MATCH STATS
- Baylor defeats Washington State in 5 (25-23, 21-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-9)
- Baylor (10-4), Washington State (10-2)
The Baylor Bears volleyball team stunned in a thrilling 5-set defeat (25-23, 21-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-9) over the Washington State Cougars to cap off the Baylor Classic and the last tournament of non-conference play.
The Bears swept their own tournament and are enjoying a 6-game winning streak, momentum that will help when heading into Big 12 conference play this week.
Baylor took an early 6-1 lead against Washington State in the first set with the help of Tara Wulf’s strong service game. The Cougars tried to make a late-game run, but the Bears were able to stop them, earning just a 2-point win.
WSU was trailing 4-7 in the second set, but stepped up their game to make some high-scoring runs that the Bears couldn’t recover from. The Cougars were able to tie up the set count 1-1.
The third set proved to be a tight race. The Bears’ 3 straight errors forced them to call a timeout after falling behind 15-11. The timeout proved to be enough to get back on track, with kills from Katie Staiger, Ashley Fritcher and Morgan Reed gave Baylor the 25-21 win.
Leading 2-1 in the match count, Baylor struggled with Washington State’s offense and only hit 8 kills with 5 errors, allowing WSU an opening to take the set and force a fifth set.
The Bears came out strong in the fifth and final set, and took an early 6-3 lead. The Cougars had a 4-0 run to grab the lead, but Aniah Phlio had three straight kills, giving the Bears the lead and the momentum to hold off Washington State.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of Baylor Athletics
By John Shellenberger
Baylor Bear Foundation
Capping off a great run at its own tournament, the Baylor volleyball team (10-4) survived a five-set thriller to knock off the Washington State Cougars Saturday night at the Ferrell Center.
After sweeping both Virginia (3-9) and College of Charleston (7-5), the Bears displayed incredible composure and resilience in beating WSU, 25-23, 21-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-9, in what amounted to the championship match of the Baylor Classic.
The Bears came out on fire, jumping out to a 10-2 lead in the first set. Despite Washington State (10-2) putting up eight blocks and using a late 5-1 run to pull within one, Baylor pulled it out to take the early one-set advantage.
Led by Kyra Holt’s eight kills, the visiting Cougars came back with a vengeance in the second set, ending the Bears’ consecutive sets win streak at 16, one shy of the all-time record. WSU took charge at the net with 13 blocks in the first two sets.
Rallying from an 11-15 deficit, Baylor took the third set, 25-21, on a clinching kill by senior setter Morgan Reed.
Sophomore transfer Aniah Philo from Louisville struggled to get going, but she said her “teammates’ support really helped my mental game.”
“(Washington State) was a brick wall,” Philo said. “And because of that, you couldn’t just swing through the block. You’ve got to be smarter, find your holes and work around the block.”
Philo paid back her teammates’ support when she rattled off three service aces in the first five points of the fourth set. But the Cougars rallied from a five-point deficit and took the set, 25-22, to knot the match at two sets apiece.
With the match on the line, the 5-foot-8 Philo came up with three straight kills to give Baylor a 10-8 lead in the fifth set. And then Katie Stager and Jaelyn Jackson notched the next three to help the Bears close it out.
“For Katie to struggle and then get going; and for Aniah to struggle, though she played great defense all night, and then play this great set . . . it’s a testament to our character,” head coach Ryan McGuyre said. “This is a significant win because of that composure and how we fought.”
“It was good for our confidence,” said Philo, who overcame 10 hitting errors to collect eight kills and 18 digs to go with her three aces. “Washington State is a Pac-12 team, so this proves that we can win, that we’ve got potential.”
Staiger, who posted her second double-double of the weekend with 16 kills and 21 digs, earned her second tournament MVP honor of the season and was joined on the all-tournament team by Reed (best setter), Washington State’s Claire Martin and Holt and Charleston’s McKala Rhodes (best libero).
For the three-match tournament, Staiger finished with 45 kills and 32 digs.
“Morgan trusted her hitters, and you’ve got to trust first and then the wins will come,” McGuyre said of his senior setter. “It’s ahrd to go back to your hitters when they aren’t putting the ball away, but she did some great things withJaelyn Jackson in the fifth (set).”
