VB’s Fanning and Pressley lead Atlanta Vibe to PVF championship

ATLANTA, Georgia – Baylor volleyball alumni Shelly Fanning and Yossiana Pressley helped lead the Atlanta Vibe to the first Professional Volleyball Federation championship, earning first place after finishing as regular season champions.

No. 1 Vibe (19-5) will face No. 4 Grand Rapids Rise (12-12) Wednesday in a game at 6 p.m. CT on CBS Sports from the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb., in the semis -final.

Fanning, a middle blocker and three-time AVCA All-America pick at Baylor, ranks fifth in the PVF in kill percentage heading into the playoffs, with 164 kills at .414. A staple of the Vibe, Fanning played in all 24 games for Atlanta. She is fourth in service aces with 19, an average of 0.22 per set. The Cypress, Texas product totaled 47 blocks with an average of 0.54 per set, ranking in the top 10 in the league.

Pressley, the 2019 AVCA, ESPNW and Big 12 Player of the Year, has 21 kills in 12 games for the Vibe. The outside hitter also collected three blocks, including at least one alongside former teammate Fanning. Also from Cypress, Texas, Pressley joined the Vibe after starting with the Omaha Supernovas. She wears the same jersey as when she was Ours, number 22.

The PVF playoffs see four teams compete for a $1 million bonus and the title of the inaugural Professional Volleyball Federation Champions. The No. 2 Supernovas will face the No. 3 San Diego Mojo in the second semifinal on Wednesday night, and the two semifinal winners will meet in the championship game on Saturday, May 18 at 3:30 p.m. CT. All three playoff games will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.

Atlanta split the four-game series with Rise, 2-2, in the regular season. Grand Rapids was one of two teams to tie the Vibe in a series, the other being the Columbus Fury. The Rise won the first two matches of the series while Atlanta won the next two. The Vibe won 10 of their final 11 games of the season en route to the regular season title, including back-to-back 3-0 runs to finish the season with a league-high 10 sweeps.

Both proud Baylor alumnae, Pressley earned her degree in health, kinesiology and recreation studies, as well as a master’s degree in sports education, which she will complete in 2021-22. Fanning earned her degree in communications with a master’s degree in sports management, which she completed in 2019-20.

Fans interested in purchasing tickets for the upcoming Baylor Volleyball season can visit BaylorBears.com/Tickets. All seating is general admission for volleyball at the Ferrell Center.

To stay up to date on all things Baylor volleyball year-round, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.

-BaylorBears.com –