By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
From prime-time football in Colorado to penalty kicks on the Brazos, another eventful weekend in Baylor Athletics came and went. While the Bears fighting in the mountains were cast under the national spotlight, here’s everything else you may have missed in the Baylor sports world over the weekend.
No. 19 Baylor volleyball routs Hawaii in non-conference finale, 3-1
Between bursts of Brooks & Dunn’s “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” and a bass-boosted remix of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” No. 19 Baylor volleyball rolled Hawaii on Country Night Saturday, 25-14, 21-25, 25-14, 25-17.
With a 12-2 run in the first set, sophomore outside hitter Kendal Murphy and the Bears rallied behind nine service aces. The green and gold wer confident and played a disciplined game, with only nine errors.
The win moves the Bears to 8-3 on the season ahead of Week 1 of Big 12 Conference play. Baylor will play host to Arizona (11-0) on Wednesday and No. 14 Arizona State (11-1) on Friday to close out their nine-game Ferrell Center homestand.
Baylor drops the ball: Football loses overtime thriller to Colorado, 38-31
Baylor football marched into Boulder looking to make a statement in front of a national audience. Instead, the prime-time duel was defined by Colorado’s improbable last-minute heroics which sealed a 38-31 overtime victory over the Bears on Saturday night at Folsom Field.
Colorado junior quarterback Shedeur Sanders launched a game-tying touchdown pass to senior wide receiver LaJohntay Wester for a 43-yard Hail Mary completion in the game’s final moments. After a quick score, the Buffaloes forced a fumble on the goal line and fans poured onto the field.
Baylor looks to find its footing when it returns home to host No. 22 BYU (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) at 11 a.m. Saturday at McLane Stadium.
Baylor soccer tramples Houston for first conference win, 4-0
In the first afternoon match of the season, as temperatures neared triple digits, Baylor soccer secured its first win of conference play and broke a four-game winless streak against Houston, 4-0. Head coach Michelle Lenard saw her Bears (6-4-1, 1-2-0 Big 12) match their goal total from the previous five games combined and score their second-highest amount of goals in a game this season.
Baylor will travel for the first time in over two weeks and continue Big 12 play at 8 p.m. Thursday against returning conference foe No. 21 Colorado (8-1, 2-0 Big 12) at Prentup Field in Boulder, Colo.
Baylor men’s, women’s tennis hit stride at ITA’s
Led by a group of freshmen, women’s tennis started the season strong as Wenfei Yu and Nanaka Soto kicked off their collegiate careers at a combined 5-1 in singles play at the H-E-B Invitational in Waco. While the first year stars held down the court, sophomore Zuzanna Kubacha, senior Sierra Berry and freshman Na Dong all competed in the ITA All-American Championships in Cary, N.C., but failed to advance to the main draw.
Meanwhile, senior Marko Miladinović advanced to the singles qualifier draw in the men’s All-American Championships in Tulsa. With the success, Miladinović will play in the next round of both singles and doubles play.
ITA All-American Championships continue throughout the week with senior Cristina Tiglea representing the women and Miladinović, senior Oskar Brostrom Poulsen, sophomore Devin Badenhorst and junior Zsombor Velcz representing the men on Wednesday.