By Harper Mayfield | Sports Writer, Video by Tim Longoria | Broadcast Reporter
Baylor’s Ferrell Center doors swung wide for the first time this season to welcome TCU volleyball to Waco. Their welcome was hardly a warm one, as the Bears swept the Frogs three sets to none.
Head coach Ryan McGuyre said it was “always good when we can get a sweep against any Big 12 team,” after Baylor took down TCU 25-19, 25-19, 25-12.
Starring for Baylor were redshirt junior opposite Marieke van der Mark, senior outside hitter Yossiana Pressley, junior defensive specialist Shanel Bramschrieber and redshirt junior setter Callie Williams. Van der Mark and Pressley combined for 25 kills, and credited their teammates for their success.
“With Shanel digging well, and passing well, it just helped Callie out with making smart decisions,”Pressley said.
TCU kept within six points of Baylor in the first two sets, but the Bears pulled away to win the final set by 13.
“That third set had a lot to do with servicing, we passed better so we could set up quick,” McGuyre said.
Prior to the third set, it looked as though the game was headed down a very different path. TCU was hanging with Baylor, trading leads several times in a back-and-forth set that the Bears had to work to win.
Even with a dominant third set, Baylor was remarkably consistent throughout the match. In each set Baylor had 16 kills, while also keeping their errors down. McGuyre preaches an error-free game, and his team delivered. Across the entire match, TCU had twice as many errors as their green and gold contemporaries.
As the team looks toward their second match with the Horned Frogs on Saturday, they are aware things might not play out the same way.
“Our passers were the ones tonight, but tomorrow night it could be someone else, and that’s the exciting part,” Van der Mark said.
With eyes on match two, Pressley said the team needs to play cleaner overall.
“We were focused on our side at times, and we kind of lost track of what they were trying to do,” Pressley said.
Saturday’s match will start at 5 p.m. at the Ferrell Center. Baylor students with valid student IDs can attend free of charge, and other fans looking to attend can acquire tickets at the gate. The match will be streamed on ESPNU, ESPN+, and Big 12 Now.
