No. 6 Baylor VB Springs Back Into Action With 3-0 Sweep Over North Texas

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – February 26, 2021

No. 6 VB Springs Back Into Action With 3-0 Sweep Over North Texas
Strong backcourt defense leads Bears to first win in second half of 2020-21 season
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – No. 6 Baylor volleyball resumed its 2020-21 season with a sweep over North Texas Friday evening at the Ferrell Center, 25-16, 25-17, 25-13.

Strong backcourt defense fueled the Bears, with 53 total digs including a 16-dig effort by Shanel Bramschreiber. Emily Van Slate added 11 digs and BU also recorded seven blocks at the net, holding UNT to a -.019 attack percentage, the second-lowest by an opponent this year.

Baylor (14-3, 13-3 Big 12) benefitted from Yossiana Pressley’s 15 kills, Lauren Harrison’s nine, and Kara McGhee’s .429 efficiency night. The Mean Green (4-6, 1-3 C-USA) lost for the second time in their last three matches, while the Bears extended their winning streak to three.

In the opening set, BU got out to a quick start behind Pressley’s lively arm. The reigning national player of the year tallied kills at 5-3, 11-5 and 20-12 as part of her eight-kill first set. Harrison also put down four balls on five swings, while KJ Johnson went a perfect three-of-three to propel the Bears into set two.

It was much of the same in the second frame as Baylor created breathing room and took advantage of UNT’s miscues, as the Mean Green hit -.088 in the set. Preslie Anderson made her presence known at the net, compiling two of her three blocks on the evening. McGhee highlighted the offense, collecting five kills on six attempts to give the Bears a 2-0 match lead.

To close things out, Baylor saw its lead swell to 15-4 following a 7-0 run that included three BU kills and four UNT attack errors. Marieke van der Mark checked into the match and tallied three kills, while Harrison accounted for three of BU’s final five points to wrap up the victory.

To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor resumed its 2020-21 season with its 10th sweep of the year.
• BU held North Texas to just a -.019 attack percentage, the second-lowest output by an opponent this season (-.020, TCU on Oct. 3, 2020).
• The Bears tallied 17 kills in the first set on a combined .467 hitting percentage.
• Three Bears recorded at least seven kills: Yossiana Pressley (15), Lauren Harrison (9) and Kara McGhee (7).
• Pressley reached double figures for the 16th time this season.
• McGhee hit above .400 for the fifth time in 2020-21.
• Shanel Bramschreiber led the team with 16 digs, her 13th outing of the year with double-digit digs.
• Graduate transfer Preslie Anderson (California) made her Baylor debut with two kills and three blocks. It was her first action since November of 2019, as the Pac-12 did not compete during the fall of 2020.

STAT OF THE MATCH
-.019 – The Bears held UNT to a negative hitting percentage, marking the second time BU has done so this season.

TOP QUOTES
Head coach Ryan McGuyre

On the defense in tonight’s match…
“I thought the floor defense was very good. Emily [Van Slate], Callie [Williams], but Shanel [Bramschreiber] did a great job with Soup [Campbell Bowden] and Yossi [Pressley] contributing. I liked our floor defense and I liked our serving game, but like I said the backcourt defense was great. Anything they got past the block, we got up. Shanel to me is an All-American libero. She really picked her spots well and I love how quickly she’s making adjustments. She has great court ownership.”

On resuming play in February…
“We’re trying to get [make it feel like] mid-season, now we’re 14-3, but it felt like a good 1-0 start to a new season. We’re trying to do what is not easily done. I think it’s important, like Pepperdine coming in on Sunday, they’ve had eight matches. Some of those misconnections we had tonight, I feel fine and confident that we will get those dialed in, but there’s a little bit more sense of urgency where those hiccups can’t happen against good teams like Pepperdine or Texas next week. We are going to look a lot better in a month, but right now we’re playing those teams that have had a head start.”

WHAT'S NEXT
No. 6 Baylor (14-3, 13-3) takes on Pepperdine (7-1, 7-1) Sunday evening at the Ferrell Center. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.


-BaylorBears.com-


__________________________________

Max Calderone | Associate Director of Athletics Communications (VB, MTEN, EQ)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
O: 254-710-3073 | C: 254-265-1639

[signature_1063974222]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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