Baylor Volleyball Advances to Sweet 16 after Dropping Cougars in Straight Sets
WACO, Texas — No. 5 Baylor Volleyball (22-5) controlled the match against No. 22 Washington State (20-12) to advance to the Sweet 16 in straight sets, 27-25, 25-21, 25-20.
The Bears got off to a better start against the Cougars than they did yesterday against A&M Corpus Christi. Their energy was better, and they looked crisper.
Washington State hung tough though and took a 22-24 lead near the end of the first set. Yossiana Presley stepped up with two kills after that to help the Bears rally and take the set 27-25.
With that momentum, Baylor raced out to a 7-2 lead in the second set. The Cougars stemmed the tide though and knotted things at 7-all.
From there the Bears ground out a nice little lead thanks to another great night of defense and leadership from Shanel Bramschreiber. She racked up 15 digs by the end of the night.
Avery Skinner went on to finish the second set off with a couple of late kills. 25-21 Bears.
Like the other sets, the third was close at the start. A 15-14 lead for the Cougars was then blown away by Baylor’s star Presley with an amazing 5 kills in the span of 7 plays.
That stretch blew the third set wide open and ensured a Baylor victory in straight sets. Presley finished the night with 16 kills, just one shy of Skinner’s team-leading mark.
Skinner, much like the team as a whole tonight, was consistent throughout the match. After the
game coach Ryan McGuyre commented on the team’s ability to stay composed when WSU made their runs and especially when they were threatening to take the first set.
McGuyre also applauded Bramschreiber for her ability to lead moon the court like a “fifth coach”.
The Bears have now made their third straight Sweet 16 and will face either Stanford or 12th overall seed Minnesota next Thursday I believe.
Watch Coach McGuyre, Presley, and Skinner answer questions postgame below.