baylor coach Ryan McGuyre said. "For us to recover and push through it, to me as a coach, that's something that I find the most joy and satisfaction in it, because it's one of the most difficult things to do. To fight your way through it and give yourself a chance to win is really important. Lauren Harrison set the tone. Unfortunately, it took a little longer than I'd like for everyone else to jump on board and do that."
Led by Kara McGhee with eight, Baylor recorded a season-high 16 blocks against Kansas. That's the most the Bears have had since registering 19 versus No. 7 Pitt last season.
"Blocking is a mindset," said McGhee, who is first in the Big 12 and third nationally with 1.56 blocks per set. "Coach Mac talks to us about saying things like, 'I'm going to block this ball! I'm going to dominate!' When we're up at the net, we'll say it to each other before each play. I think that helps us get our mindset in the right place, where we just have this dog mentality."
Oklahoma is off to a 1-2 start in league play, getting swept by Kansas and top-ranked Texas before turning the tables on West Virginia, 3-0, on Saturday. Sophomore right-side hitter Megan Wilson had 13 kills against the Mountaineers and ranks third in the Big 12 with 3.98 kills per set.
"They've got a good opposite (Wilson), so we've got to make sure we're defending the opposite, the backside well," McGuyre said. "They'll hit out of the back row, so make sure our back-row defense is good in practice today. They have some quick, springy middles that I think offensively are getting some good swings on the ball."
The Sooners lead the all-time series, 39-27, but Baylor has narrowed that gap by winning the last 12 in a row.
After suffering an early-season conference loss for the third-straight year, McGuyre said the Bears can't rely on the experience they gained from those losses, because most of the experience is gone, outside of Harrison and McGhee.
"I think this year is different. Our theme word is fresh," McGuyre said. "When we have the right mindset, we're really good. Kara talking about those conversations at the net, maybe we can get a little bit more of those in the back row. . . . . Here we are in the first week of October, so we've finally got a month under our belts. And we've been saying, who we're going to be in November and December is going to be a lot different."
Back on the road, Baylor will play West Virginia (6-9, 0-3) at 12 p.m. CT Saturday in Morgantown, W. Va., and No. 22 Rice (14-1) next Wednesday, Oct. 12, in Houston, before returning home to host No. 1 Texas (11-0, 2-0) at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15.
WACO, Texas – The 17th-ranked Baylor volleyball squad is ready to return home to the Ferrell Center for an 8 p.m. Wednesday match with Oklahoma.
The Bears (12-3, 2-1) have been on the road for two matches and will face the Sooners (11-4, 1-2) for the midweek bout.
The all-time series is led by OU at 39-27, but BU has won 12-straight matches against the Sooners, all under head coach Ryan McGuyre. Oklahoma's head coach Lindsey Gray-Walton is in her fifth season in Norman and is 0-8 in the head-to-head meetings with McGuyre.
BU fell to Iowa State last Wednesday in a four-set match before taking Kansas to five sets to win on Saturday. Lauren Harrison led the squad on the week with her 38 kills and 4.22 kills per set over the two matches. Freshman Averi Carlson dished out 97 assists at 10.78 assists per set, while Kara McGhee led the team with 12 blocks overall and Lauren Briseño had 31 digs.
Oklahoma comes to Waco after falling to Kansas in three sets on Sept. 28 and sweeping West Virginia on Oct. 1. This will be OU's third trip to Texas so far this season after facing Abilene Christian and Texas at their respective arenas. The Sooners are led by Megan Wilson on offense with 199 kills at 3.98 kills/set, with Payton Chamberlain leading in assists at 283. Their primary blocker is Morgan Perkins, tallying 69 overall for the season, while Callie Kemohah has amassed 251 digs for the crimson and white.
The match is set to be broadcast on ESPNU with Courtney Lyle and Holly McPeak on the call from the Ferrell Center. Live stats for the match can be found at BaylorBears.com/Stats.
A full recap and final stats will be uploaded to BaylorBears.com after the conclusion of the match.
The contest is BU's Teacher Appreciation Night, offering free admission for teachers and one guest when they present an ID at the Baylor Ticket Office. In addition, it is the Mental Health Awareness match as part of the Big 12 Conference's Mental Health Awareness Week.
To stay up to date throughout the year on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.
-BaylorBears.com-
Baylor Bear Insider
After splitting a pair of tight matches on the road, the 17th-ranked Baylor volleyball team (12-3, 2-1) returns home to host Oklahoma (11-4, 1-2) at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Ferrell Center in a match that will be televised by ESPNU.
"It's amazing," freshman setter Averi Carlson said of the Bears' home-arena atmosphere. "It's just a lot of fun, being able to watch the games before (as a recruit) and then actually be in that position now, I'm just super grateful. I love playing with my team."
