By Grant Morrison | Sports Writer
In a battle of Big 12 heavyweights, No. 17 Baylor volleyball is set to face off against No. 12 Kansas at noon Saturday at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena in Lawrence. The Bears are hunting for their ninth straight conference win, while the Jayhawks hope to regain momentum after dropping two of their last three.
Baylor (18-6, 14-3) has swept its last four opponents, taking down Colorado (12-14, 5-9), Texas Tech (13-12, 5-8), UCF (8-13, 1-11) and Kansas State (9-13, 7-6).
Kansas (21-3, 12-2) has yet to lose a conference game at home, and sit at second place in the Big 12. Their offensive attack is controlled by senior setter Camryn Turner, who leads the conference with a whopping 11.24 assists per set, and helps senior outside hitter Ayah Elnady record her impressive 3.19 kills per set.
Their defense is similarly formidable, led by freshman middle blocker Reese Ptacek and senior middle blocker Toyosi Onabanjo, who rank second and fourth respectively in the Big 12 in blocks per set. Onabanjo also gets involved in the offense, boasting the second highest hitting percentage in the Big 12 with .415, followed by Baylor redshirt junior middle blocker Alicia Andrew at .410.
“This is kind of what we expected from Kansas,” head coach Ryan McGuyre said. “[Head coach Ray Bechard] is one of the most brilliant coaches in our conference… his teams are always really good.”
The Bears’ recent success has been thanks to players all over the court, but especially the vaunted attacks of senior outside hitter Elise McGhee. McGhee has scored 13 or more kills in every match of the eight-game win streak, including a career high 30 in a home matchup against TCU.
“When we’re playing our best, it’s art, it’s beautiful, it’s music,” McGuyre said.
He explained that graduate student setter Jackie Barrett Frazier is who keeps the team in tune to that music, helping the offense find their rhythm. She also contributes defensively with her fair share of digs, tallying four double-doubles during the win streak, and Baylor’s first triple-double since 2009 against Iowa State.
“It’s been fun…each game, someone new has come up, going off in sets…[McGhee] is also bringing other hitters up with her, so I’m able to trust them all in moments, too,” Barrett Frazier said.
Baylor currently sits at third place in the Big 12, behind Kansas at second and No. 9 Arizona State (24-2, 12-1) in first. The Bears handed the Sun Devils their only conference loss in a September showdown in Waco. The Bears hope to hand the Jayhawks their first home conference loss on Saturday at noon in Lawrence. The game will stream on ESPN+.
