WACO, TX — No. 5 Baylor volleyball (8-0) handed No. 17 Missouri (8-1) its first loss of the season as the Bears posted a 3-0 sweep to open the Baylor Classic Friday night at the Ferrell Center, 25-22, 25-18, 26-24.
BU is now one of the last seven remaining undefeated college volleyball teams and improved to 4-0 against ranked foes this season.
BU hit a .333 clip for its fourth .300-or-better offensive outing of the season, anchored by a match-high 39 assists by junior Hannah Lockin. Junior Yossiana Pressley led the Bears with 19 kills, and redshirt senior Shelly Stafford posted double digits with 11 kills on a season-best .556 efficiency.
The Bears also used nine blocks to quiet the Tigers who came into the match with a .396 attack efficiency. Mizzou finished with a .220 average.
BU and Mizzou went toe-to-toe to open the first frame. After a 12-12 tie, the Bears used kills by Gia Milana and Kara McGhee to go up 15-12 at the media timeout. Mizzou fought back to tie it up at 17-17, but the Bears pulled away late and took the opener, 25-22.
BU came out fast to open the second set and used a Stafford service ace to force a Tiger timeout at 6-1. Mizzou fought back for the 13-13 tie, but a 4-0 run was capped off by a Milana solo block to keep the Bears in front. Stafford put down two kills, and Pressley’s block helped the Bears jump out to the 2-0 lead, 25-18.
Baylor held a 19-14 lead after a block, but the Tigers would tie it up once again at 19-19 after a kill from Kylie Deberg. BU held a 24-22 advantage but had two match points wiped away after a Mizzou kill and a block. Baylor’s ninth block of the frame set up a third match point, and Lockin served up an ace to close it out in straight sets, 26-24.
To keep up with things all season long, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor swept its sixth opponent in eight matches and its second-straight opponent at home.
• BU is now one of the last seven remaining undefeated teams after knocking off previously unbeaten Missouri.
• BU opens the season at 8-0 for the first time under McGuyre and is off to its best start since 2009.
• BU hit .333 for its fourth .300-or-better performance this season.
• BU limited Mizzou to a season-low .220 attack percentage.
• Yossiana Pressley led the Bears with 19 kills on a .333 efficiency.
• Hannah Lockin posted a match-high 39 assists for her best three-set assist performance of the season.
• Shelly Stafford hit double-digit kills for the second time this season, putting down 11 kills on a season-best .556 clip.
• Tara Wulf tied a match-high 12 digs against the Tigers.
• Baylor is now 31-11 as a ranked team under McGuyre.
• Baylor improved to 28-3 in non-conference home matches under McGuyre.
• Baylor improved to 4-0 against ranked opponents this season.
• Baylor hit a match-high .560 in set two after putting down 15 kills on 25 attacks.
• Baylor has posted nine blocks or more in its last four matches.
STAT OF THE MATCH
.556 – the season-high attack percentage by redshirt senior Shelly Stafford.
TOP QUOTE #1
Head coach Ryan McGuyre
On the win…
“Missouri is really good. They do a lot of good things offensively, and they are pretty low error as a team, so you know you have to block balls and play some really good defense against them. I thought we were good but not great in the first set, and then the second half of the second set we played great.”
TOP QUOTE #2
Head coach Ryan McGuyre
On junior Yossiana Pressley…
“Yossi (Pressley) was unstoppable the first two sets. When it’s all said and done their team is good, our team is good. We do a lot of things well, but we have Yossi who’s able to terminate and transition for us.”
WHAT’S NEXT
BU (8-0) will close out the Baylor Classic against Hawai’i (9-0) Sunday at 2 p.m. CT. The Rainbow Wahine will play Missouri (8-1) in day two of the tournament Saturday at 1 p.m.
Sunday’s match will be live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Fans can purchase tickets online at www.BaylorBears.com [baylorbears.com].