Baylor, which has won its last six matches in a row, will look to extend that streak with a matchup against North Texas (6-8) at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Ferrell Center. The Bears
Baylor has won their last six matches and looks to continue the streak against North Texas (6-8) this Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center. The Bears open conference play next Saturday, hosting 25th-ranked Kansas State (11-2) at 2 p.m. Saturday.
“This is how we’re going to have to win all of our Big 12 matches,” McGuyre said. “This is how we’re going to play, this is how we’re going to fight. If our opponents don’t bring it, we’re going to be ready to jump all over them before they can catch in and then weather the storm like we did tonight in a way that’s consistent and gives us a chance to win.”
THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas — Baylor volleyball (10-4) earned two wins Saturday to win the 2016 Baylor Classic at the Ferrell Center. BU swept College of Charleston (7-5) and edged Washington State (10-2) to take home the tournament title.
With the tournament field sweep, Baylor is currently on a six-match win streak.
Baylor 3, Washington State 2 (25-23, 21-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-9)
Baylor earned a five-set win over Washington State on Saturday evening to cap off the tournament, 25-23, 21-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-9. It’s the first win in the McGuyre era over a team who has received votes in the AVCA Coaches’ Poll.
BU jumped out to a 6-1 lead behind the serving of freshman Tara Wulf, prompting an early Cougar timeout. The Bears held off a late WSU run, taking the opening frame 25-23.
Baylor got off to a strong start in the second set for a 7-4 lead, but WSU went on a series of runs to create separation in the middle of the set. The Bears could never recover, dropping set two, 25-21.
Set three was tightly contested, and Baylor was forced to burn a timeout after three straight hitting errors dropped the Bears behind, 15-11. BU clawed its way back into the frame with kills from redshirt junior Katie Staiger and sophomore Ashley Fritcher. A kill by senior Morgan Reed ended the third set for a 25-21 win and the 2-1 match advantage.
The Bears were outhit in the fourth frame .279-.068 and recorded eight kills and five errors as WSU ran away late to force a fifth set, 25-22.
BU took an early 6-3 lead in the fifth set, but the Cougars went on a 4-0 run to grab the lead at 7-6. After the changeover, sophomore Aniah Philoprovided a spark for the Bears with three straight kills, and the Bears held WSU to one point the rest of the way, clinching the match in the decisive fifth set, 15-9.
Baylor 3, College of Charleston 0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-17)
Baylor opened the second day of the Baylor Classic with a sweep over College of Charleston, 25-23, 25-21, 25-17.
BU could not create any separation early in set one, but the Bears used back-to-back kills by redshirt junior Katie Staiger to claim a 23-21 edge. BU sealed the net to take the first frame, 25-23.
A kill by junior Camryn Freiberg got the Bears out to a 7-3 lead that they never relinquished in set two. Staiger snapped a late Charleston run with a kill to end set two, 25-21.
The Bears fell behind early in set three, but an ace by junior Jana Brusektied up the set at 13-13 to bring BU back into the game. Baylor then went on a 4-0 run en route to a 25-17 third-set win for the sweep.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor wins its second straight Baylor Classic tournament title with a perfect 3-0 record this weekend. Washington State finished in 2nd (2-1), followed by the College of Charleston (1-2) and Virginia (0-3).
• Katie Staiger (MVP) and Morgan Reed (Best Setter) earned all-tournament honors for BU. WSU’s Claire Martin (Best Blocker) and Kyra Holt (WSU) and Charleston’s McKala Rhodes (Best Libero) rounded out the all-tournament team.
• Staiger posted two double-doubles this weekend, finishing with 45 kills and 32 digs in three matches, respectively.
• Baylor hit .345 for 11 kills and one error in the decisive fifth set vs. Washington State.
• Baylor’s current six-match winning streak dates back to Sept. 9 where BU swept Little Rock and Florida A&M on the road.
STAT OF THE DAY
90 – the amount of digs Baylor posted to win the Baylor Classic over Washington State.
WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor will host North Texas Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Ferrell Center. The match with the Mean Green will be the last nonconference home match for BU before starting Big 12 play.
