10/28/04

Volleyball Preview: Baylor

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Match #21
No. 10 Texas (18-2, 10-2 Big 12)
vs. Baylor (10-12, 3-9 Big 12)
When: Saturday, October 30, 2004 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Austin, Texas (Gregory Gym; capacity: 4,400)
All-Time Series Record: UT leads, 54-2 (25-0 home, 23-2 in Waco and 6-0 neutral) against Baylor
Series Streaks: UT has won the last five meetings dating back to the 2002 season
Last Meeting: September 15, 2004: UT won, 3-0 (30-28, 30-19, 30-24) in Waco
Last UT victory: Same
Last Baylor victory: October 27, 2001: Baylor won, 3-2 (27-30, 30-27, 30-22, 17-30, 15-10) in Waco
Elliott vs. Baylor: 6-1

Match Promotions: Web Coupon: $1 general admission ticket with coupon available at TexasSports.com ... Camper Reunion: FREE general admission with 2004 summer camp t-shirt and flyer ... Costume Night: $1 general admission for all kids 14 and under wearing Halloween costumes.

RECENT NOTABLES
UT pushed its all-time record against Oklahoma to 27-0 with a 3-0 victory in Norman on Wednesday ... the match marked the third time this season UT held an opponent under 20 points in all three games, and the first time since Sept. 11 (vs. Liberty and vs. Louisiana Tech) ... it was also the first time in seven matches that UT had held any opponent to fewer than 20 points in any single game ... UT hit .464 in the match, its highest mark since the team connected for a .468 mark against Liberty (Sept. 11) ... Mira Topic recorded her 13th-straight double-figure kill match with a match-high 15 kills against the Sooners, but snapped her five--match streak of double-doubles when she collected only seven digs ... Brandy Magee had her best hitting match (.565) since the Liberty match when she had a .600 hitting percentage ... Jen Christian had her career-best hitting mark (.571) with eight kills and no errors on 14 attacks.

QUICK SETS
Last Saturday's match against Kansas State was the official start to the second half of the Big 12 season ... UT went 8-2 in the first half ... the last time Texas had a record of 8-2 at the schedule's turn was 2002, when the Horns finished the conference slate 13-7.
Texas remained in the Top 10 in this week's USA Today/CSTV Top 25 Coaches Poll, staying at No. 10. Texas is ranked No. 12 in this week's Volleyball Magazine poll.
Texas fell from the ranks of the undefeated on Saturday, Oct. 16, after a 3-1 loss at No. 20 Texas A&M ... UT had opened its season 16-0 for the first time since 1990 when the team started 26-0 ... with its victory on Wednesday, Oct. 13 against Missouri, Texas surpassed its 2003 win total (15)
Texas is fourth in the nation in hitting percentage (NCAA Stats release, 10/26/04), with a .309 mark through last week, and is ranked 12th in kills per game (17.06) and 16th in assists per game (15.57) with a freshman - Michelle Moriarty - leading the offense at setter.
Mira Topic is ranked fifth nationally - and leads the Big 12 in both overall and conference only - in kills/game ... She has earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors a league-best three times in 2004.
Mira Topic has posted 139 kills in the last five matches (6.62 kills/game), which includes four matches against ranked teams (25 at No. 16 Kansas State; 25 at No. 20 Texas A&M; 25 vs. No. 4 Nebraska; 19 vs. No. 18 Kansas State).
Texas hit .464 on Wednesday against Oklahoma, the first time the team's been above .400 since Sept. 22 (a 3-0 victory over Iowa State) ... the team also hit .333 on Saturday against Kansas State, marking the first time since Oct. 9 (at Kansas State) that the team hit for higher than .300.
UT has limited it opponents to a hitting percentage under .250 in 19 of its 20 matches, including seven matches where the team has held its opponents below .100 ... offensively, Texas has hit for an attack percentage of .350 or higher in 11 of 20 matches this season, including five matches of .400 or higher.
UT has won 16 of its 18 victories matches by 3-0 scores, and has won 57 games to its opponents' nine in 2004 ... Texas has limited opponents to 19 or fewer points in 26 games this season ... UT managed the feat in only eight games in 2003.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT
Baylor is 10-12 overall and 3-9 in conference matches this season ... the Lady Bears have lost their last three matches overall and their last four conference matches ... Baylor's last win came on Oct. 16 with a 3-0 victory over Northwestern State ... three BU players -- Stella Odion (241), Nicole LeBlanc (241) and Desiree Guillard-Young (228) -- have each recorded more than 200 kills ... Adeline Meira has a team-best 126 blocks (1.73/game) as Baylor has out-blocked opponents, 241.0 to 165.0 ... BU is hitting .200 compared to its opponents .199.

BAYLOR QUICK FACTS Nickname: Bears Head Coach: Jim Barnes (McNeese State '94) 2003 Record: 12-22 2003 Conference Record/Finish: 4-16 (Tied for eighth) 2003 Postseason: None Web site: www.BaylorBears.com