11th-ranked Cougars travel into Waco for midweek battle at No. 18 Baylor

PULLMAN, Wash. — Coming off of its first ranked win of the season and its first top-10 win since 2021, 11^th-ranked Washington State volleyball (8-1) now travels south to take on No. 18 Baylor (4-3) on Wednesday night at 5 p.m. (PST) from the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.  The Cougars will be looking for their first win on the road in Waco in a rematch of a 2021 NCAA Second Round matchup that saw the Bears win 3-0 to advance in the tournament on its home court.

Washington State went 6-0 over the past two weeks as it hosted back-to-back home tournaments in Bohler Gym, culminating in last Friday’s four-set win over an eighth-ranked BYU (8-1) team.  Wednesday’s match at Baylor will be streamed live on Big XII Now (ESPN +).

Full Match Notes (PDF)

MATCH INFO

>> at No. 18 Baylor (4-3, 0-0 Big XII)

>> DATE:  Wed., Sept. 13  //  First serve: 7 p.m. (CST)/ 5 p.m. (PST)

>> LOCATION: Waco, Texas  //  Ferrell Center

>> OPP NICKNAME:  Bears

>> OPP STREAK:  Won 3

>> OPP LAST THREE:  3-0 at Colo. St. //  3-1 vs Bowling Green  //  3-0 vs Pacific

SERIES HISTORY: WSU VS BAYLOR

>> Overall: Baylor leads 3-1

>> In Waco: Baylor leads 2-0

>> In Pullman: Baylor leads 1-0

>> Neutral: WSU leads 1-0

>> No. 6 Baylor defeated No. 22 Washington State, 3-0, in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Pia Timmer, the team’s leader for the season in kills/set (3.79), played two sets in the match, but in a limited capacity due to injury.

>> WSU won the first meeting between the two programs back in 1993 when the Cougars, led by head coach Cindy Fredrick, defeated Baylor, 3-1 at the Nevada Turkey Day Tournament in Reno, Nev.

>> Baylor is 3-0 on its home court in Waco, winning 3-2 in the 2016 Baylor Invite.

>> Baylor was the last team to beat WSU at the Cougar Challenge with a five-set win in Bohler Gym in 2017.  WSU has since won the last 15 matches at its annual home tournament, defeating No. 8 BYU in four sets last Friday to cap the 2023 edition.

COUGAR VOLLEYBALL QUICK NOTES

>> Washington State jumped two more spots to No. 11 in the fourth AVCA Division I Top-25 Coaches’ Poll of the season, the highest national ranking for the Cougars since reaching No. 10 in 2016.

>> Washington State has appeared in 180 AVCA Top-25 polls, finishing 13 seasons in the final top-25 poll.

>> WSU has cracked the top-10 in 31 polls with its highest all-time…