Pressley’s 28 Kills Not Enough as No. 6 Baylor VB Falls to No. 2 Texas

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – March 26, 2021

Pressley’s 28 Kills Not Enough as No. 6 VB Falls to No. 2 Texas
Four of Baylor’s five losses this season have come to the Longhorns
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – Despite a 28-kill performance from senior Yossiana Pressley and a .367 efficiency from sophomore Lauren Harrison, No. 6 Baylor volleyball came up short on its home court to No. 2 Texas Friday night, 3-1, at the Ferrell Center in Waco.

The Bears (18-5) and Longhorns (21-1) needed extra points to settle two of the four sets, but BU ultimately fell 18-25, 31-29, 28-30, 19-25. Four of Baylor’s five losses this season have come at the hands of the Longhorns.

UT grabbed an early lead after the first set in which it held Baylor’s offense to a meager .033 hitting clip. Pressley put down six kills on 10 swings and one error, but the rest of the squad combined for eight errors, allowing Texas the advantage. The Longhorns recorded six blocks in the opener as BU struggled to find some rhythm.

However, the Bears flipped the switch in the second behind a monster frame by Pressley. The reigning national player of the year put down 10 kills on 18 swings, while Harrison chipped in with five putaways. The Longhorns wouldn’t go quietly, rallying back from a 23-19 deficit to knot the score at 23-23. The two sides traded points up until 29-29 when a UT attack error followed a Pressley kill to give the Bears set two and even the match at 1-1.

In the third, the two sides were neck-and-neck, battling deep into extra points once again. BU’s defense outblocked UT’s 5-4 in the frame and it became a matter of which side would flinch first. Neither team led by more than two points the entire set. Baylor appeared to be headed for set point at 25-24, but an overruled challenge resulted in a Texas kill and swung the momentum. The Longhorns went on to steal a 30-28 set and take a 2-1 lead into the fourth frame.

Harrison led the charge to start the fourth, putting down a trio of kills to give BU a 6-4 lead. But, Pressley and the Bears’ offense began to struggle, allowing UT to come back and snag a 12-9 advantage. A ball handling error at 17-13 and another attack error at 21-15 allowed the Longhorns to extend their lead and ultimately clinch the match, 25-19.

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

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor fell to 18-5 on the year, including an 0-4 mark against Texas.
• BU is now 4-4 against ranked opponents in 2020-21.
• Baylor and Texas needed extra points to decide two of tonight’s four sets. Of the 18 sets played between the Bears and Longhorns this season, five have gone past 25.
• Tonight’s 31-29 second set is Baylor’s longest set since dropping a 32-30 opening set at West Virginia on Nov. 26, 2019.
• Yossiana Pressley collected 28 kills, her seventh outing of the season and 32nd of her career above 20.
• Lauren Harrison registered double-digit kills for the sixth-consecutive match and 15th time this year.
• Hannah Sedwick dished out a season-high 46 assists.
• Shanel Bramschreiber collected 14 digs, eclipsing the double-digit mark for the 19th time this season.

STAT OF THE MATCH
28 – Yossiana Pressley racked up 28 kills, her seventh 20-kill outing of the season and 32nd of her career.

TOP QUOTES
Head coach Ryan McGuyre
On playing tough matches like this…
“These types of matches are good because these are the ones you’ve got to win in order to move on in the [NCAA] tournament. You know, you’d like to have the 3-0 sweeps and you’d like to keep winning quick and easy, but as you go into the tournament you’re going to have two or three matches like this, most likely. It’s good for us and Texas to go after it, but we’ve just got to do some things a little better on our side of the net.”

Senior Yossiana Pressley
On what the team can learn from playing tight matches down the stretch…
“It’s given us an opportunity to just see what we need to work on. I’m happy that we’re getting these tough matches out now. We know exactly what we need to work on and incorporate into our next practices before we go into the [NCAA] tournament.”

WHAT'S NEXT
No. 6 Baylor (18-5) welcomes Kansas State (12-7) to Waco for a midweek matinee on Wednesday, March 31 at 2 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_298239288]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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