Bouncing back from a 3-1 loss at Iowa State, Baylor rallied from a set down to beat Kansas in five, 13-25, 27-25, 25-17, 13-25, 15-9, on Saturday. Outside hitter Lauren Harrison, who had missed four matches with an injury, returned to collect 16 kills versus Iowa State and her first double-double of the season with 22 kills and 10 digs against the Jayhawks.
"Good response within the match," Baylor coach Ryan McGuyre said. "For us to recover and push through it, to me as a coach, that's something that I find the most joy and satisfaction in it, because it's one of the most difficult things to do. To fight your way through it and give yourself a chance to win is really important. Lauren Harrison set the tone. Unfortunately, it took a little longer than I'd like for everyone else to jump on board and do that."
Led by Kara McGhee with eight, Baylor recorded a season-high 16 blocks against Kansas. That's the most the Bears have had since registering 19 versus No. 7 Pitt last season.
"Blocking is a mindset," said McGhee, who is first in the Big 12 and third nationally with 1.56 blocks per set. "Coach Mac talks to us about saying things like, 'I'm going to block this ball! I'm going to dominate!' When we're up at the net, we'll say it to each other before each play. I think that helps us get our mindset in the right place, where we just have this dog mentality."
Oklahoma is off to a 1-2 start in league play, getting swept by Kansas and top-ranked Texas before turning the tables on West Virginia, 3-0, on Saturday. Sophomore right-side hitter Megan Wilson had 13 kills against the Mountaineers and ranks third in the Big 12 with 3.98 kills per set.
"They've got a good opposite (Wilson), so we've got to make sure we're defending the opposite, the backside well," McGuyre said. "They'll hit out of the back row, so make sure our back-row defense is good in practice today. They have some quick, springy middles that I think offensively are getting some good swings on the ball."
The Sooners lead the all-time series, 39-27, but Baylor has narrowed that gap by winning the last 12 in a row.
After suffering an early-season conference loss for the third-straight year, McGuyre said the Bears can't rely on the experience they gained from those losses, because most of the experience is gone, outside of Harrison and McGhee.
"I think this year is different. Our theme word is fresh," McGuyre said. "When we have the right mindset, we're really good. Kara talking about those conversations at the net, maybe we can get a little bit more of those in the back row. . . . . Here we are in the first week of October, so we've finally got a month under our belts. And we've been saying, who we're going to be in November and December is going to be a lot different."
Back on the road, Baylor will play West Virginia (6-9, 0-3) at 12 p.m. CT Saturday in Morgantown, W. Va., and No. 22 Rice (14-1) next Wednesday, Oct. 12, in Houston, before returning home to host No. 1 Texas (11-0, 2-0) at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15.
WACO, Texas – The 17th-ranked Baylor volleyball squad is ready to return home to the Ferrell Center for an 8 p.m. Wednesday match with Oklahoma.
The Bears (12-3, 2-1) have been on the road for two matches and will face the Sooners (11-4, 1-2) for the midweek bout.
The all-time series is led by OU at 39-27, but BU has won 12-straight matches against the Sooners, all under head coach Ryan McGuyre. Oklahoma's head coach Lindsey Gray-Walton is in her fifth season in Norman and is 0-8 in the head-to-head meetings with McGuyre.
BU fell to Iowa State last Wednesday in a four-set match before taking Kansas to five sets to win on Saturday. Lauren Harrison led the squad on the week with her 38 kills and 4.22 kills per set over the two matches. Freshman Averi Carlson dished out 97 assists at 10.78 assists per set, while Kara McGhee led the team with 12 blocks overall and Lauren Briseño had 31 digs.
Oklahoma comes to Waco after falling to Kansas in three sets on Sept. 28 and sweeping West Virginia on Oct. 1. This will be OU's third trip to Texas so far this season after facing Abilene Christian and Texas at their respective arenas. The Sooners are led by Megan Wilson on offense with 199 kills at 3.98 kills/set, with Payton Chamberlain leading in assists at 283. Their primary blocker is Morgan Perkins, tallying 69 overall for the season, while Callie Kemohah has amassed 251 digs for the crimson and white.
The match is set to be broadcast on ESPNU with Courtney Lyle and Holly McPeak on the call from the Ferrell Center. Live stats for the match can be found at BaylorBears.com/Stats.
A full recap and final stats will be uploaded to BaylorBears.com after the conclusion of the match.
The contest is BU's Teacher Appreciation Night, offering free admission for teachers and one guest when they present an ID at the Baylor Ticket Office. In addition, it is the Mental Health Awareness match as part of the Big 12 Conference's Mental Health Awareness Week.
To stay up to date throughout the year on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.
-BaylorBears.com-
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