Baylor Volleyball Rolls Past West Virginia in Ninth-Straight Home Win

Baylor volleyball (15-4, 5-1 Big 12) dominated the serving game as the Bears recorded a season-high nine aces in a sweep of West Virginia (13-6, 1-4) Saturday at the Ferrell Center, 25-20, 25-18, 25-12.

Baylor swept West Virginia for the second-straight meeting and are now 5-0 against the Mountaineers under head coach Ryan McGuyre. The Bears have only dropped one set in the last five meetings to WVU.

Redshirt sophomore Shelly Fanning’s six kills pushed her past 500 career kills in the match, capturing the 500-mark in the second set. She led at the net with seven blocks and allowed Baylor to outblock the Mountaineers, 9.0-8.0.

Aniah Philo and Yossiana Pressley led all players with nine kills each, each of them hitting above .250 in the sweep. Senior Jana Brusek led all players with 14 digs in the back row, and freshman Hannah Lockin recorded 32 assists in the match.

Baylor and West Virginia traded point after point to open the match, and BU was forced to call an early timeout after a WVU service ace to trail 14-12. A Lockin and Fanning block fueled a 5-1 run and put Baylor in front for good, winning the opening frame 25-20.

BU and West Virginia opened the second set with a 2-2 tie, but Baylor would pull in front after holding the Mountaineers to a -.138 hitting effort on six kills and 10 attack errors. Pressley’s four kills in the set helped BU gain the 2-0 advantage, 25-18.

The Bears compiled an 8-5 lead after three consecutive kills from Philo, prompting a West Virginia timeout. BU ended the match on a 7-2 run as Fanning tapped down the final point, 25-12.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Shelly Fanning recorded her 500th career kill at Baylor, finishing with six kills to bring her career total to 503.

• Baylor had nine service aces in the match, good for a new season high.

• The Bears held West Virginia to a -.011 hitting effort in three sets, .263 worse than the Mountaineer’s season average (.252). It was BU’s seven opponent hitting under .100 against the Bears this season.

• Aniah Philo and Yossiana Pressley led all players with nine kills each.

• Baylor leads the all-time series, 11-3, and is 5-0 against WVU under McGuyre.

• The Bears have now won nine-straight home matches, matching last year’s home win streak.

• BU’s 15-4 start through 19 matches is the best season mark since 2009. The 2009 squad was 17-2 through the first 19 matches.

STAT OF THE MATCH

503 – the career kill total by redshirt sophomore Shelly Fanning in 72 career matches.

TOP QUOTE

“We’re committed to being one degree better with (Hannah Lockin) who just played so good at Iowa State and again tonight. We’re siding out at a very high level. It reminds me of the old days when I was coaching guys. As long as we’re up, we’re going to win because we can just keep siding out. Yossi (Pressley) is getting better and better, and Hannah’s getting better and better. Then we have such great maturity in our seniors, and Camryn (Freiberg) is really is doing little things that aren’t showing up on the papers. She’s handling overpasses well, winning jousts...Her commitment to being better is important. Katie (Staiger) is doing some great things for us blocking. Another slow night for her offensively, but she’s still committed. It’s fun. Our girls are committed to getting better. We learn a lot from (the Texas match), but we want to come out of each match learning the same. I think that’s what the difference has been. It was a good sweep at TCU, a good sweep at Iowa State, but we’ve got to find a way to learn from it and not just pat ourselves on the back.” -head coach Ryan McGuyre

WHAT’S NEXT

The Bears receive a midweek bye before traveling to Manhattan, Kan. to face Kansas State Saturday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. CT.