No. 5 Baylor Volleyball Moves Past Texas A&M Corpus Christi in Straight Sets
WACO, Texas – No. 5 Baylor Volleyball (19-10) started the NCAA Tournament with a win in straight sets against Texas A&M Corpus Christi (21-5) despite a sluggish start.
The Bears lacked energy at the start head coach Ryan McGuyre admitted after the game. They started slow and a bit sloppy, only registering 17 kills on 53 total attacks with a .170 hitting percentage.
McGuyre subbed in opposite hitter Marieke van der Mark early on to boost the energy on the court. The set stayed closed, but Baylor pulled it out 25-22.
The Bears rebounded in the second set hitting .429 and they controlled the set the whole way, winning it 25-12.
Shanel Bramschreiber, the Bears’ libero, stepped up in this set and helped the Bears control the ball better with her defense and her passing. According to coach McGuyre, she was the MVP for the team tonight.
Having said that, van der Mark was also a big difference maker early and started the final set because of it.
Corpus Christi did not go quietly into the offseason, however. The Bears lost that killer edge they found in the second set and started making more errors.
After grabbing a three-point lead late, the Islanders battled back to take a one-point lead at 24-23 with a chance at stealing the set. Van der Mark, Avery Skinner, and Preslie Anderson stepped up with back-to-back-to-back kills to regain the lead though, and the Bears ended the set 26-24 and the match 3-0.
Coach McGuyre said after the game that he was pretty discouraged by the way the team came outtonight. They had good numbers by the end of the night, but he will be focused on defense and energy headed into their game tomorrow evening.
All of Baylor's postgame presser is available below.
Volleyball returns to the Ferrel Center court tomorrow night at 7 PM to face No. 22 Washington State.