VB Begins NCAA Tournament Run Versus SFA
11/30/2022 4:44:00 PM | Volleyball
Bears make 11th overall NCAA Tournament appearance Thursday
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Making its seventh-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 11th overall, Baylor volleyball (23-6) will host Western Athletic Conference champion Stephen F. Austin (26-4) at 7 p.m. Thursday in a first-round match at the Ferrell Center.
The Baylor-SFA match will be preceded by Conference USA champion Rice (26-3) versus Colorado (20-10) at 4:30 p.m., with the winners advancing to Friday's 7 p.m. second-round match and a chance to advance to the region semifinals.
"We're back to 0-0, talking about a fresh start," said Baylor head coach Ryan McGuyre, whose team is seeded fourth in the Louisville Regional and the No. 15 seed nationally. "But you play your season to test yourself, you play your season to earn a seed and get ready for the tournament. I think home court advantage is an advantage."
This is the fifth year the Bears have been a national seed and the fourth time they're hosting, the lone exception being the 2020-21 COVID-affected tournament that was held in Omaha, Neb. Last year, Baylor swept Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Washington State before getting tripped up by Minnesota, 3-2, in the region semifinal round.
"To play in front of our fans is fun," said McGuyre, whose team is 14-1 at home. "To be in a familiar place is fun. It also means you're getting a better seed. All the teams coming in here are good. You have conference winners (Rice and SFA) and a Pac-12 team (Colorado). But glad we earned it and glad the committee saw it that way."
Baylor is 24-9 all-time against SFA, but 4-0 since the Lady Jacks became a varsity intercollegiate team. The Bears claimed a 3-1 win in the last meeting on Sept. 22, 2016, when Aniah Philo had a double-double with 13 kills and 17 digs.
Making its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance and first out of the WAC, the Lady Jacks finished second in the regular season and then defeated Utah Tech, 3-1, with 6-0 junior middle blocker Ielan Bradley earning tournament MVP honors.
Bradley also earned first-team all-conference honors, while Haley Hoang was the Libero of the Year and was named second-team All-WAC along with 5-11 senior outside hitter Ariana Pagan from Puerto Rico.
"(They have) two very strong, dominant opposites," McGuyre said of SFA. "You've got a heavy-arm lefty with some size, and you've got really a middle playing right side, so she can run quick attacks with a heavy arm. Maybe a little undersized on the outside, but an experienced player from Puerto Rico and they've got some arms. I'm not sure that they've seen a team as physical as us, but winners win, and they won their conference."
On the other side of the bracket, 20th-ranked Rice was 15th in the latest RPI rankings and was one of the teams considered for a top-16 national seed. Baylor handed the Owls their only 3-0 loss of the season on Oct. 12 in Houston, with Elise McGhee and Lauren Harrison getting double-digit kills.
"When we played them in the spring, we didn't have Mallory and we were still growing, we were super young," McGuyre said. "I felt like they embarrassed us in the spring match, so when we went to Rice we knew we had to be really well-prepared there. And probably played one of our best matches as far as start to finish. With only three losses, they're probably upset about that one . . . and they're anxious to get another shot against us."
Colorado, making its 21st NCAA Tournament appearance, has posted significant wins over USC and Washington and went five with an Oregon team that is one of the national seeds. Five years ago, the Buffaloes swept a 12th-seeded Baylor team, 3-0, for the Bears' only NCAA Tournament loss in the Ferrell Center.
A future National Player of the Year, freshman Yossiana Pressley had 14 kills in that loss, but 2016 All-American Katie Staiger was only able to play one set and finished with one kill.
"It came down to serve and pass, and I thought they were aggressive back then, and we didn't keep the ball in system enough," McGuyre said.
Baylor has four first-team All-Big 12 picks, including setter Averi Carlson as the league's Freshman of the Year. Senior middle blocker Kara McGhee was a unanimous selection and was joined by Texas A&M transfer Molly Talbert and Harrison.
"I feel like it's something I've watched on TV and seen as a young kid," freshman right-side hitter Allie Sczech said of the NCAA Tournament. "Just being able to actually be in it is such a blessing."
