By Grant Morrison | Sports Writer
No. 23 Baylor volleyball took down No. 18 TCU, 25-23, 22-25, 25-20, 18-25, 15-8, Friday night at the Ferrell Center. It was the first rematch of the season for the Bears, who dropped the first matchup in Fort Worth, 3-1, on Oct. 6.
The Bears (13-6, 4-3 Big 12) came out swinging, with senior outside hitter Elise McGhee starting hot and staying hot, opening the match with back-to-back kills and ending with a career-high 30. Sophomore outside hitter Kendal Murphy scored kills on three of her first four attacks.
“This was definitely a personal match for us,” Murphy said. “It was so exciting, especially all the students that were there wearing their bucket hats, standing up, it just put a smile on my face.”
TCU (14-5, 6-3 Big 12) met the moment, keeping the first set close behind the kills of senior outside hitter Melanie Parra, who leads the league in kills per set and is second in the nation.
Tied 11-11, the Bears controlled the scoring with two kills and two errors. Elise McGhee went to the service line, and delivered three straight aces to extend the lead. Baylor struggled with errors in the first set, posting 11 total compared to TCU’s four, but the green and gold rallied for a clean finish, taking the first set 25-23.
It was a similarly promising start to the second set for the Bears, before a handful of errors and a net violation allowed TCU to tie it 5-5. Both teams exchanged scoring streaks—the Frogs score four, the Bears score three, Frogs score five— before Kendal Murphy broke the spell with a strike to the back corner.
Down 18-13, the Bears got to work on a comeback effort, but ultimately fell short, 25-22.
The third was a near perfect set for Baylor, opening with a service ace from graduate student setter Jackie Barrett Frazier. A dig from senior libero Lauren Briseño sent the ball past the height of the scoreboard, and came down in time for junior opposite hitter Allie Sczech to deliver a kill for the lead.
McGhee kept up the momentum, leading the Bears on an electric run that saw her sixth service ace of the night, surpassing 60 in her career and setting her new career-high in a single match. Murphy finished the set off with her ninth kill, 25-20. Baylor posted a .367 hitting percentage with only two errors in the set.
The fourth set had a less auspicious beginning. Down 6-3 early, two attack errors and a service error made the difference in the score. Not to be deterred, McGhee and the Bears built themselves to a 17-15 lead.
But from there, Parra and the Frogs came alive with a downpour of attacks. Baylor struggled on serve receive and defense, allowing a 10-1 run from TCU to drop the set 25-18.
In the all-important tie-breaking set, neither team could find an edge, trading points early. Both teams were desperate for momentum, until TCU finally found it with a 3-0 run before switching sides with Baylor trailing 8-6.
A kill from McGhee after the swap brought Barrett Frazier to the line. She served up an ace, then another, and started the team on a long run. With three service aces in the last set, Barrett Frazier led the team on a 9-0 run, capped off by a suffocating block from Sczech to end the game. McGhee’s 30 kills was the season high for any Bear this season. Combined with her six service aces, seven kills and three blocks, tallying 37.5 points on the night.
“Elise had an All-American match,” head coach Ryan McGuyre said. “I think she’s an All-American, how she plays and competes. What she’s doing from the service line, to the blocking, and a 30 kill night… I liked her composure.”
After a four-set Oct. 6 loss to TCU in Fort Worth, the Bears were playing against their rivals with an extra chip on their shoulder. Combined with the massive, energetic crowd and the spirit of Homecoming in the air, there was something different about tonight’s matchup.
“Everyone had huge moments of shining, Kendall had great moments of shining, Allie [Andrew] had great moments shining… I feel like everyone was doing their best tonight,” McGhee said.
The Bears will be back in action at 7 p.m. Wednesday against Iowa State (9-9,3-4 Big 12) at the Ferrell Center.
