Big 12 Rewind: A Look at the League Heading into Conference Play

Overall, the Big 12 has challenged itself against the nation’s best in the non-conference slate, which makes its collective 70-32 (.686) pre-conference mark deceiving.

Top league contenders in Texas and Baylor have each taken 3 losses on the season thus far.

Kansas State, which saw its biggest nonconference matchup at Minnesota cancelled for player safety reasons, brings a league-leading 10-1 mark into conference action, while Texas Tech has notched a league-best 11 victories.

A trio of teams is ranked in VolleyMob’s most recent power rankings release, led by 6th-ranked Texas. Baylor checks in at 12th, followed by Kansas State at 23rd. Iowa State, which has been in and out of the rankings week to week, is currently receiving votes.

VolleyMob projected Texas, which has won 6 conference titles in the last 7 years, to win the Big 12 followed by Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas and TCU. A vote of league coaches produced a similar result with No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Baylor, No. 3 Iowa State, No. 4 Kansas and No. 5 Kansas State.

Standings

VolleyMob Rankings

• #6 Texas
• #12 Baylor
• #23 Kansas State
• RV Iowa State

Week 1 Schedule

Baylor: Despite earning a signature win against Wisconsin, the Lady Bears are searching for consistency in the Big 12 slate.

• Baylor owns an 8-3 non-conference mark, heading into the Big 12 season. The Lady Bears fell to nationally-ranked UCLA and San Diego, then dropped an uncharacteristic 5-setter to UTRGV.
• The Lady Bears made history when they knocked off then-ranked 2nd Wisconsin in 4 sets, earning its highest ranked win in program history.
• Key Players:
  • Yossiana Pressley has been dominant for the Lady Bears, averaging an outstanding 5.09 kills per set and hitting .262 on the season.
  • Shelly Fanning, who averages 3.18 kills per set and owns a .404 attack percentage, is also a consistent offensive threat.

Iowa State: The Cyclones have been in and out of the rankings in andup and down non-conference season and are not at full strength entering the Big 12 slate.

• Against a strong non-conference schedule, the Cyclones have put up a 7-6 record. Against ranked foes, Iowa State is 1-3 with a win over UNI (3-0) and losses to Utah (3-0, Creighton (3-1), Nebraska (3-0).
• Iowa State has been playing without sophomore middle blockers Meegan Hart and Avery Rhodes, who are out due to injury.
• Key Players:
  • Jess Schaben averages 3.52 kills, 2.85 digs and 0.52 blocks per set for the Cyclones.
  • Grace Lazard owns a .330 hitting percentage, while averaging 2.56 kills and 1.19 blocks per set.

Kansas: The Jayhawks look to build upon last year’s 3rd place result in the Big 12 and have a shot at doing so with 4 starters returning plus their libero.

• Kansas brings a 6-4 mark into the Big 12 schedule, notching back-to-back wins against UNC-Greensboro most recently.
• The Jayhawks fell in their lone ranked matchup of the non-conference slate to Kentucky in 5 sets.
• Key Players:
  • Ashley Smith (2.71), Jada Burse (2.54) and Zoe Hill (2.15) average more than 2 kills per set through 10 matches.
  • Hill leads Kansas’ balanced offense with a .322 attack percentage.

Kansas State: The Wildcats bring the league’s best record into conference action at 10-1.

• Kansas State put together a strong slate to challenge itself early, but through no fault of its own only got to face 2 of the 4 nationally ranked foes. A hurricane cancelled the Wildcats’ match with UCLA and high temperatures in Muturi Pavilion caused a cancellation of their match at Minnesota.
• The Wildcats’ lone loss came to Marquette in straight sets.
• Key Players:
  • Kylee Zumach averages a team-high 4.22 kills per set and second-best 2.97 digs per set through 11 matches. She is also strong on the blocking front, averaging 0.75 stuffs per set, and hitting .317 on the season.
  • Sarah Dixon runs the offense, which is hitting .277 collectively, efficiently. She averages 11.86 assists per set.

Oklahoma: The Sooners are off to a strong start under 1st-year head coach Lindsey Gray-Walton with an 8-4 mark and are looking to make a splash in conference play.

• Oklahoma, which went 3-9 in the league last year, is currently 8-4 and on a 3-match win streak heading into Big 12 play.
• The Sooners, who have 10 underclassmen on the roster, have met 2 ranked opponents in Colorado (L, 3-0) and Pittsburgh (L, 3-1).
• Key Players:
  • Alyssa Enneking leads the Sooners with 4.33 kills per set and 2.70 digs per set averages.
  • Paige Anderson is hitting .294 on the season with 69 kills and averages 1.29 blocks per set.

TCU: The Horned Frogs used a 4-match win streak to get back on track this season and head into the Big 12 slate with an 8-3 mark and some positive momentum.

• TCU has face just one ranked opponent in its pre-conference schedule, falling to Colorado State in 4 sets.
• The Horned Frogs also saw losses against Florida State (3-0) and Cincinnati (3-2)
• Key Players:
  • elan McCall has been impressive in her collegiate debut, collecting 3-straight Big 12 Freshman of the Week accolades. She leads the Horned Frogs offensively, averaging 5.05 kills per set and a .273 attack percentage.
  • Anna Walsh owns a .348 attack percentage and averages 3.13 kills per set as well.

Texas: 5-3 is definitely deceiving when it comes to the Longhorns, as 6 of their 8 matches have been against ranked opponents.

• Preseason favorite Texas opened the season with an exclamation point, going undefeated at the VERT Challenge with wins over Oregon (3-1) and Florida (3-2). Since then, the Longhorns have gone 1-3 against ranked foes, falling to Wisconsin (3-1) once and Stanford twice (3-0, 3-1).
• The Longhorns did however knock off Kentucky (3-1) and Texas State (3-0) to win the American Campus Classic title.
• Key Players:
  • Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Micaya White has been leading the Longhorns all season long, averaging 3.47 kills and 2.53 digs per set and hitting .276 against a strong schedule.
  • Brionne Butler is hitting at a .451 clip, averaging 2.33 kills per set and 1.13 blocks per set.

Texas Tech: 2nd-year head coach Tony Graystone has his squad on the rise again this season. He has the Lady Raiders sitting at 11-3 heading into the Big 12 schedule.

• Texas Tech registered its first winning season since the early 2000s a year ago at 19-15 and finished as runner-up in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship. It was the most wins in a season for the program since 2000.
• The Lady Raiders started last season at 11-2 and are off to a similar 11-3 mark in 2018.
• Key Players:
  • Emily Hill is averaging 3.27 kills per set and 2.65 digs per set to lead the Lady Raiders. She owns a .227 attack percentage on the season.
  • Allison White is hitting at an impressive .443 clip with 100 kills on the season (2.17 per set).

West Virginia: After being chosen to finish last in the preseason, West Virginia will attempt to prove the doubters wrong in 2018.

• The Mountaineers have a youthful squad this season with a roster comprised of 4 juniors, 6 sophomores and 8 freshman.
• West Virginia has been up and down so far this season, compiling a 7-5 non-conference mark. The Mountaineers cut their teeth against 2 ranked opponents, including BYU (L, 3-0) and Stanford (L, 3-0).
• Key Players:
  • Katie DeMeo is hitting .326 on the season and averaging 2.11 kills and 1.61 blocks per set.
  • Katelyn Evans averages 2.50 kills per set and 1.70 digs per set.

Statistically Speaking

Individual Stats

Kills

Attack Percentage

Assists

Digs

Blocks

Service Aces