No. 17 Baylor Volleyball Rolls to First-Round Win over SFA

[Ingram, Brent]

BAYLOR ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS – Dec. 1, 2022

No. 17 Baylor VB Rolls to First-Round Win over SFA
Elise McGhee hits .455, collects 13 kills

VIDEO: Post-Match Press Conferences<https://baylor.box.com/s/2gznb2yl7zxfqthviqiggxozpled896g>

For more information contact: Brent Ingram; 210-845-8651, brent_ingram at baylor.edu<mailto:brent_ingram at baylor.edu>


WACO, Texas -- Sophomore Elise McGhee hit .455 and totaled 13 kills and freshman Averi Carlson had 7 assists and 13 digs, leading No. 17 Baylor to a NCAA Tournament First-Round win (25-13, 25-18, 25-15) over Stephen F. Austin, on Thursday night at the Ferrell Center.



Baylor (24-6) advanced to the second round to face No. 20 Rice (27-3), the champions of Conference USA, on Friday night at 7 p.m. in a match broadcast live on ESPN+. The Bears will face the Owls in a re-match of a Baylor win in Houston on Oct. 12, a three-set sweep. Rice advanced to the second round by virtue of a four-set win over Colorado in the first round on Thursday.



The Bears hit .376 in the win, including .500 in the third set, and used a strong outing from Elise McGhee, who led the way with a match-best 13 kills and a .455 hitting percentage. Her sister, senior Kara McGhee added seven kills and hit .417 with four blocks.



Freshman Allie Sczech had seven kills on 15 attacks, adding seven blocks, while Lauren Harrison chipped in seven kills, four digs and two blocks.



Carlson, the Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year, totaled 37 assists and 13 digs in her seventh double-double of the year. Mallory Talbert finished with six kills, six blocks and three digs.



SFA (26-5) saw a five-match winning streak snapped that had spurred the Lumberjacks to the NCAA Tournament after claiming the Western Athletic Conference Tournament. SFA was led by Ariana Paga, who had eight kills and nine digs.



Post-Match Quotes



Stephen F. Austin Head Coach Debbie Humphreys

Opening Statement…

“What an amazing journey that we have been on this season. It was a lot of fun, but it certainly did not end the way we would have liked it to. This was a really special group that accomplished a lot. I think it is important to focus on all the positive things that we did accomplish. We have to put ourselves in this position enough that we are not overwhelmed, and it just becomes what we do. We’ve won a first-round one time. We get ourselves here enough, we’re going to start winning more matches in the NCAA Tournament.



On Baylor’s block…

“There was a pretty good size factor on the other side of the net. They are not just big, but they are very athletic and very good volleyball players as well. They did a really nice job. We knew that this was going to be a challenge. We have worked in our gym as much as we could, trying to simulate a big block this past week and over the course of the entire season. Until you have that all across the front row, that’s not something we can simulate in our own gym. That first set, I’m sure you saw, we were still trying to figure out how high we had to swing. Second set, I thought we settled down and did a better job.



On taking that next step…

“When we moved to the WAC a couple years ago, we knew that we were going to have to make some adjustments. Certainly, some of that starts with getting kids that are playing the game a little higher above the net at more positions. We are working through that in recruiting. It’s really important to us, it’s not just about getting a bunch of kids who can touch over 10-foot. We have kids who can touch over 10-foot in our gym. You have to have the right people. Right now, we have the right people in our gym. It’s important to find the right people who can also touch over 10-foot. That’s going to be the key because what has allowed us to be successful over the long-haul is the team chemistry piece and how much we rely on each other. We do not rely on just one kid to go get a bunch of kills; we have a very balanced offense for the most part. We do not want to go away from what we are – good passers, scrappy defenders, frustrating teams that way. Tonight, the size factor just won out, we did not have an answer for that.”



Stephen F. Austin Middle Blocker Ielan Bradley

On Baylor’s block…

“It’s mostly just trying to see where I am in relation to the ball and the block in front of me, so seeing what seams I have and just trying to swing high and if I am swinging it’s not going to come right back in front of me.”



Stephen F. Austin Outside Hitter Ariana Pagan

On this year’s team…

“Yes, super, super proud. I love these girls. The team chemistry was amazing all year long. That’s what we need to get into the long run and get into the NCAA Tournament and win the championship. I think that was huge because this is not an individual sport, it has to be a team sport. We have to play for each other and that’s why we got the season-long outcome, just not today. We are super grateful to be here and it’s up from here. We set the standard so now we are going to want more and next year we are going to come back stronger.”



On defending against Baylor’s service…

“I knew they were going to be flatter just with more pace. I was trying to stay focused on getting my feet to the ball and staying low. It’s definitely tougher than our conference but I try to do the best that I can and help my teammates too.”



