Baylor Stuns No. 14 San Diego in 5 Sets in NCAA First Round

Match stats

• Baylor defeated No. 14 San Diego 3-2 (16-25, 25-18, 17-25, 25-20, 15-13)
• Baylor will play UCLA in the NCAA Second Round on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET
• Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California

After reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years, the Baylor Bears will look to advance to the Sweet Sixteen after defeating San Diego (24-6) on Friday.

Baylor will take on No. 10 UCLA (25-6), which defeated Murray State, on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET in Pauley Pavilion.

Baylor (22-11) took the edge in a back-and-forth five-set thriller to record its first postseason win since 2009. UCLA jumped out to win the first set, but Baylor answered to win the second. San Diego hit back to take the third, and again Baylor answered. The fifth set was clinched by a block from Camryn Freiberg and Ashley Fritcher, and sealed with a San Diego attack error.

The always impressive Katie Staiger led with 20 kills. Aniah Philo added 13 digs and 14 kills for a double-double, and Morgan Reed was all over the place, finishing with six kills, 34 assists, and 12 digs.

On the other side of the net, Lisa Kramer led San Diego with 21 kills, Hunter Jennings had 22 digs, and Addie Picha added 11 blocks.

“San Diego’s a good team, and they run a really fast offense,” Staiger said, according to a Baylor press release. “It was back and forth just because we’d put a ball away and then they’d put a ball away. But when you’re at the tournament, everyone’s good. That’s what you kind of expect. But it was definitely hard to get into a flow because they were doing some good things.”

Baylor takes the five-set thriller over No. 14 San Diego, punching the Bears' ticket to the second round. #SicEm pic.twitter.com/Nn5O01fio8

— Baylor Volleyball (@BaylorVBall) December 3, 2016

Press releases

Courtesy of Baylor Athletics

LOS ANGELES, California — Baylor volleyball (22-11) clawed a five-set win over No. 14 San Diego (24-6), 16-25, 25-18, 17-25, 25-20, 15-13, on Friday evening in Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus, opening the team’s run in the NCAA Volleyball tournament.

BU picked up the program’s first postseason win since the 2009 season, with BU clinching a berth into the Regional round of 16 with a win over then-No. 9 and hosting UCLA.

The Bears were paced on offense by Katie Staiger (20 kills) and Aniah Philo(14 kills, 13 digs), with Morgan Reed matching her season-high kills mark with six, adding 34 assists and 12 digs.

Defensively, the Bears outblocked the Tereros, 15-14, including a 12-7 margin in the three decisive sets won by BU.

The Bears fell down early in the first set, hitting just .500 to USD’s .121.

BU answered in a big way in set two, completely smothering the USD offense to just a -.022 hitting mark.

USD had another big frame in the third, hitting .400 to BU’s .114.

Facing elimination in the fourth set, the Bears came up clutch once again, hitting .400 to force a fifth set.

In the final set, took the early momentum, but had its lead cut back to a tie at 8-8 and again at 13-13. A huge block from Camryn Freiberg and Ashley Fritcher, followed by an attack error by USD clinched the five-set win for the Bears.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Katie Staiger finished with a team-high 20 kills, six digs, and three blocks.
• Aniah Philo notched a double-double, adding 14 kills and 13 digs, with three assists and three blocks.
• Morgan Reed led both sides with 34 assists, digging 12 balls for the double-double and matching her season-high in kills with six.
• Camryn Freiberg (10 blocks) became the first BU player to log double-digit blocks since Adrien Richburg at Texas Tech on Nov. 4, 2015.

STAT OF THE DAY #1
14 – the ranking for San Diego, the first top-15 win for the Bears since defeating No. 9 UCLA in the 2009 NCAA Tournament, and the first time the Bears have won two matches over top-25 opponents since 2012.

STAT OF THE DAY #2
7 – the number of years since BU and UCLA have faced off in volleyball, with Baylor defeating the Bruins in the 2009 NCAA Tournament to advance to the Sweet 16 Regional round.

