Baylor volleyball hosts the 2013 Baylor Invitational Tournament this weekend at the Ferrell Center. Baylor faces off against Northwestern State and Appalachian State today and then takes on Colorado on Saturday.

Northwestern State heads into the Baylor Invitational with a record of 1-6, with its sole loss coming against Prairie View A&M. Freshman outside hitter Ashley Elrod leads the team with a .206 hitting percentage and totals of 57 kills and 48 digs through 22 sets. The Lady Demons have a combined hitting percentage of .104 and allow opponents to hit .232 on the season.

No. 7 Baylor soccer is ready to protect its home field by striving to get a pair of wins against two dynamic offenses beginning with Cal Poly at 7 p.m. today and finishing with McNeese State at 1 p.m. Sunday.

“I’m looking forward to this weekend,” Baylor co-head coach Marci Jobson said. “It’s going to be very good games. Cal Poly comes in undefeated with the nation’s leading goal scorer on their team so it’s going to be a very tough match and then Saturday we have to refocus on McNeese State.”

It’s a fortress that scares other soccer teams and a barrier that gives the offense protection. Usually this type of protection would be the goalie, but with No. 7 Baylor it goes beyond that. It’s the combination of the defense and the goalie.

Baylor is first in the Big 12 in part because of the combination between the hard-nosed defense and the effective play of junior goalkeeper Michelle Kloss.

No. 24 TCU (1-1) at Texas Tech (2-0)
After being suspended for much of last season, senior TCU quarterback Casey Pachall broke his arm in last week’s game against Southeastern Louisiana. Backup sophomore quarterback Trevone Boykin was able to come in and lift TCU to the victory, throwing for 133 yards and two touchdowns on only 13 pass attempts.

There is a great awakening in Baylor football and it has everything to do with the Bears’ improvement on defense. Picking up where it left off last season, the defense has made big plays sending a message to the offense that it can get the job done.

A new fear has developed as this hard-nosed, tough and physical defense begins to pose problems for the opposing team. Baylor is always a threat offensively with the ability to score points quickly, and in the past, opponents were able to keep pace. Those days are over. At least that’s what the defense hopes.

Baylor volleyball lost in four sets to Texas State on Tuesday night in San Marcos. The Bears dropped the match 3-1 and the sets read 15-25, 19-25, 25-20 and 24-26.

The Bears fell to 2-6 after the loss, and Texas State improved to 8-2.

This marked the first time Texas State beat Baylor in volleyball since 1996.

Baylor was led by a strong showing from senior outside hitter Zoe Adom. Adom tied a career high with 20 kills on a .250 hitting percentage.

After defeating Wofford 69-3 in the season opener, the Bears were expecting a tougher challenge against Buffalo on Saturday afternoon at Floyd Casey Stadium.

For the second time in two weeks, Baylor shattered the school record of most points scored in the modern era with 70 points scored in a 70-13 shellacking of Buffalo.

To open the season, the Buffalo Bulls lost at No. 4 Ohio State 40-20. Considering the previous week’s competitive game Buffalo played against a highly ranked Buckeyes team, Baylor entered the matchup believing Buffalo would pose a threat on the gridiron.

Baylor volleyball hosted the Baylor Classic tournament this weekend at the Ferrell Center in Waco. The Classic consisted of matches against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, UT-Arlington Mavericks and Mississippi State Bulldogs. The Bears finished with a record of 1-2, with a win against Mississippi State in their final game.

“The early part of the season has been a building process for us,” head volleyball coach Jim Barnes said. “When there are only one or two contributors returning, it’s hard to learn how to play together right away. There is a learning curve.”