Katie Staiger (16 kills, 1 ace, 21 digs)
Camryn Freiberg (12 kills, 1 dig, 4 blocks)
Ashley Fritcher (8 kills, 3 digs, 3 aces)
Aniah Philo (8 kills, 18 digs, 3 blocks)
Follow the Bears on Facebook, Twitter @BaylorVball and Instagram @baylorvolleyball
Courtesy of Washington State Athletics
WACO, Texas – It was night of great blocking and career-high numbers for members of the Washington State volleyball team (10-2) but the Cougars fell to Baylor (10-4) in a tightly-contested 3-2 loss Saturday at the Baylor Classic tournament at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.
The home-court Bears downed WSU, listed in the also receiving votes category in the last two consecutive AVCA Coaches Top 25 Polls, with set scores of 25-23, 21-25, 25-21, 22-25, and 15-9.
Senior Kyra Holt, named Best Attacker of the tournament, recorded her 40th double-double of her distinguished career with a match-high 19 kills and 17 digs. She added two service aces bringing her career total to 103, seventh-best in WSU all-time records. Claire Martin had 13 blocks, a career-high for the sophomore from Bremerton, Wash., and ties the WSU record for total blocks in a five-set match with Holly Harris who had 13 blocks against ASU in 2000. Martin was named the Best Blocker of the tournament. Taylor Mims and McKenna Woodfordboth had 13 kills, a career-high for Mims, and Casey Schoenlein had eight kills. WSU had 19.5 team blocks with Schoenlein contributing seven, Mims six, Hailey Bethune five, and Woodford four. Freshman Alexis Dirige had a career-high 24 digs. Setters Haley MacDonald and Nicole Rigoni combined for 48 assists and 24 digs.
Baylor’s Katie Staiger, named the tournament MVP, led the Bears with 16 kills and 21 digs while Camryn Freiberg had 12 kills and a team-high four blocks. Jana Brusek also had 21 digs and Aniah Philo added eight kills and 18 digs. Morgan Reed, named Best Setter at the tournament, had 46 assists.
WSU hit .127 for the match and Baylor hit .113. The Cougars out-hit the Bears with 58 kills to 55 kills. Baylor narrowly won the digs battle 90 to 88. Baylor had seven team blocks.
“Baylor played really well tonight and I definitely think it was not our best outing. Our hitters really struggled tonight and that credit goes to Baylor for playing some good defense and having a good block up on us,” WSU Head Coach Jen Greeny said. “We’re going to see that every night in the Pac-12 and we have to learn how to put the ball away in a different way. Unfortunately it is a short week with a fast turn-around and we’re going to have to watch some film and see what we can do to make ourselves better.”
Up Next: WSU opens Pac-12 Conference play next week, at No. 5 Washington Wednesday, Sept. 21, and at No. 11 UCLA Friday, Sept. 23.
Kyra Holt (19 kills, 2 aces, 17 digs, 2 aces)
Taylor Mims (13 kills, 1 ace, 3 digs, 6 blocks)
McKenna Woodford (13 kills, 5 digs, 4 blocks)
Track the Cougars on Facebook, @wsuvolleyball on Twitter and @washingtonstatevolleyball on Instagram
Baylor Bears Stomp Virginia in Three at Baylor Classic
MATCH STATS
- Baylor sweeps Virginia (25-20, 25-14, 25-14)
- Baylor (8-4), Virginia (3-7)
The Baylor Bears handedly defeated the Virginia Cavaliers in 3 sets (25-20, 25-14, 25-14) to open the Baylor Classic in the last tournament before conference play begins.
Deep in the heart of Texas, the Bears began the match struggling against Virginia’s defense, even with a 16-11 lead. Virginia bounced back to tie the score 19-19. Baylor’s timeout helped to refocus the team and had a 6-1 run and a kill by Camryn Freiberg ended the game.
Virginia barely had a chance for the rest of the match to snag a win. Baylor dominated the second set, and ended the match with a 9-2 run and four blocks.
Baylor again leapt ahead in the beginning with an 8-2 lead and closed out the Cavaliers, only allowing them 14 points in the final set.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of Baylor Athletics
WACO, Texas – Baylor volleyball (8-4) used one of its most dominant performances of the season to sweep the Virginia Cavaliers (3-7), 25-20, 25-14, 25-14, to open play in the Baylor Classic on Friday evening in the Ferrell Center.
