Biography
THIS YEAR: Senior outside hitter Jill Baker, a 3-time NAIA All-American, is the lone senior and undisputed leader of an Azusa Pacific program that has become an NAIA volleyball power ... Already owns the Cougars' match, season and career records for kills and attack attempts and also ranks in the program's career top 10 in digs (seventh) and aces (ninth) ... Could potentially merit GSAC and NAIA Player of the Year consideration ... Represents the rare breed of athlete who combines overpowering physical tools along with intelligence and a complete understanding of the game ... Has a complete all-around game with proficiency in hitting, serving, passing and blocking.
2008 (Junior): Became Azusa Pacific's first-ever 2-time first team selection as an NAIA All-American, tallying a third straight All-GSAC award as well ... Shattered the program's career kills record in the final match of the regular season with an 18-kill effort in a 4-set victory over Vanguard ... Earned NAIA All-Tournament recognition after leading the Cougars into the playoff round with a trio of 3-set sweeps in pool play ... Averaged a team-high 4.31 kills per set (56 total) while tallying 30 digs and 10 blocks in 4 NAIA Tournament matches ... Posted her third straight 500-kill, 300-dig campaign, leading the GSAC in kills with 529 (4.30 per set) along with 3 of the conference's top 5 single-match kill totals ... Finished second on team in digs with 353 (2.87 per set) and passing percentage (.961), adding 57 blocks (15 solo, 42 assist), 11 aces and 16 assists ... Converted 1,292 attempts for a career-best .266 percentage and was over .300 in 16 of the team's 36 matches ... Recorded double-digit kills in 31 matches and reached 20 kills 5 times ... Posted a season-high 32 kills along with 16 digs, 2 blocks and 21 passes without a reception error in a 5-set win over Indiana Wesleyan in the second match of the season ... Registered a season-high 25 kills against just 5 errors in a thrilling 5-set win at home over No. 4-ranked California Baptist, Azusa Pacific's first win over the Lancers since 2004 and its first victory over a team ranked in the NAIA's top 5 since 2006.
2007 (Sophomore): Earned NAIA All-American first team honors, the fourth Cougar in program history to do so ... Eclipsed the Azusa Pacific single-season kills record, tallying 615 kills while garnering All-GSAC honors for the second straight season ... Averaged 5.54 kills per set and converted her 1,623 attempts at a .244 clip, tops among Cougar starters ... Finished the season with 5 consecutive 20-kill performances, including a program single-match record 37 kills in the regular-season finale, a 5-set road win over Vanguard ... Entered first-round playoff match at Biola with 592 kills, needing 14 to set the single-season mark, and was able to put away 15 of her match-high 23 kills in the first 2 sets to seal the record ... Recorded 20-plus kills 16 times, including all 7 of the Cougars' 5-set matches, and tallied 30 or more kills on 3 separate occasions ... Converted for a .200 or better attack percentage in 21 of 31 matches ... Led the GSAC in service aces, averaging 0.50 per set, and tallied the team's third- highest dig total with 382 (3.44 per set) ... Broke her own single-match attacks record with 86 attempts, converting for 28 kills to lead the Cougars to a 5-set home win over Point Loma Nazarene.
2006 (Freshman): Became the third freshman in Azusa Pacific history to earn NAIA All-American recognition with her honorable mention selection ... Was 1 of 2 Cougars to earn All-GSAC honors ... Averaged a team-high 4.49 kills per set, ranking fifth in the conference ... Recorded at least 9 kills in all 35 matches, including 11 matches of 20-plus kills ... Finished with 399 digs, posting double-digits in 22 of the 35 matches in which she appeared ... Put together a mid-season 7-match stretch in which she recorded 159 kills (5.7/set), 102 digs (3.6/set), 16 aces and 15 blocks ... Recorded a season-high 29 kills on what was then a single-match program record 77 attempts in a 5-set defeat to Point Loma Nazarene ... In the next match, upped her attack attempts record, converting 80 swings into 26 kills to lead the Cougars to a 5-set victory over Biola.
HIGH SCHOOL: Played 4 seasons of varsity volleyball at Turlock (Calif.) Christian High under head coach Larry Hagstrom ... Had a tremendous career, setting 4 school career records including kills (1,044), digs (1,009), aces (317) and blocks (193) ... Led the Eagles to a 33-5 record as a 2005 senior and was named the National Christian Schools Athletic Association's National Player of the Year and the Mountain Valley League MVP ... Finished tenth in the state with 467 kills and eleventh with 428 digs ... As a 2004 junior led the team to a 30-6 mark ... Had 329 kills, 285 digs, 41 blocks and 124 aces ... Named Mountain Valley League MVP ... Was twice named to the Modesto Bee all-district team ... As aces ... Also was an outstanding softball player twice tabbed All-MVL first team.
PERSONAL: Born Jan. 1, 1988, to Gary and Lynette Baker in Turlock, Calif. ... Comes from an athletic family ... Father played basketball at Cal State Stanislaus, and mother played softball at Chico State and competed in diving at the Junior Olympics as a youngster ... Her uncle, Jim Bryan, played professional baseball in the Baltimore Orioles system ... Has 1 brother (Garrett), who played baseball collegiately at Dallas Baptist University and played 2 seasons professionally at the Class A level in the San Francisco Giants organization ... Majoring in athletic training and would like to coach after graduation ... Enjoys snowboarding and watching game shows.
