By Gio Gennero | Sports Writer
In their second straight match with Kansas University (11-8, 3-5), Baylor (11-4, 5-1) won again in four sets.
It was the Yossiana Pressley show tonight as the senior outside hitter finished with 28 kills on a .458 hitting percentage, giving her a total of 49 kills against Kansas this weekend. Pressley also came up with 11 digs to giver herself a double-double. Pressley’s potent performance was pivotal as it was not only the abundance in which she scored, but the moments as well. Every time Kansas began to pick up steam, Pressley made a play to regain momentum for the Bears.
“[Pressley] She’s a gamer,” head coach Ryan McGuyre said. “She wants the ball when it matters and she’s not afraid to take big swings. In those momentum plays you need big swings to make good things happen.”
Senior setter Hannah Sedwick went .500 on the night with 44 assists on 88 attempts while Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Harrison chipped in with 11 kills.
The Bears scored the first two points of the match. The Jayhawks responded, but a kill by Pressley tied the set at 3-3. Kansas kept swinging though, jumping out to an 8-4 lead. Baylor put together a run of their own to recapture command of the set, taking a 11-9 lead. Strong attacks from Pressley helped the Bears increase their lead to 23-19. However, Kansas scored three straight to cut the lead to one at 23-22 prompting a Baylor timeout. KU built on their momentum to win the set 26-24.
In the second set, neither team could pull away early until a Pressley kill put the Bears up 9-8, prompting Baylor to start clicking on all cylinders as they took a 18-10 lead. Pressley continued her impressive play as she led the Bears to a 25-17 set win to tie the match 1-1.
The third set started in similar fashion, being a tied game at 4-4. A 4-0 run by the Jayhawks forced a Baylor timeout, allowing the Bears to regroup and tie the game at 10. The teams would alternate points until Pressley put Baylor up 16-14. The teams continued the seesaw type of set until a string of kills by Baylor put them up 23-20. Another kill from Pressley would put the Bears at match point where the Bears would go on to win the set 25-22.
The fourth set also began as back-and-forth until multiple kills from Pressley opened things up with an 8-5 Baylor lead. Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Harrison came up with consecutive kills to put the Bears up 11-7. Later, Pressley produced a hard kill to give Baylor a 15-12 lead. Consistent defense from Baylor’s blockers kept them in the lead, capitalized by a block from Pressley to increase their lead at 19-15. Pressley tacked on three more kills as the Bears won the set 25-19 and the fans in the Ferrell Center exploded.
“The Ferrell Center is a tough place to play for opponents,” McGuyre said. “Especially when the crowd is really rowdy and riled up … as we continue to fill it up and make it louder and louder, it’s going to be a better and better place and atmosphere for us.”
Next the Bears will travel to Morgantown, W.Va. to play West Virginia University at 5 p.m. on Oct. 22 in the WVU Coliseum.