All three matches will be streamed by ESPN+, with live stats available at statbroadcast.com. Tickets are $10 for general public and $5 for youth and are available here.
Baylor Bear Insider
Making its seventh-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 11th overall, Baylor volleyball (23-6) will host Western Athletic Conference champion Stephen F. Austin (26-4) at 7 p.m. Thursday in a first-round match at the Ferrell Center.
The Baylor-SFA match will be preceded by Conference USA champion Rice (26-3) versus Colorado (20-10) at 4:30 p.m., with the winners advancing to Friday's 7 p.m. second-round match and a chance to advance to the region semifinals.
"We're back to 0-0, talking about a fresh start," said Baylor head coach Ryan McGuyre, whose team is seeded fourth in the Louisville Regional and the No. 15 seed nationally. "But you play your season to test yourself, you play your season to earn a seed and get ready for the tournament. I think home court advantage is an advantage."
This is the fifth year the Bears have been a national seed and the fourth time they're hosting, the lone exception being the 2020-21 COVID-affected tournament that was held in Omaha, Neb. Last year, Baylor swept Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Washington State before getting tripped up by Minnesota, 3-2, in the region semifinal round.
"To play in front of our fans is fun," said McGuyre, whose team is 14-1 at home. "To be in a familiar place is fun. It also means you're getting a better seed. All the teams coming in here are good. You have conference winners (Rice and SFA) and a Pac-12 team (Colorado). But glad we earned it and glad the committee saw it that way."
Baylor is 24-9 all-time against SFA, but 4-0 since the Lady Jacks became a varsity intercollegiate team. The Bears claimed a 3-1 win in the last meeting on Sept. 22, 2016, when Aniah Philo had a double-double with 13 kills and 17 digs.
Making its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance and first out of the WAC, the Lady Jacks finished second in the regular season and then defeated Utah Tech, 3-1, with 6-0 junior middle blocker Ielan Bradley earning tournament MVP honors.
Bradley also earned first-team all-conference honors, while Haley Hoang was the Libero of the Year and was named second-team All-WAC along with 5-11 senior outside hitter Ariana Pagan from Puerto Rico.
"(They have) two very strong, dominant opposites," McGuyre said of SFA. "You've got a heavy-arm lefty with some size, and you've got really a middle playing right side, so she can run quick attacks with a heavy arm. Maybe a little undersized on the outside, but an experienced player from Puerto Rico and they've got some arms. I'm not sure that they've seen a team as physical as us, but winners win, and they won their conference."
On the other side of the bracket, 20th-ranked Rice was 15th in the latest RPI rankings and was one of the teams considered for a top-16 national seed. Baylor handed the Owls their only 3-0 loss of the season on Oct. 12 in Houston, with Elise McGhee and Lauren Harrison getting double-digit kills.
"When we played them in the spring, we didn't have Mallory and we were still growing, we were super young," McGuyre said. "I felt like they embarrassed us in the spring match, so when we went to Rice we knew we had to be really well-prepared there. And probably played one of our best matches as far as start to finish. With only three losses, they're probably upset about that one . . . and they're anxious to get another shot against us."
Colorado, making its 21st NCAA Tournament appearance, has posted significant wins over USC and Washington and went five with an Oregon team that is one of the national seeds. Five years ago, the Buffaloes swept a 12th-seeded Baylor team, 3-0, for the Bears' only NCAA Tournament loss in the Ferrell Center.
A future National Player of the Year, freshman Yossiana Pressley had 14 kills in that loss, but 2016 All-American Katie Staiger was only able to play one set and finished with one kill.
"It came down to serve and pass, and I thought they were aggressive back then, and we didn't keep the ball in system enough," McGuyre said.
Baylor has four first-team All-Big 12 picks, including setter Averi Carlson as the league's Freshman of the Year. Senior middle blocker Kara McGhee was a unanimous selection and was joined by Texas A&M transfer Molly Talbert and Harrison.
"I feel like it's something I've watched on TV and seen as a young kid," freshman right-side hitter Allie Sczech said of the NCAA Tournament. "Just being able to actually be in it is such a blessing."
All three matches will be streamed by ESPN+, with live stats available at statbroadcast.com. Tickets are $10 for general public and $5 for youth and are available here.
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