TOP QUOTE #1
“Great, fun win for us tonight. The girls battled and San Diego’s an awesome team, awesome program. This is who we’ve been as a team all year, fighting until the end. Morgan Reed had her best match tonight. Just so proud of her willing us to the victory. Looking at all the players we have, she’s the senior that’s always on the court. She made play after play after play and wasn’t rattled. So proud of her to play like a senior. Aniah was doing some great things offensively and we’re excited to go on to the next round.” -head coach Ryan McGuyre

TOP QUOTE #2
“It was definitely very back and forth. San Diego’s a good team and they run a really fast offense. It was back and forth just because we’d put a ball away and then they’d put a ball away. But when you’re at the tournament, everyone’s good. That’s what you kind of expect. But it was definitely hard to get into a flow because they were doing some good things.” – redshirt junior Katie Staiger

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor advances to the second round of the NCAA Volleyball Championship, facing the host school and 10-seed UCLA Bruins, who took a four-set win over Murray State following Baylor’s match.

Courtesy of San Diego Athletics

LOS ANGELES, California — The 14th-ranked University of San Diego women’s volleyball team was upset by Baylor University Friday evening, 3-2, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament inside of Pauley Pavilion.

With the 25-16, 18-25, 25-17, 20-25, 13-15 loss, the Toreros finish the season with an overall record of 24-6. With the win, the Bears improve to 22-11, and will advance on to play the winner of the UCLA and Murray State match in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday evening at 7 p.m.

Lisa Kramer led all players with 21 kills, while Jayden Kennedy added in 11 more kills, and Lauren Schad had 11 kills. Hunter Jennings recorded a match-best 22 digs, and Kristen Gengenbacher had 29 assists, while Anna Newsome added din 24 assists.

As a team, USD hit for a .184 clip, while Baylor hit .181. USD recorded 64 kills, to Baylor’s 50 kills and USD out dug the Bears 67-51. Baylor managed to out block the Toreros 15-14.

For Baylor, Katie Staiger led the way, as she recorded 20 kills, and hit for a .145 clip. Aniah Philo led the defense with 13 digs, while Morgan Reed recorded 34 assists.

In the first set, Baylor grabbed the first three points, however a Lauren Fuller kill sparked a 10-2 Torero run, to give USD the momentum and a 10-5 lead, forcing the Bears into a timeout. Out of the break, a Baylor attack error sparked a 9-3 USD run, giving San Diego an 18-9 lead, forcing the Bears to burn their final timeout. USD never looked back, as they cruised their way to a 25-16 win.

In the second set, it was a back and forth battle right out of the gates. Then with the match tied at 7-all, the Bears used a 4-0 run to take the momentum, and an 11-7 lead, forcing the Toreros into a timeout. The Bears grabbed the next point, only to see USD use a 4-0 run, sparked on a Jayden Kennedy kill, and capped on a BU attack error, to pull back to within one, forcing the Bears into a timeout with the score at 12-11. But this is as close as the Toreros would get, as Baylor outscored USD 13-5 down the stretch to even the match up at one set a piece with a 25-18 win.

In the third set, it was once again a back and forth battle, with USD able to grab the early lead, and not surrender it, as they lead by 1-3 points for the first half of the frame. Then after a media timeout, USD grabbed back-to-back points to take a commanding 17-10 lead, forcing the Bears into a timeout. Baylor never recovered, as USD eased its way to a 25-17 win, to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

In the fourth set, it was the closest set of the match, as both teams took their turn with the lead, and neither team led by more than two majority of the frame. Then with the set tied at 18-all, the Bears used a 4-0 run to grab some momentum, and force San Diego into its final timeout. The Bears then went on to even the match up and force a fifth and deciding set with a 25-20 win.

In the fifth set, it was once again back and forth, with each team taking their turn with the lead, and neither team leading by more than two in the first half of the frame. Then with the set all even at 8-8, the Bears would go on a 5-1 run to take a 13-9 lead. USD didn’t fade away, as they rallied and scored four straight points to tie things up at 13-all. Baylor then called timeout, and managed to score the final two points to complete the stunning victory.