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<a name="_Hlk490052374"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS –
</span></b></a><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">February 28, 2021<br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">No. 6 VB Outlasts Pepperdine in Five Sets<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Bears prevail behind 14 total blocks, overcome back-and-forth match<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">For more information contact:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"> Max Calderone, 254-265-1639,
</span><a href="mailto:Max_Calderone@Baylor.edu"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Max_Calderone@Baylor.edu</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">
</span><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><br>
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</span><strong><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">THE RUNDOWN</span></strong><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><br>
<strong><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">WACO, Texas –</span></strong></span></b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"> No. 6 Baylor volleyball outlasted Pepperdine Sunday evening at the Ferrell
Center, winning in five sets 25-22, 19-25, 25-16, 23-25, 15-6.<br>
<br>
Fourteen total blocks lifted BU in what was a back-and-forth affair. Yossiana Pressley led all players with 17 kills, while Lauren Harrison totaled 15 and Marieke van der Mark tallied 11. Preslie Anderson led the Bears with nine blocks, with Pressley and Emily
Van Slate leading the team with 14 digs each.<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Baylor (15-3, 13-3 Big 12) improved to 3-3 this season in five-set matches, handing Pepperdine (7-2, 7-1 WCC) its second loss in as many matches.
BU now holds a four-match win streak.<br>
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The Bears got out to a hot start behind a combined 12 kills from Pressley, Harrison and van der Mark in the first set. Baylor led the frame from wire-to-wire and pulled away with a van der Mark smash at 22-20.
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However, in the second set BU’s offense fell flat, hitting -.074 and allowing Pepperdine to even the match. The Waves took advantage of Baylor’s miscues and held the Bears to just seven kills in the set.<br>
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BU responded strong with a dominant third set, hitting a whopping .609 as a team with just two errors. Harrison came up clutch with kills at 10-6, 11-7, 15-10, and two in a row to end the set. Pressley added another four and the defense collected four rejections
to retake a 2-1 match lead.<br>
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After an energetic 6-4 start to the fourth that included impressive digs and an assist from Kara McGhee, Pepperdine hung around and clawed back. A seven-point run saw the Waves take a 21-11 lead. BU fought with a few short runs of their own, coming back at
22-15, 23-18 and 24-23, but ultimately dropped the frame and sent the match to a decisive fifth.<br>
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Baylor’s experience and grit showed up in the fifth, sparked by a setter switch as Callie Williams entered off the bench. The Bears rallied behind a Pressley kill at 4-3 that started a four-point run. After an attack error, Pepperdine called a timeout trailing
9-4, but it would be too late as the Bears continued their run to swell the lead to 13-4 and saw out the victory.<br>
</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><br>
<span style="background:white">To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.</span><br>
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<strong><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;background:white">HIGHLIGHTS</span></strong><span style="background:white"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">• Baylor improved to 3-3 in five-set matches in 2020-21.<br>
• BU held its opponent below a .165 hitting percentage for the 13<sup>th</sup> time this season.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">• Baylor is 99-3 in the Ryan McGuyre era when its opponent hits below .200.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">• BU reached double-digits in blocks as a team for the eighth time this season with 14.<br>
• The Bears hit .609 as a team in the third set, recording 16 kills on 23 swings with just two errors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">• Yossiana Pressley recorded her fourth double-double of the season and 24<sup>th</sup> of her career.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">• Three Bears tallied double-digit kills in Pressley (17), Lauren Harrison (15) and Marieke van der Mark (11).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">• Pressley reached double figures for the 17<sup>th</sup> time this season, while Harrison did so for the 10<sup>th</sup> time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">• Three Bears collected at least five blocks in Preslie Anderson (9), Kara McGhee (5) and van der Mark (5).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">• Pressley and Emily Van Slate, who tied her career-high, tied for the team-lead with 14 digs each, while Shanel Bramschreiber added 12.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">• Hannah Sedwick and Callie Williams each reached double-digit assists, with 23 and 12, respectively.
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</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><br>
<strong><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;background:white">STAT OF THE MATCH</span></strong><br>
<span style="background:white">14 – The number of blocks Baylor recorded in the win over Pepperdine.</span><br>
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<strong><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;background:white">TOP QUOTES</span></strong></span><em><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;font-style:normal"><o:p></o:p></span></em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-style:normal">Senior transfer Preslie Anderson<o:p></o:p></span></b></em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">On being a leader in just her second match with the Bears…<br>
</span></i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">“My whole thing is, I’m for the team. Like, this is a team sport, and any energy I can give for the sideliners or for the people on the court, that’s what I’m going to do.
Because I consider that a big part of my job as a middle and what I consider to be a leader, or I’m trying to be, obviously, as I learn a new system.”</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="Body"><i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><br>
On the team’s blocking performance…<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">“Defensive intensity can really change the game. And I think blocks are not only huge momentum swings or momentum killers, but it’s also something that you should
really pride yourself in. it’s definitely the hardest skill in volleyball, and when we can get that many blocks against a really good team, it says a lot about the way that we train and the way that we practice. It goes back to just having that well-developed
system. But again, it’s something you should definitely pride yourself on and never act like it’s just nothing, because it’s a huge thing.”</span><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><br>
</span></i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><br>
<strong><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;background:white">WHAT'S NEXT</span></strong><br>
<span style="background:white">No. 6 Baylor (15-3, 13-3) travels south to Austin for another matchup at undefeated No. 2 Texas (16-0, 14-0) on Wednesday, March 3 at 7 p.m. CT. The match will be broadcast on Longhorn Network.<br>
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</span></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">-BaylorBears.com-</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"-webkit-standard",serif;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:black">__________________________________</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:6.5pt;color:black"> </span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:#154734">Max Calderone</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black"> | Associate Director of Athletics Communications (VB, MTEN, EQ)</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">Department of Athletics | Baylor University</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">O: 254-710-3073 | C: 254-265-1639</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;color:black"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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