Baylor Head Coach Ryan McGuyre

Opening Statement…

“Congratulations to Steven F. Austin for a great season. I am always so impressed with what Debbie [Humphreys] has done with her program. We play each other often because we are in these regionals and their teams play hard and always have great seasons. It feels harder and harder to have extended success, as they seem to be good every year. I know they’re disappointed in the season being over, but they’re a good team and I’m sure down the road we’ll keep seeing them again. Really thought our blocking set the tone for us tonight, practice-wise we focused on their back-side hitters 16 and 19. We feel a lot of their offense goes through them. Both of them hit negative so I thought we had some early stops and blocks there. Then it goes through their outsides with some pretty live arms. They are really deceptive so we had to work on it but I thought Allie Sczeck set the tone. It’s hard to not get tooled when hitters are looking one way and hitting the other way. Not since Kara McGhee as a freshman have I had a freshman blocker as strong as she’s been for us all season. That I thought put us in control on the defense and then it was just a matter of how well we transitioned. I thought we served and received well and we did a good job moving the ball around so we were able to have a lot of fun. I thought we were good in all phases of the bench today.”



On looking forward to Rice…

[There’s] not a comfort level, if anything it makes it more of a battle. We had to play really well to play them at their place, and they don’t have many losses on the season and we’re one of them. I’d imagine if we were in their shoes that they would want to get back and rewrite the script, so we have to make sure we are just as prepared as the first time, if not more. They’ve made a lot of adjustments since we played them the last time. We’ve made some adjustments as well. That was a match that was not quite highlighted on the schedule for me because it was a midweek game during conference, but we knew it would probably have ramifications for us down the road and probably played a factor in us getting to host here as well. We are expecting them to play with a chip on their shoulder and they have a fifth-year like Carly Graham playing as a setter and Anota as a middle. At the end of the day winners win so we need to go out there and earn it. I’m looking forward to the battle and it’s a quick turnaround so I think the challenge is can we go back and remember what we did Monday, Tuesday and during the day Wednesday before we played them last time, plus add the new stuff in here with the help of our amazing coaching staff. This team is playing with great maturity for as young as we are, and tonight was a good example of that. I think I was more nervous for all these freshmen in their first postseason match. I didn’t know what they were going to be like, and they stepped up and played really well.”



On the seniors...

If there were nerves which I didn’t really see any, [having leaders] settles them down. Kara [McGhee] and Lauren [Harrison] can both take over matches for us. Just to know they are focused and dialed in, being who they are in every practice is calming and reassuring. The other fact is that these athletes love them, they’re not just playing for themselves, the seniors are playing for the underclassmen and the underclassmen play for them and want to give them a great experience as well. Together we’re one.”



On Baylor’s consistent spot in the NCAA tournament

Baylor is a great place, and I think at every institution you attract people who are like minded. If you look at all sports programs but specifically to volleyball, we want to grow and be mighty Christ-like warriors who play with great confidence and character. In a day when there are so many challenges, I think we have so many people at Baylor who encourage great decisions for our student-athletes which helps us with adversity. Adversity is a good thing; we can’t grow without it and through COVID we are sustaining things and everything. I think this program is very player lead and their ability to love each other through adversity really helps them keep growing. I can’t wait for Allie [Sczech] as a senior because the things she is doing now remind me of Kara [McGhee] as a freshman and it shows a great hopefulness here at Baylor. Specifically, though our program that this next season is going to be as good or better as the previous one.”



Baylor Libero Lauren Briseño

On receiving a scholarship…

“I am still honestly speechless about Sunday. I was not expecting it whatsoever, I knew we were doing a white elephant with the team and just messing around. Then low and behold I get this mystery box and I had no idea what it entailed. Sure enough, I open it up and it’s a scholarship. I just burst out into tears. I truly just left with so much joy, I am so grateful to be here playing with this team and these coaches. Not letting scholarship or no scholarship define who I am as a player and just being eternally grateful for what I have. I had no idea that it was coming, but I think the fact that my entire team was in on it made it that much more special.”



Baylor Middle Blocker Kara McGhee

On a blocking attack plan…

“You can definitely see it in their decision making and how they choose to attack the ball after that, so in their tips, rolls, we got a lot of that after Allie was shutting down their outsides. I definitely think you can see that in their decisions.”



On Allie Sczech…

“I don’t know if I feel like I’ve had to [guide her] much because she is just naturally so good, but we are actually roommates so that has been fun to get to know her on a deeper level as roommates. She definitely does some silly freshman things like she doesn’t know how to do her own laundry so I do it for her which is kind of funny. She’s just a fun person, I feel like she’s very different than me, I feel like I am kind of more calm and she’s more outgoing so just us balancing each other out has been fun to see on the court for sure.”



On this year’s team vs. last year …

It is crazy how one year can change so much. We have a whole new coaching staff and 11 seniors left and we have so many new people coming in. It is different but you learn to love the teams for their different atmospheres. Last year was so much fun for different reasons than why this year is so much fun. Embracing that has been enjoyable.”



- BaylorBears.com -


--
Brent Ingram | Assistant AD for Communications
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 210-845-8651

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