By Jackson Posey | Sports Writer
It’s that time of year again, as No. 23 Baylor volleyball is set to host the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge on Friday and Saturday at the Ferrell Center.
The Bears (4-0) are entering the fourth year of the challenge, which features No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 18 Minnesota and TCU. Baylor is the final host team in the four-year circuit, following Wisconsin (2021), TCU (2022) and Minnesota (2023). The Bears are 2-4 over the past three years, with wins over Minnesota in 2021 and Wisconsin in 2022, but after sweeping their first four opponents this season, they’re looking to get back to their winning ways.
“I feel like our team has been having really great energy going into every match,” said sophomore middle blocker Victoria Davis, whose 12 blocks lead the team. “Really looking at our game plan, executing it, and going into this weekend, I feel like as long as we practice hard and train hard and look at that scouting report and everything, then we’ll be pretty set.”
The Challenge will begin at 4 p.m. with TCU-Wisconsin, before Baylor opens a sprawling nine-game homestand with Minnesota (1-1) at 7 p.m. The Golden Gophers sit at No. 18 in the latest AVCA Rankings, but are almost guaranteed to move up after upsetting No. 1-ranked Texas, the defending national champion, at the Intersport Volleyball Showcase on Monday. The Volleyball Showcase also featured a match against No. 5 Stanford, which rallied back from a 2-1 deficit to hand Minnesota its first loss of the season.
“They’re both really physical,” Baylor head coach Ryan McGuyre said of Minnesota and Wisconsin. “When you look at sheer size, they have strength, so they match up with us well when it comes to the size, when it comes to the power.”
The Bears will close out the Challenge on Saturday against No. 6 Wisconsin. The Badgers made the NCAA Tournament semifinals last year but have dropped to 0-3 following a brutal season-opening schedule. Four-set losses to No. 6 Louisville, No. 1 Texas and No. 5 Stanford have knocked the Badgers off-balance.
“The sky is not falling,” Wisconsin junior middle blocker Carter Booth said of the 0-3 start. “And we know that. We are all competitors and we know that it takes time.”
Without another road game until Oct. 6, the Bears have time to bunker down and prepare for the season to come. That starts Friday, and the Bears couldn’t be more ready.
“I feel like it’s very, very exhilarating,” Davis said. “It adds an extra level of energy to the match. And it makes me really excited to play, it makes me really excited for my teammates to play and show off their skills and everything they’ve been working on.”