By Nathan Keil | Sports Editor
For the second consecutive match, Baylor volleyball was without its All-American senior outside hitter Katie Staiger.
And for the second consecutive match, it didn’t matter.
No. 24 Baylor won its second straight match in straight sets, cruising past Oklahoma 25-19, 25-22, 25-17 Saturday in Norman, Okla.
Junior outside hitter Ashley Fritcher filled in for Staiger again. But it was Baylor’s balanced attack that hit .297, led by freshman outside hitter Yossiana Pressley’s 20 kills, that helped send the Bears home with a win.
Baylor head coach Ryan McGuyre said the strong offensive play from Pressley in the absence of Staiger was the key for the sweep.
“I’m glad we could go on the road and get a sweep. Oklahoma is a great team and makes good adjustments,” McGuyre said. “They obviously adjusted when we rested Katie (Staiger). After her first couple of swings, Yossi (Pressley) got really dialed in. I felt like she was unstoppable. Fun night for her. Our middles both did well. We were able to throw the ball to the outside and get them one blocker because they drew so much attention. Good team volleyball today.”
Oklahoma got off to a good start in the first set, jumping out to a 10-7 lead against Baylor on a kill from junior setter Morgan Miller.
However, Baylor slowly began to chip away. After a kill from Pressley put the Bears in front 19-18, Baylor ended the first set on a 6-1 run on a flurry of kills, including one more from Pressley, two from sophomore middle hitter Shelly Fanning and one from freshman setter Hannah Lockin.
The Sooners started strong again in the second, jumping out to a 5-1 lead and forcing McGuyre to call a timeout.
Following the timeout, Baylor used an 11-5 run to gain a 12-10 advantage and force the Sooners to call a timeout. After two straight kills from Oklahoma, senior middle hitter Camryn Freiberg’s kill gave the Bears the lead once again, and they would not relinquish it en route to a 25-22 win. Freiberg’s third kill off the set from Lockin closed the set.
Pressley started the third set with a kill and Baylor never looked back as the Bears closed out the Sooners 25-17 in the third. Fanning’s seventh kill of the match gave Baylor the win.
Junior outside hitter Aniah Philo came in second on the team with eight kills while adding 10 digs. Fanning converted seven kills in 17 attacks without committing an error and Freiberg converted five of her nine attacks.
Lockin had three kills, six digs and 35 assists while senior libero Jana Brusek led the team with 13 digs.
No. 24 Baylor (18-5, 8-2) returns home to host TCU at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Ferrell Center.
