Preview: No. 17 VB Heads to HotelRED Invitational

WACO, Texas – The 17th-ranked Baylor volleyball team will continue their season-opening road trip with two matches at the HotelRED Invitational Thursday and Friday in Madison, Wis.

BU faces off against Syracuse (0-0) Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. CT then comes back to battle fourth-ranked Wisconsin (2-0) Friday at 8 p.m. at the UW Field House. The Baylor-Syracuse match will be on BTN Plus while the top-20 matchup on Friday will air on the Big Ten Network.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

• Baylor volleyball will continue its season-opening five-match road trip and will face Syracuse and No. 4 Wisconsin at the HotelRED Invitational in Madison, Wis. before heading to Milwaukee, Wis. to face 11th-ranked Marquette.

• The Bears are 2-0 on the season after neutral site wins over UCLA and then-No. 18 Creighton in Lincoln, Neb. at the Husker Invitational last weekend.

• BU will face Syracuse for the first time in program history while the Bears and Badgers will meet up for the second consecutive season.

• Under McGuyre, BU earned its highest win in program history with a 3-1 victory over No. 2 Wisconsin in Waco last season. BU looks to improve to 2-0 all-time against the Badgers.

TOP-20 IN THE AVCA COACHES POLL

• After a 2-0 start to the season, the Bears moved up three spots to No. 17 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll, released Monday.

• Baylor’s ranking is only second to No. 3 Texas among Big 12 opponents. Conference foe TCU also received votes in the poll.

• Last season, the Bears received a program-best No. 12 ranking. The No. 12 ranking shattered the previous the all-time program record set in 2009 at No. 17.

• The Bears are ranked for the 39th time in program history and have received votes in the poll for 28 straight weeks dating back to last season.

• BU has 14 matches slated against ranked opponents or teams receiving votes in the preseason poll.

• Baylor went 1-4 against ranked squads last season which includes a 3-1 win over No. 2 Wisconsin on Sept. 7 in Waco.

• BU is 1-0 against ranked opponents so far this season.

• BU opened the season at No. 20 in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll, opening the season as a ranked team for the third time in program history.

SUCCESS ON THE ROAD

• Baylor was 7-4 on the road in 2018, including a season-best five-match win streak.

• BU is 27-20 all-time in road matches under head coach Ryan McGuyre.

• On the road, BU was 2-0 in three-set matches and 0-0 in four and five-set matches in 2019.

• Baylor is playing in Wisconsin for the first time under McGuyre.

• Baylor is playing back-to-back true road matches for the first time in 2019 this weekend.

BU AGAINST HOTELRED INVITATIONAL OPPONENTS

• Baylor and UCLA will face off for the third time in four seasons, and the Bears are 0-2 against the Bruins under head coach Ryan McGuyre.

• BU fell in three sets to 10th-ranked UCLA in the NCAA Second Round in 2016 on the Bruins' home court.

• Last season, the Bears fell in five sets to 10th-ranked UCLA at the USD Invitational in San Diego.

• This will be the first time in program history that Baylor will play Creighton.

• BU is 2-0 against BIG EAST schools and 2-4 against Pac-12 schools under McGuyre.

LAST TIME VS. WISCONSIN (Sept. 7, 2018)

• Despite dropping the opening set, 15th-ranked Baylor volleyball produced its highest ranked win in program history with a 3-1 victory over No. 2 Wisconsin at the Ferrell Center, 18-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-22.

• Handing Wisconsin its first loss of the season, the Bears’ highest ranked win before Friday came on two occasions: at No. 9 UCLA on Dec. 5, 2009 and against ninth-ranked Kansas State on Sept. 24, 2003.

• Sophomore Yossiana Pressley led all players with a career-high 32 kills on a .313 hitting efficiency and became the first Bear since former All-American Katie Staiger to record over 30 kills in a match. Her 32-kill total was the second-best four-set match performance in program history.

• Shelly Fanning and Aniah Philo contributed double-digit efforts with 12 and 11 kills, respectively.