By Matthew Soderberg | News Editor
Baylor volleyball bounced back from its five-set loss Friday for a three-set sweep Saturday against Kansas. Redshirt junior setter Callie Williams shined in her second game as a Bear with four kills on seven attempts, 30 assists, four aces and seven digs.
The Green and Gold finished off the Jayhawks 25-14, 25-19, 25-15. Baylor hit .400% in their win after failing to hit .100% in three different sets Friday.
Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Lauren Harrison led the way on offense for the second match in a row with 14 kills and two errors on 24 attempts for a .500% hit percentage. Sophomore middle blocker Kara McGhee made her offensive presence known again, following up her 12 kill performance Friday with 11 kills and only one error on 20 attempts.
Baylor started the day with a 5-0 run, and after the Jayhawks closed it to 8-5, the Bears expanded their lead with a 6-0 run. Senior outside hitter Yossiana Pressley landed a solid first set with two kills, two blocks and an ace.
The second set saw an attempted comeback from Kansas after the Bears jumped out to a 12-6 lead. The Jayhawks closed the deficit a 6-2 run, but Baylor countered with their own and never looked back.
The third set looked a lot like the first as Baylor took a commanding 16-6 advantage before closing out the match by going even over the rest of the set. Harrison beat up the Jayhawks in the last two points with a kill for the 24th point and a block for the close.
After a long, sloppy match Friday night, head coach Ryan McGuyre said he was impressed with his team and their redeeming performance.
“Very pleased with our response in a lot of areas,” McGuyre said. “We did a great job managing our swings and cutting way down on errors. Great performance from Lauren [Harrison] hitting at a high level, she really elevated and did some great things. I thought Callie [Williams] did a much better job running the show tonight, moving the ball around. I’m proud that we were able to talk about [adjustments] and execute it, without normally having a couple days to work on it.”
Baylor will take its 1-1 record to the Ferrell Center for the first time on Friday against TCU. Friday’s game will air at 5 p.m. on ESPNU with Saturday’s rematch following again at 5 p.m. on ESPN+. The Ferrell Center’s capacity will be just under 700 seats.
