Baylor Looks to Navigate Schedule Back to NCAA Tourney (Full Schedule)

In 2016, Baylor had a breakout season that saw them in the second round of the NCAA Tournament behind the incredible play of Katie Staiger. With Staiger and a whole bunch of others back in the mix in 2017, Baylor will take on some top-tier opponents in the non-conference before further challenging themselves in the Big 12.

After an exhibition match against Rice, the true season tips off on August 25th against a 2016 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 team in Florida State. FSU finished the season ranked 13th in the AVCA final poll and lost in the regional semifinal round to eventual National Champion Stanford. That match kick-starts not just the season but also the opening Hampton Inn & Suites Waco Baylor Invitational where the Bears will also see Illinois State and UC Santa Barbara.

Baylor hits the road for the first time for a match on August 31st against Washington State. They’ll stick around in Pullman for two more matches before traveling even further to Honolulu, Hawaii for the Outrigger Resorts Volleyball Challenge the following week. That tournament features Nevada (19-11 in 2016), Hawaii (23-6 in 2016) and BYU (29-4 in 2016). Hawaii fell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year, while BYU lost in the Sweet 16.

Following the six straight road matches, Baylor has a stand alone with LSU before hosting the Baylor Classic. In total for the non-conference, the Bears face four teams who made the NCAA Tournament in 2016 – all of which won at least one game to advance to the round of 32.

In the Big 12 portion, Baylor will see five more teams who appeared in the 2016 NCAA Tournament for a total of 10 matches. They’ll face 2016 Big 12 champs Kansas on October 18th in Waco and in Lawrence on November 11th. Texas comes to town for senior day and the final regular season match on November 25th with Baylor visiting Austin on September 27th. The only other team who finished ahead of Baylor in the Big 12 standings last year was Iowa State, who they get in Ames on October 4th and in Waco on November 4th.

After a 20-win season in 2012, Baylor fell off to 12 wins the following season. Since that point, they’ve been steadily climbing back up the Big 12 standings, improving from 12 to 14 and to 17 victories until last year’s breakout 22-12 campaign. They finished 9-7 in the Big 12, which put them in a tie with Kansas State. They also defeated San Diego in the first round before falling to UCLA in three sets.

With the welcoming back of All-American Katie Staiger as well as 2016 All-Big 12 picks Jana Brusek and Camryn Freiberg, Baylor created a schedule with some top-end opponents. That should challenge them, but it also provides opportunity for some big wins as they look for their first ever back-to-back NCAA Tournament bids.

Full Schedule: