By Grant Morrison | Sports Writer
No. 17 Baylor Volleyball added another game to the win column with a 3-0 sweep against Colorado Friday night in the Ferrell Center, 26-24, 25-16, 25-20. Senior outside hitter Elise McGhee continued her dominant hitting streak, tallying 24 kills in only three sets.
The Bears (15-6, 7-3 Big 12) got off to an efficient start, hitting .727 with a 9-7 lead before tallying their first attack error. As the set went on, service errors began to pile up, costing Baylor five points. Colorado (10-13, 3-8 Big 12) capitalized on the serving struggles, and reached set point 24-23 despite hitting only .250 to the Bears’ .333.
Head coach Ryan McGuyre called a timeout, from which Baylor returned with a vengeance. McGhee slammed down a pair of kills to tie, then take the set 26-24.
Graduate student setter Jackie Barrett Frazier opened the second set with a couple of service aces, punctuated by dual kills from junior opposite hitter Allie Sczech.
McGuyre pulled in some assistance from the bench, rotating graduate student opposite hitter Jennifer Bolden and redshirt freshman setter Harley Kreck into the action. The pair capitalized on their floor time with a kill and block from Bolden, and three assists from Kreck to help the Bears pull away 19-14.
The offensive firepower rattled the Buffaloes, whose error struggles plummeted their second set hitting percentage to .094, as the Bears took care of business to close the set 25-16.
The third set saw early struggles for Baylor, and a 4-0 run from Colorado prompted McGuyre to call a timeout.
“Third sets for us have seen ourselves trip up a little bit, so we were very intentional about, ‘how can we put pressure on them from the start?’” Sczech said.
Out of the timeout, Baylor added immediate pressure. Sczech delivered another pair of kills in quick succession to give her 10 on the night. Senior libero Lauren Briseño served her 80th career ace to tie the set 14-14.
From that point, the Bears had all the momentum, behind consistent kills from McGhee and the stellar defense of sophomore defensive specialist Tehani Ulufatu.
“She’s just a sophomore in a big role, and her voice is really good,” McGuyre said. “She was ready. Made plenty of great plays for us.”
Though McGhee’s patented 30-foot serve comes at the occasional price—six service errors in three sets—its disruptive velocity forced the Buffs to scramble defensively. Finishing the night with a .475 hitting percentage, the senior’s efficiency helped propel the Bears to a 25-20 win in the final set.
“She hit with range, you know? We saw the heat, in the second set, cross court, she keeps doing those things,” McGuyre said.
McGhee credited the team’s chemistry as the source of her lights-out performance.
“I think Jackie [Barrett Frazier]’s doing a great job of producing great sets,” McGhee said. “And then I have to keep myself in rhythm no matter what.”
Friday’s win was the fifth consecutive for the Bears, who prepare for a road trip to Lubbock on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. matchup against Texas Tech (11-11, 3-7 Big 12).
