By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Back home in a "familiar place" for the first time in a month, the 12^th-ranked Baylor volleyball team looked a lot like the squad that swept 7^th-ranked Florida five days ago at the end of a "grueling" three-week road trip. 
            Led by the senior duo of Yossiana Pressley and Hannah Sedwick, the Bears (4-3) hit .310 and recorded 12.0 blocks in sweeping Rice, 25-18, 25-17, 25-17, Thursday night at the Ferrell Center in the opening game of the Baylor Classic. 
            "It's definitely fun to have a crowd on your side," said Sedwick, who had a team-high seven block assists and 37 set assists, becoming the fifth Baylor player to top 4,000 career assists. "Just being able to be here this whole weekend and not traveling and still playing really good competition in Rice is awesome. It's really good to back in our home gym."
            Baylor hasn't allowed 20 points in six-straight sets and seven of their last eight, bouncing back from a three-match losing streak against Wisconsin, Tennessee and Pitt. 
            "I think we're capable of a lot more, honestly," Baylor coach Ryan McGuyre said. "This is one of those wins where we did some things that were great and disturbed the other side, but there are some things on our side of the net that we've got to get better at."
            Pressley had seven of her match-high 17 kills in the second set, when the Bears reeled off an early 4-0 run and never trailed the rest of the way. After the Owls (4-4) staved off three set points, Avery Skinner closed it out with a kill. 
            With Pressley and two other All-Americans at outside hitter, Pressley has "sacrificed so much" in playing more on the right side, McGuyre said. 
            "Coach knows how I feel about the right side, but he also knows that I will do anything for this team," said Pressley, who hit .400 with only three errors on 35 attempts. "Whether that's libero, middle, right side, I don't care. I just want to win with my sisters."
            After some shuffling around and trying players at different positions, McGuyre said "there's just a little bit more clarity, probably, that's helped comfort me."
            "And then tactically, I think there's a better understanding," he said. "Scheme-wise, I feel like has always been a strength of this program. We've been able to execute those schemes much, much better in these last three matches than I thought we did the first two weeks."
            Knotted at 9-9 through the first 18 points, Baylor reeled off runs of 4-0 and 5-0 to take command and closed out the match on an attack error by Nicole Lennon. The Owls, led by Ellie Bichelmeyer and Lennon with eight and seven kills, respectively, hit just .125 as a team with 33 kills and 19 errors on 114 total swings. 
            Sedwick notched her 4,000^th career assist on a Skinner kill that gave the Bears the lead for good at 10-9. 
            "I'm really thankful for the opportunity that I've had to even reach that number and all of the people that have killed all those balls," Sedwick said, "because they had to do something with it. I'm just thankful for the opportunity."
            McGuyre said Sedwick has "never been about stats and numbers." 
            "It's always been about her faithfulness," McGuyre said. "From a freshman to a married woman and who she is now, it's just such a blessing for me to have her influence on the team. She's definitely a legendary setter for Baylor volleyball, but a powerful woman of influence. That's what makes her so special, first and foremost, is team."
            Lauren Harrison added nine kills and hit .500, while Skinner had seven kills and one of the team's five service aces. Shanel Bramschreiber led the team with 14 digs and two aces from her libero position. 
            Sedwick said there's a special connection between her and Pressley, "whether it's just one set that we're really clicking on, or multiple."
            "I can just feel it," she said. "When she's approaching and I'm about to set her, I'm like, 'I'm about to set Yossi. It's Yossi's ball.'''
            Rice will face McNeese State (5-3) at 5 p.m. Friday, with Baylor and the Cowgirls closing out the Baylor Classic with a 2 p.m. match on Saturday. 
            "It's definitely a great feeling to be home, and this is our last first home game," Pressley said. "I think it was only right for us to put on a little show."


WACO, Texas. – No. 12 Baylor volleyball routed Rice in a straight-set win, posting a 3-0 match at the Bears' home opener and in the first match of the 2021 Baylor Classic.
 
Baylor (4-3) dominated RV Rice (4-4), going 25-18, 25-17, and 25-17 to improve on the season.
 
It was the second-straight match winning 3-0, and the second-straight match holding their opponents to less than 20 points in all three sets. 
 
Setter Hannah Sedwick had 37 assists on the night, needing just 33 to record her 4,000^th career kill. She was also the leading blocker against the Owls with seven block assists.
 
Yossiana Pressley was clearly right at home back in the Ferrell Center, recording a team-high 17 kills on 35 attempts. She had a double-double on the night, also digging 10 balls. 
 
Shanel Bramschreiber produced two set aces for the Green & Gold while Bri Coleman, Pressley and Avery Skinner each had one. Bramschreiber recorded 14 digs to lead the team as well.
 
The Bears hit .317 while also blanking one of Rice's best offensive options in Nicole Lennon, holding her to 5-5-25. They also held Anota Adekunle to 3-4-11. Baylor has now hit above .300 percent in two-straight matches.
 
SET ONE
The Bears kicked off the match with kills from Pressley and Avery Skinner and an ace from Bramschreiber to start on top. Kara McGhee and Sedwick followed it up with a good block to keep it rolling. Rice stopped the roll at 4-0 and added points of their own. The Owls tied it up a few times early on, but once the Bears had recorded 10 points, they were unstoppable. BU had pulled ahead at most by seven points and never looked back. Skinner, Lauren Harrison, Pressley and service from Bramschreiber put the Bears in the driver's seat with a 25-18 set win.
 
SET TWO
After going up 1-0 in the match, the Bears kept it coming. Rice scored the first three points of the set mostly by errors on Baylor's part, but BU got right back in it and pulled ahead after only six points had been recorded overall. The second set was Pressley's and everyone else was playing in it. She recorded seven kills in the set with four digs. Rice did their best to keep up with the veteran Bears, but couldn't match their attacks. Baylor really pulled away at 10-6 when Pressley served up an ice-cold ace, which forced a Rice timeout. An Avery Skinner kill put the second set in the past at 25-17. 
 
SET THREE
With two set wins under their metaphorical belts, a determined and invigorating Bears squad came out with a bang. Preslie Anderson delivered the first point of the set with a kill, followed by two from Pressley. The parliament of Owls also came out with a vengeance however, and went up on the Bears 7-5. Kills by Harrison and Pressley put it back in the Bears' hands. Avery Skinner had two-straight that marked the turning point with Baylor leading 11-9. BU never let Rice get within one point from then on out. Marieke van der Mark delivered three kills late in the set, and Cassie Davis entered the match and put in one of her own. An attack error from Rice delivered the final blow to their squad, ending the third set at 25-17 once again.
 
Bear Bites

• The Bears have now held their opponents to less than 20 points in six-straight sets.
• Baylor has hit above .300 percent in two-straight matches.
• Hannah Sedwick recorded her 4000^th career assist against the Owls.
• Yossiana Pressley had a double-double with 17 kills and 10 digs. She is 204 kills away from being the school record-holder.
• Cassie Davis entered the match in the third set for the first time this season.
• This is the 17^th installment of the Baylor Classic and they are 42-6 all-time in the tournament.
• Baylor is 92-18 when hosting a home tournament. The Bears have previously hosted three other named tournaments.

 
Next Up
The Bears continue the Baylor Classic on Saturday, Sept. 18 when they host McNeese at 2 p.m. in the Ferrell Center to close out the tournament. McNeese and Rice meet on Friday with a 5 p.m. matchup.
 
To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVball.