MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – For the third time this season the West Virginia University volleyball team squares off against the No. 1 team in the country, as the Mountaineers face Big 12 foe Baylor on Tuesday, Nov. 26, in Morgantown. First serve is set for 6 p.m. ET at the WVU Coliseum.
 
Tuesday's contest against the Lady Bears will be broadcasted live on MountaineerTV, with live video and stats links available on WVUsports.com.
 
All fans in attendance will receive a free gold shaker. It also is Youth Jersey Night, and all entrants in eighth grade or below will receive free admission when donning their youth team jersey.
 
Fans can purchase tickets by visiting WVUGAME.com, calling 1-800-WVUGAME or at the Mountaineer Ticket Office, located at the Gold Gate of the WVU Coliseum. All tickets are general admission.
 
When purchasing online, tickets are $5 each and $3 for groups of 10 or more. At the WVU Coliseum ticket window, tickets will be $7 for adults, $5 for youth and seniors and $3 for groups. The discounted online pricing will be available until first serve on game day. Fans are encouraged to order tickets in advance online at WVUGAME.com to avoid lines at the gate.
 
Tickets for WVU students are free with a valid student I.D.
 
"I'm excited for Tuesday," fifth-year coach Reed Sunahara said. "Baylor is a really strong team. There's a reason why they are the best in the nation, but we are ready for the challenge. We've seen them before, so we know what we need to do. We need to limit our mistakes and stay consistent. We need to take it one set at a time."
 
West Virginia (11-16, 2-12 Big 12) and Baylor (23-1, 13-1 Big 12) first met in 1986, competing in a trio of neutral-site matchups before WVU joined the Big 12 in 2012. BU owns a 15-3 lead in the all-time series and is 6-1 in Morgantown. The two teams last met on Oct. 26, with Baylor claiming the 3-1 win at the Ferrell Center, in Waco, Texas. The last time the Mountaineers outlasted the Lady Bears was Nov. 22, 2014, as WVU topped BU in four sets for the season sweep at the WVU Coliseum.
 
In its last week of competition, West Virginia dropped its final road match of the season, 3-0, to Oklahoma on Nov. 22, at McCasland Field House, in Norman, Oklahoma. The Mountaineers fell to the Sooners in set scores of 25-21, 25-17 and 25-22. WVU finished the contest with 44 kills, hitting .239, and had five team blocks.
 
Through 27 matches, WVU is hitting .207 and averaging 12.7 kills per set. Junior middle blocker Briana Lynch owns a team-high hitting percentage of .320 to rank fifth in the Big 12, while senior outside hitter Katelyn Evans leads WVU with 3.38 kills per set to rank sixth. Evans has recorded double-digit kills in 14 of the last 15 matches and is on pace to earn her 1,000th career kill in her final season as a Mountaineer. The Palmdale, California, native boasts 986 kills and is 14 short of the career milestone.
 
Additionally, sophomore setter Lacey Zerwas quarterbacks the Mountaineer offense, ranking fifth in the Big 12 with 10.23 assists per set. Junior defensive specialist Alexa Hasting anchors WVU's floor defense, averaging 4.14 digs per set to rank second in the league.
 
Baylor, which returns to No. 1 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-25 Poll for the first time since Oct. 21, scored a pair of Big 12 victories in its last week of competition. The team's previous week was highlighted by a five-set win over then-No. 1 Texas on Nov. 20, held at the Ferrell Center, in Waco, Texas.
 
Baylor is hitting .287 on the year, averaging 14.5 kills per set to rank first in the conference. The Lady Bears also sport one of the best defenses in the league, holding its opponents to a .159 hitting percentage and averaging 2.54 blocks per set. Junior outside hitter Yossiana Pressley, a 2019 Preseason All-Big 12 honoree, sits atop the Big 12 and ranks No. 2 nationally with 5.58 kills per set, as well as 5.97 points per set. Defensively, freshman middle blocker Kara McGhee averages 1.27 blocks per set, ranking third in the league and 44th nationally.
 
Looking ahead, the Mountaineers close their regular-season slate with a 1 p.m. ET tilt against Kansas (8-16, 4-10) on Saturday, Nov. 30.
 
Following the match, West Virginia will celebrate the careers of its 2019 senior class: Evans, defensive specialist Gabrielle Cuckovich and right-side hitter Erin Slinde. Saturday's match is a Gold Rush, and fans are encouraged to wear gold.
 
Additionally, Mountaineer fans will receive a free rally towel prior to the match. It's also Mountaineer Kids Club Day, and fans will have an opportunity to receive the Mountaineers' autographs one last time following the match.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.