MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University volleyball team looks to bounce back with a match at Baylor held on Saturday, Oct. 7. First serve is slated for 3 p.m. ET inside the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.
 
WVU (12-5, 1-3) and BU (14-4, 4-1) meet for the 14th time since 1986, with the Bears boasting a 10-3 all-time advantage in the series. However, WVU notched three straight wins from 2013-14, including a season sweep in 2014. The last time the Mountaineers picked up a win over the Bears was on Nov. 22, 2014, earning a 3-0 victory inside the WVU Coliseum. Of note, West Virginia is 2-4 all-time at the Ferrell Center.
 
Baylor has collected votes in the 2017 AVCA Coaches Poll for the last six weeks, receiving 19 votes in the Oct. 2 edition. West Virginia has played two ranked opponents in its last three matches with four of its five losses coming from the country's top-11 teams (No. 6 Penn State (Aug. 26), No. 2 Minnesota (Sept. 1), No. 6 Texas (Sept. 23) and No. 11 Kansas (Oct. 4)).
 
"I thought we did some nice things vs. Kansas, but we need to be more consistent," said WVU coach Reed Sunahara. "We still have some work to do in the Big 12, and I'm looking forward to another exciting match vs. a very good Baylor squad."
 
On Wednesday, WVU dropped a 3-1 match to No. 11 Kansas at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. The Mountaineers took the loss in set scores of 26-28, 22-25, 25-17 and 17-25 to the Jayhawks. Four Mountaineers landed in double digits, as sophomore outside hitter Katelyn Evans recorded a team-high 15 kills on the evening. Senior middle blocker Mia Swanegan hit a team best .310 with 14 kills. In addition, sophomore right side Natania Levak finished with 11 kills, while sophomore outside hitter Payton Caffrey rounded out the team in double digits with 10. Sophomore setter Erin Slinde assisted on 46 kills, as freshman libero Alexa Hasting dished out five assists. Hasting also led the team with 22 digs, followed by Caffrey with 15.
 
As a team, West Virginia is hitting .252 and holding its opponents to a .172 clip, while out blocking its opponents, 142.5-108.5. The Mountaineers led the Big 12 in service aces, averaging 1.56 aces per set. The squad has a total of 97 aces on the year, while holding its opponents to just 67. WVU also ranks third in the league in blocks per set (2.30) and fourth in hitting percentage (.251) and opponent hitting percentage (.172).
 
Caffrey continues to lead the Big 12 with 0.48 aces per set and ranks inside the top 10 in points (eighth) and kills (eighth). Additionally, Slinde sits inside the top five in service aces (third) and assists (fourth). The sophomore setter averages 0.33 service aces and 10.67 assists per set. Swanegan ranks third with 1.17 blocks per set, and Hasting ranks eighth with 3.65 digs per set.
 
Baylor is coming off a 3-0 road sweep at No. 20 Iowa State, winning in set scores of 25-19, 25-20 and 25-14 on Wednesday night at the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. The Bears are hitting a .273 clip on the year, averaging 14.6 kills per set. Katie Staiger leads the team with 4.45 kills per set as well as 0.23 service aces per set.
 
Looking ahead, the Mountaineers return home for a match against Oklahoma on Friday, Oct. 13. First serve is set for 6 p.m. ET.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.