Baylor volleyball fell short on senior day in three sets to Oklahoma (25-19, 25-20, 25-23) Sunday at the Ferrell Center.
“That was definitely a rough match,” said head coach Ryan McGuyre. “Andie [Malloy] swung really well. It was such a bummer because what I thought we needed to do to win this match was defend, but the defense didn’t show up.”
The Bears (16-11, 4-9) looked to match their highest total home wins since 2009, which stands at 10, but the landmark win would have to wait for another day.
Sunday honored senior setter Amy Rosenbaum, senior libero Mackenzie Mayo, senior middle hitter Adrien Richburg and senior outside hitter Andie Malloy for all they have done for the program.
The Sooners (8-16, 2-10) had the overall advantage in the history between the two programs, winning 17 of the last 19.
Although the Bears lost the first matchup against the Sooners in three sets on the road earlier in the season, the Bears looked to regroup and get a win.
Going into the first, the Bears were not able to get the momentum going. From the first point, the Sooners took control.
The Bears were unable to find a spark for intensity to start the game, losing the first set 25-19.
Despite a .370 hitting percentage by the Bears, the Sooners continued to dominate going into the second, not giving the Bears any breathing room. The Bears lost the second 25-20.
The Bears fought their way back in the third after trailing early (9-5), taking a 3-point lead (14-11). From there it was a back-and-forth set.
It looked as if the Bears would take the third, but the Sooners shook off a 19-16 deficit to take the set and match 25-23.
Malloy was one kill away from matching her season-high of 21. The night marked her career 600th dig, with seven in the match. Malloy had a .483 attack percentage in the game, ranking second in the Big 12.
“Andie had a very good night, offensively. She took some good swings and she was aggressive. It’s fun to see her hitting like that,” McGuyre said. “If we are going to finish strong, she is going to need to continue hitting like that and continue to block, dig and pass like she has been doing,”
Another senior left her mark in that match. With 36 assists, Rosenbaum matched her season high mark, making her way to fifth on Baylor’s all-time career assist list. She is currently at 2,697 assists.
“We have struggled to defend the middles all year.,” McGuyre said. “That’s something that we have to get better at. It is a matter of our middles just being more physical than our opponent’s middles. We were pretty even in the outside hitter battle, but OU’s middles are hitting .470-.500.”
The Bears next test comes on the road in Austin where they will face Texas 7 p.m. Wednesday at Gregory Gymnasium.
