By Grant Morrison | Sports Writer
In their first conference road game of 2024, No. 14 Baylor volleyball fell in four sets to No. 22 TCU 23-25, 25-22, 16-25, 20-25, Sunday afternoon at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth. It was the Horned Frogs’ fourth consecutive win against the Bears.
The Bears (10-4, 2-1 Big 12) struck first with a quick kill from senior outside hitter Elise McGhee, who hit an impressive .417 in the first set. Errors abounded early from both teams, spurring TCU to a 5-0 scoring run that prompted a timeout from head coach Ryan McGuyre with the Horned Frogs (11-3, 3-1 Big 12) ahead in the set 11-7. Junior opposite hitter Allie Sczech came out of the break with an immediate kill off an assist from graduate student setter Jackie Barrett Frazier, but it wasn’t long before star senior outside hitter Melanie Parra led the Horned Frogs on to an 8-1 scoring run.
Parra, the Big 12 preseason Player of the Year, leads the nation in points per set and kills per set (5.28) and is second in total kills.
Down 20-11, McGhee fired a rocket off of her face for a kill, from which the Bears built a tremendous 7-0 run. After the nine-point deficit, Baylor clawed their way back to within one at 22-21, prompting TCU head coach Jason Williams to call another timeout. Sczech added a pair of kills after the break, but the Horned Frogs slipped away with the set, 25-23.
Sczech picked up the second set right where she left off with two kills and a block to score three of the Bears’ first four points. Junior middle blocker Alicia Andrew followed her lead with a high-speed kill.
The Horned Frogs were plagued with service errors, tallying 11 on the day, but hit a groove in the second set behind an onslaught of kills. TCU junior outside hitter Jalyn Gibson and 6-foot-3-inch outside hitter Becca Kelley each recorded 14 kills, backing up the already dominant Parra.
McGhee broke the TCU scoring streak in the second set but gave the point right back with a service error two points later. A long rally gave sophomore outside hitter Kendal Murphy her third kill of the match, followed by a kill and block from senior middle blocker Manuela Bibinbe. Tied at 20-20, every point was a long-fought battle, but Murphy caught fire and finished the set with three straight kills.
The third set opened evenly, tying at every point through 9-9. Stellar defense helped the Frogs pull away after a 16-16 tie, working magic out of difficult situations. Every attack was improbably received, and every would-be error was tracked down and recovered. TCU went on a 9-0 scoring run, with Gibson tallying three of the last five points.
For the third straight match, Baylor struggled in the third set. Against Arizona and No. 15 Arizona State, it was after winning the first two sets, but in a crucial third set tied 1-1, Baylor seemingly had no answer for the Horned Frogs’ firepower.
TCU started the fourth set with a lead again and went on a 7-1 run, five kills courtesy of Kelly. The lone Baylor point came on a service error from Parra.
The Bears looked battered and bruised as they fought to defend against the relentless offensive trio but refused to quit. They watched the gap grow larger and larger, and the match point came 24-14. Behind Barrett Frazier’s serves, Baylor put together a fearless rally and battled back to 24-20, but Parra slammed the door with her 25th kill of the day to clinch the win for TCU.
It was McGuyre’s second loss of the season to one of his former assistant coaches, the first being a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Sam Erger’s SMU Mustangs. Williams spent eight seasons at Baylor with McGuyre before taking the job in Fort Worth.
The Bears’ next Big 12 matchup will be on the road against No. 20 BYU. First serve against the Cougars is scheduled for 8 p.m. Thursday at George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, Utah, and the match will be broadcast on FS1.
