By Shehan Jeyarajah
Sports Writer
Baylor volleyball will look to pick up its second win in the Big 12 and its first home conference win in a crucial match against Oklahoma. The Bears currently sit eighth in the Big 12 with a record of 9-12, including a record of 1-4 in conference play.
Oklahoma comes in with a record of 15-4, including 3-2 in the Big 12 with losses against Texas Tech, Iowa State and Kansas State.
Sophomore setter Amy Rosenbaum leads Baylor with 10.14 assists per set and 1.68 digs per set in her first season as a starter.
Senior outside hitter Zoe Adom leads Baylor offensively with 3.15 kills per set and a .207 hitting percentage.
Sophomore outside hitter Thea Munch-Soegaard is right behind Adom with 2.77 kills per set and 2.68 digs per set.
Sophomore libero Mackenzie Mayo leads Baylor with 3.36 digs per set in 77 sets played this season.
Senior middle blocker Sallie McLaurin leads the Sooners with 3.66 kills per set on a .445 hitting percentage. The percentage is good enough for eighth in the nation. Her .415 conference hitting percentage leads the Big 12. McLaurin also averages 1.36 blocks per set.
Sophomore middle blocker Kierra Holst is a key contributor with 3.01 kills per set on a .241 hitting percentage. Sophomore setter Julia Doyle leads the Sooners with 8.79 assists per set. Sophomore defensive specialist Taylor Migliazzo leads OU with 3.84 digs per set.
“We’re preparing our offense for Oklahoma,” junior middle hitter Nicole Bardaji said. “We’re working on just being on point, where the setter is. We’re especially working on serve and serve-receive. That was one of the big things coach said we had to work on last game.”
Baylor has struggled with its offensive consistency throughout the season. For the year, it averages only 12.78 kills per set on a .208 hitting percentage while giving up 13.77 kills per set on .244 hitting percentage.
“Oklahoma is a good team,” head volleyball coach Jim Barnes said. “We’re going to have to play our best match. We can’t play the way we did against TCU. OU is a great defensive team, so we’ll have to match their defense.”
The Bears have played poorly throughout Big 12 play, sitting at 1-4 in the conference. Baylor is allowing opponents to hit .298 against them, which is last in the Big 12 conference.
After being a solid blocking team in non-conference play, the Bears are second to last in blocks per set with only 1.53 blocks per set.
In the last match against TCU, Baylor struggled with its serve-receive game. Baylor limited receiving errors to 4.2 per match heading in, but had six in the match against the Horned Frogs. Munch-Soegaard averages a receiving error a match usually, but she had three against TCU.
Oklahoma is currently hitting .250 as a team and holding teams to a .191 hitting percentage. It also averages 2.59 blocks per set. The Sooners commit 4.2 errors per set but force opponents into 5.8 attack errors per set.
Baylor will take on Oklahoma at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Ferrell Center. The Bears next match will be Oct. 23 against Kansas State in Waco.
