By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Even though Preslie Anderson has been with the Baylor volleyball team for less than two months, the Cal transfer has no problems speaking up.
"You can ask any of my teammates, I actually have an issue not talking," said Anderson, who had nine blocks, five kills and two digs in helping the sixth-ranked Bears (15-3) pull out a five-set win over Pepperdine, 25-22, 19-25, 25-16, 23-25, 15-7, Sunday night at the Ferrell Center. "There's never a time when I'm quiet. Any energy I can give for the sideliners or for the people on the court, that's what I'm going to do."
Pushed to five sets for the sixth time this season, the Bears let their play on the court speak for them, carrying the momentum from a late 9-2 run in the fourth set to dominate the decisive fifth set when they hit .300 and held Pepperdine (7-2) to a negative -.042 attack percentage.
"That's the hope when you're down like that is that you can find some rhythm and fight and energy without rolling over and conceding," said coach Ryan McGuyre, whose team improved to 2-0 in the spring and 3-3 in five-setters. "We're one point away, at 24-23, from tying it up (in the 4th set). At that point, the hope and fight is alive, so I thought that was absolutely huge."
McGuyre credited junior setter Callie Williams for lighting "a fire in everyone else" when he brought her off the bench midway through the fourth set.
"She's a warrior, always has been," McGuyre said of Williams, who served on a pair of 4-0 runs and finished with 12 assists, four digs, one ace and a kill. "She's always had a great will to win, but also that knowledge and understanding of who he is. She brought that warrior spirit and lit a fire in everyone else, and it flamed up pretty quick."
Senior All-American Yossiana Pressley had a double-double with 17 kills and 14 digs, while Lauren Harrison and Marieke van der Mark had 15 and 11 kills, respectively. Van der Mark and Kara McGhee both had five block assists, helping the Bears finish with a 14.0-3.0 edge in blocks.
After splitting the first two sets, Baylor had a dominant third set with a .609 attack percentage and only two errors in an efficient 23 total swings. Harrison closed the set with back-to-back kills.
"Hat's off to Pepperdine," McGuyre said. "I think they're going to be a strong tournament team. Both teams were running all over the Ferrell Center, so it made for great, high-level volleyball. Both teams had stretches of errors that we're disappointed in, but I thought they did a good job of moving the balls around us, attacking us in different ways, and we had to make a lot of adjustments throughout the match."
Pepperdine hit .133 for the match and had four players with double-digit kills, led by Rachel Ahrens with 15 and Emma Ammerman with 14. The Waves began the week with a split against No. 12 BYU, winning the first match in a 3-0 sweep.
"It's funny that during my time at Cal that I never actually faced Pepperdine," Anderson said. "But now that I come to Texas, here I am playing a California school. It's always great to compete against great teams, and I'm glad that we have the opportunity to play such a strong schedule. Pepperdine being one of those tournament teams, I think them coming out here and us having a fifth-setter with them, it almost made the trip worth it, because we have a lot more information of things to work on."
The Bears continue a challenging schedule with a matchup against No. 2 Texas (16-0) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin. Baylor is 0-44 all-time versus the Longhorns in Austin, including a pair of five-setters in the fall.
"Those two five-set losses are still nagging at us," van der Mark said. "We're so wanting to just beat them at their place. We're ready to make history. We're ready to do it, and we're going to do everything in our power to do it."
THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – No. 6 Baylor volleyball outlasted Pepperdine Sunday evening at the Ferrell Center, winning in five sets 25-22, 19-25, 25-16, 23-25, 15-6.
Fourteen total blocks lifted BU in what was a back-and-forth affair. Yossiana Pressley led all players with 17 kills, while Lauren Harrison totaled 15 and Marieke van der Mark tallied 11. Preslie Anderson led the Bears with nine blocks, with Pressley and Emily Van Slate leading the team with 14 digs each.
Baylor (15-3, 13-3 Big 12) improved to 3-3 this season in five-set matches, handing Pepperdine (7-2, 7-1 WCC) its second loss in as many matches. BU now holds a four-match win streak.
The Bears got out to a hot start behind a combined 12 kills from Pressley, Harrison and van der Mark in the first set. Baylor led the frame from wire-to-wire and pulled away with a van der Mark smash at 22-20.
However, in the second set BU's offense fell flat, hitting -.074 and allowing Pepperdine to even the match. The Waves took advantage of Baylor's miscues and held the Bears to just seven kills in the set.
BU responded strong with a dominant third set, hitting a whopping .609 as a team with just two errors. Harrison came up clutch with kills at 10-6, 11-7, 15-10, and two in a row to end the set. Pressley added another four and the defense collected four rejections to retake a 2-1 match lead.
After an energetic 6-4 start to the fourth that included impressive digs and an assist from Kara McGhee, Pepperdine hung around and clawed back. A seven-point run saw the Waves take a 21-11 lead. BU fought with a few short runs of their own, coming back at 22-15, 23-18 and 24-23, but ultimately dropped the frame and sent the match to a decisive fifth.
Baylor's experience and grit showed up in the fifth, sparked by a setter switch as Callie Williams entered off the bench. The Bears rallied behind a Pressley kill at 4-3 that started a four-point run. After an attack error, Pepperdine called a timeout trailing 9-4, but it would be too late as the Bears continued their run to swell the lead to 13-4 and saw out the victory.
To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor improved to 3-3 in five-set matches in 2020-21.
• BU held its opponent below a .165 hitting percentage for the 13th time this season.
• Baylor is 99-3 in the Ryan McGuyre era when its opponent hits below .200.
• BU reached double-digits in blocks as a team for the eighth time this season with 14.
• The Bears hit .609 as a team in the third set, recording 16 kills on 23 swings with just two errors.
• Yossiana Pressley recorded her fourth double-double of the season and 24th of her career.
• Three Bears tallied double-digit kills in Pressley (17), Lauren Harrison (15) and Marieke van der Mark (11).
• Pressley reached double figures for the 17th time this season, while Harrison did so for the 10th time.
• Three Bears collected at least five blocks in Preslie Anderson (9), Kara McGhee (5) and van der Mark (5).
• Pressley and Emily Van Slate, who tied her career-high, tied for the team-lead with 14 digs each, while Shanel Bramschreiber added 12.
• Hannah Sedwick and Callie Williams each reached double-digit assists, with 23 and 12, respectively.
STAT OF THE MATCH
14 – The number of blocks Baylor recorded in the win over Pepperdine.
TOP QUOTES
Senior transfer Preslie Anderson
On being a leader in just her second match with the Bears…
"My whole thing is, I'm for the team. Like, this is a team sport, and any energy I can give for the sideliners or for the people on the court, that's what I'm going to do. Because I consider that a big part of my job as a middle and what I consider to be a leader, or I'm trying to be, obviously, as I learn a new system."
On the team's blocking performance…
"Defensive intensity can really change the game. And I think blocks are not only huge momentum swings or momentum killers, but it's also something that you should really pride yourself in. it's definitely the hardest skill in volleyball, and when we can get that many blocks against a really good team, it says a lot about the way that we train and the way that we practice. It goes back to just having that well-developed system. But again, it's something you should definitely pride yourself on and never act like it's just nothing, because it's a huge thing."
WHAT'S NEXT
No. 6 Baylor (15-3, 13-3) travels south to Austin for another matchup at undefeated No. 2 Texas (16-0, 14-0) on Wednesday, March 3 at 7 p.m. CT. The match will be broadcast on Longhorn Network.
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