By Jackson Posey | Sports Writer
After splitting two matches with Iowa State over the weekend, No. 18 Baylor volleyball is back in the Ferrell Center for its Big 12 home-opening doubleheader against Kansas State.
“At home, obviously we just have our fans who can cheer us on, whereas away, they’re going to try to badger you and say things,” freshman outside hitter Kyndal Stowers said. “I mean, that doesn’t affect us, but being at home where everyone’s loving on you definitely helps out and makes you feel better about the game.”
The first match in Ames, Iowa, saw a pair of significant swings in momentum. After dropping the first set 25-17, the Bears came back to win consecutive sets 25-19 and 25-15. But the Cyclones returned the favor, closing out the match with 25-22 and 15-8 victories to secure a 3-2 win.
“We say, always, that the better team wins night two,” head coach Ryan McGuyre said. “What you want to avoid, and kind of what happened, is [that] those back-to-back days cause a lot more splits. … Without giving away too much of the secret sauce, I think day two is, ‘What do we do well that we need to do more of?’”
The Bears did win that second match — and in straight sets no less, 25-18, 25-22 and 25-17. Stowers, who returned from a concussion, and junior outside hitter Elise McGhee led all players with 18 and 13 kills, respectively. Freshman setter Averi Carlson had more assists on the weekend (91) than Iowa State’s entire team (87).
“Iowa State was a good team, and to start out with BYU and then Iowa State was definitely a challenge,” Stowers said of the team’s early conference schedule. “Being able to get out there and especially get it done in three was very nice for us to just feel that way and know that we’re capable. … We played really well, and all the pieces were put together.”
The Bears (7-6, 1-2 Big 12), remain ranked No. 18. They’re set to take on a Kansas State (8-5, 2-2) team that has a new coach and a 5-1 road record.
“I think it’s absolutely essential for us to carry some momentum from the last one or really create momentum,” McGuyre said. “We played really well, felt good about ourselves, but we have to really make that repeatable with this young team.”
The first match, a gold-out, will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday. The second, Greek Night, will be on Friday at the same time. Both will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The Bears have only played four home games this season, having spent most of the preseason road-tripping to the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge in Minnesota and the Ram Volleyball Classic in Colorado before playing three straight away games to start conference play. Baylor is 57-6 at home dating back to 2019 and has won 10 straight games against the Wildcats.