#13 Baylor Bears Down North Texas

MATCH STATS

• #13 Baylor def. North Texas 3-1, (25-17, 21-25, 25-22, 25-18)
• Baylor improves to 4-0, North Texas falls to 3-1
• Waco, Texas
• Attendance: 527
• Match Stats
• Baylor Recap / North Texas Recap

WACO, TEXAS— The Baylor Bears pulled off the victory in four sets over the North Texas Mean Green in a non-conference match-up on Tuesday evening in Waco, Texas. This is the first 4-0 start for the Bears since 2012.

The Bears took charge in the beginning, taking the first set, but let up in the second set to lose 25-21. Baylor had a rough start to set two, down 8-3, and never recovered. The Bears would go on to win set three, 25-22, and set 4, 25-18. Baylor hit .214 in the match while holding their opponents to .107.

The Bears led in every statistical category in the match except blocks (12-5) – kills (58-39), assists (53-39), aces (6-2), and digs (72-63).

Aniah Philo led the Bears to the win with 19 kills on 44 swings with four errors for a .341 hitting clip along with 21 digs for a double-double, while Yossiana Pressley added in another 15 kills on 48 swings with nine errors to end the night with a .125 hitting performance to go along with 12 digs and a double-double. Gia Milana made her presence known with 10 kills and two errors for a .381 clip along with one block while Big 12 Co-Offensive Player of the Week, Shelly Fanning, took the court with seven kills.

Hannah Fleugel produced 19 assists while Tara Wulf picked up 19 digs and 5 assists in the back row.

For the Mean Green, Rhett Robinsonand Valerie Valerian put away 11 kills each on a .176 and .075 clip, respectively. Valerian also tabbed 13 digs for a double-double. Karley York dished out 35 assists to go with four digs, one block, and two kills.

The Bears will head to San Diego for their next match to take on UCLA in the San Diego Tournament on Friday, August 31^stat 3 P.M. CT.

RECAPS

Courtesy of Baylor Athletics

THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – 12^th-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.

Baylor (4-0) opened the match with a dominant 7-0 run and forced an early UNT timeout following a Pressley kill. BU kept the Mean Green at arm’s length, hitting .400 to win the opening frame, 25-17.

BU hit a wall in set two, hitting .071 while committing seven attack errors to drop the set at 25-21.

The third set was back and forth, but the Bears rolled off three consecutive points with kills from Philo and Milana to close out the frame, 25-22.

The Bears got off to a shaky start in set four, trailing 8-3 before an early timeout. Down 13-6 after a UNT block, BU slowly chipped away at the lead. A Philo kill tied up the match at 16-16, and then the Bears would never trail to wrap up the match in four.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Senior Aniah Philo recorded a career-high 19 kills on a .341 hitting percentage.
• The Bears hit .400 in the opening set and posted 18 kills on 35 attacks.
• Sophomore All-American Hannah Lockin made her season debut, recording 14 assists on the night.
• Junior Hannah Fluegel led the Bears with 19 assists.
• Baylor is now 20-8 all-time against North Texas and 3-0 under McGuyre.
• Baylor is 4-0 to start the season for the first time since 2012.

STAT OF THE MATCH
19 – the new career kills count for senior Aniah Philo.

TOP QUOTE
Baylor Head Coach Ryan McGuyre
On fighting back to take the win…
“North Texas got on fire and they were just swinging away. In set one, we weren’t in rhythm but we hit it over the net and did okay on defense. In set two, we weren’t in rhythm, didn’t hit it over the net and North Texas was dialed in. That’s kind of how sets three and four went where we just played good enough to win. We weren’t the best versions of ourselves tonight.”

WHAT’S NEXT
The Bears head west to compete at the USD Invitational and face 10^th-ranked UCLA Friday night at 3 p.m. CT, followed by a contest against 19^th-ranked and host San Diego Saturday at 9 p.m. CT at Jenny Craig Pavilion.

Courtesy of UNT Athletics

WACO – Despite out-blocking No. 12 Baylor 12-5, the North Texas volleyball team fell to the Bears 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-22, 25-18) Tuesday night at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas. In front of her hometown crowd, sophomore Miranda Youmans tied for the team lead with six blocks.

“It was really special,” Youmans said. “I felt at home. I was really excited and had to calm my adrenaline down and do my job. I used that adrenaline to carry me on blocking tonight.”

“For the most part, our serving gameplan worked really well,” head coach Andrew Palileo said. “We put them in situations to set up our block and defend a little bit better than we did last week.”

Freshman Rhett Robinson teamed up with Youmans on each of the six blocks and also tied Valerie Valerian for the team lead with 11 kills, finishing with a team-high 14 points.

The Mean Green (3-1) fell in a hole early in the first set, going down 7-0 before scoring a point. While the offense only committed three errors, North Texas finished the set with just six kills at a .103 attack percentage.

“We just had to tell ourselves that we could matchup just as well, if not better,” Youmans said. “We just didn’t put it all out there.”

Frustrated from dropping their first set of the season, the Mean Green rattled off an 8-1 run to take an 11-3 lead in set two. The last of Baylor’s (4-0) seven errors in the frame set up match point and Robinson closed out the set to tie the match at one set each. The Bears hit just .071 with 10 kills in set two.

“We were a little shell-shocked after the first set,” Palileo said. “We got a little bit tentative. We quit talking. I reminded the girls that when we do things like go on retreats and build those relationships, this is what those moments are for. We communicated more and did a little extra to turn things around.”

In set three, which saw 11 tied scores and seven lead changes, North Texas went down 14-10 but went on a 7-2 run after calling a timeout to take a 17-16 lead. Valerian recorded two kills in the streak and Robinson and Youmans assisted on a pair of blocks. Before the game, Palileo addressed long rallies as a concern for the match, but the Mean Green were able to adjust well on the fly and even win some.

“The girls always talk about inspiring each other and I thought we did that in that set,” Palileo said. “I was really excited about it and that’s how we were able to win some of those.”

However, after Valerian’s fourth kill of the set put the Mean Green up 22-21, Baylor scored four-straight points to take the set. While North Texas was able to get out to another hot start in set four, leading 14-7 at one point, the Bears closed the set on an 18-4 run to seal the match.

UP NEXT
North Texas remains on the road to participate in the ASICS Classic, hosted by Pepperdine and CSU Northridge Aug. 31-Sept. 2. The Mean Green play CSUN at 8 p.m. Friday in Northridge, Calif., and will face Pepperdine and Idaho in Malibu, Calif., on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

QUICK HITTERS

• Valerian extended her streak of matches with double-digit kills to 10.
• After allowing Baylor to hit .400 in the first set, North Texas held them to a .160 hit percentage in sets 2-4.
• Karley York played her 100^th match in a Mean Green uniform Tuesday.
• Shelly Fanning, who entered the match sixth in the nation in hit percentage (.559) was held to just seven kills at a .118 clip.