In set one, the Bears faced the toughest test of the match, unable to put away the set after leading by as many as five at 16-11.
With the match tied at 19-19, BU came out of a timeout, rattling off a 6-1 run to close the set, finishing the frame with a kill by Camryn Freiberg.
In the second frame, the Bears came out of another choice timeout, closing out the set on a 9-2 run, with four Baylor blocks adding the exclamation point to the second set victory.
In the third set, BU jumped out to an early 8-2 lead and never let the Cavaliers get back into it, pulling away for another late run to close the match. Using a 6-1 run, the Bears closed out another 25-14 set win to take the third and final set.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Jaelyn Jackson led a 13.0 team blocking effort for the Bears, posting eight block assists and a solo.
• Ashley Fritcher hit a highly effective nine kills on 12 attacks with zero errors, good for a .750 attacking effort.
• BU outblocked UVA, 13.0-5.0.
STAT OF THE MATCH #1
-.010 – the hitting percentage for UVA, the first time Baylor held an opponent under .000 since stifling Houston for a -.030 output in 2009.
STAT OF THE MATCH #2
12 – consecutive sets won by Baylor, currently on a four-match win streak, all 3-0 sweeps.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Bears will close out play in the 2016 Baylor Classic with two matches on Saturday, vs. College of Charleston at 11:00 a.m. and closing with Washington State at 7:00 p.m.
Baylor Stats
Katie Staiger (13 kills, 1 ace, 7 digs, 2 blocks)
Ashley Fritcher (9 kills, 1 dig)
Camryn Freiberg (6 kills, 3 blocks)
Follow the Bears on Facebook, Twitter @BaylorVball and Instagram @baylorvolleyball
Courtesy of Virginia Athletics
WACO, Texas – The Virginia volleyball team (3-7) fell 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-14) to Baylor (8-4) on Friday night in the Baylor Classic at the Ferrell Center.
“I was really disappointed in our effort tonight,” head coach Dennis Hohenshelt said. “I thought we had a good week of practice and we had built on some things that we needed to be good at. Baylor threw the first punch and we backed away from them. This group needs to be in attack mode from the first serve and that is what I hope we can get back to.”
Virginia trailed 5-2 in the first set, but tied it up at 8-8. Baylor used a 6-1 run to go up 14-9 as the Cavaliers called timeout. UVA remained close and eventually tied the set at 19-19, but Baylor used a 5-1 run to close out the first set with a 25-20 win to lead 1-0. FreshmanKiley Banker (West Lafayette, Ind.) led the Cavaliers with three kills in the opening set.
After falling behind 3-0, Virginia used a 5-2 run to tie the second set at 5-5. The Cavaliers remained close until a 5-1 run put UVA down 15-9. A 3-0 run, that included kills by Banker and senior Haley Kole (Tallahassee, Fla.) along with a block for Banker and freshman Jennifer Wineholt (San Diego, Calif.), for UVA cut the lead to 16-14. Baylor countered with a run of its own and held on to take the second set 25-14.
Baylor jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the third set, but Kole put down two kills and combined with Banker for a block as UVA cut the lead to 8-6 to force a timeout by the Bears. Baylor slowly extended its lead once again and went on to take the third set 25-14 and clinched the match.
Kole and Banker led Virginia with six kills each. Baylor was led by Katie Staiger with 13 kills. Banker also added three blocks to lead the Cavaliers at the net. Senior Lexi Riccolo (Wheaton, Ill.) had a team-high 11 digs.
UVA was unable to find its rhythm offensively as Baylor recorded 13.0 blocks on the night, to five for the Cavaliers. Virginia hit -.010, while the Bears had a .298 hitting percentage.
Up Next: Virginia will return Saturday to play Washington State at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT and College of Charleston at 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT.
Cavalier Stats
Haley Kole (6 kills, 5 digs)
Kiley Banker (6 kills, 1 dig)
Alex Thorson (4 kills, 1 block)
Keep up with the Cavaliers on Facebook, @UVAVolleyball on Twitter and @uvavolleyball on Instagram
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