By Jackson Posey | Sports Writer
No. 4 Baylor volleyball’s season came to an end Friday night as the No. 5 Dayton Flyers upset the Bears in five sets at the Ferrell Center.
The Bears (23-8) got a memorable performance from junior opposite hitter Allie Sczech, who continued her hot streak with a career-high 21 kills and a season-high six blocks. But it wasn’t enough to overcome redshirt senior outside hitter Lexie Almodovar, who shouldered Dayton’s offensive load and eclipsed 2,000 career kills in the victory. Her 34 kills were a career-high.
“Just a cool night, great volleyball,” Dayton head coach Tim Horsmon said. “Baylor played great. They were tough — we knew they would be. They’re well-coached. Which made it even better, made it sweeter. I know they had a heck of a season, and I’m sure [are] disappointed, but I know we beat a really good team.”
Coming off the best postseason performance of her career, recording 12 kills and zero errors in Thursday’s win over Wofford, Sczech came out guns blazing, notching six first-set kills. Alongside sophomore middle blocker Victoria Davis, who hit a perfect 4-for-4 in the opening set, Sczech led Baylor to a 17-15 lead before a four-point Dayton run flipped the momentum late. The Flyers won, 25-22.
“Jackie Barrett Frazier has talked about how we’re supposed to play for the seniors, and how it really is our last match,” Sczech said. “Especially with this group of seniors, they just had a really big impact on me since my freshman year … Every time we stepped out there I was like, ‘You know what, every ball, I’m just gonna go as hard as I can for them.’”
Dayton’s offense is built around Almodovar, the reigning Atlantic 10 Conference Volleyball Player of the Year. Junior opposite hitter Liana Sarkissian also made her presence known early, opening the game a perfect 6-for-6 on kills.
“I’ve said throughout this whole year that coming back was the best decision I could have made,” Almodovar said. “I’m obviously incredibly happy that I decided to stay and I was able to be a part of this special group … Just being able to look my teammates side-to-side and just trust everyone that was out there, and know that we had done this before and we had prepared for this.”
Costly errors mounted for Dayton as Baylor answered with a second-set victory, 25-22. The Flyers committed two service errors and eight attack errors, including a set-ending attack error by Almodovar. The Bears fended off several runs and never trailed after 7-6.
By the third set, the pendulum wound down to a halt. The teams squabbled to eleven ties, including 23-23 and 24-24, as the Flyers struggled to capitalize on four service aces (from four different players). The set ended on a Sarkissian attack error in extras, 26-24, as the Bears put themselves one set away from advancing.
But the Flyers answered decisively, never trailing (and leading by as many as seven) in a fourth set they won, 25-21. Almodovar remained rock-solid, securing eight more kills and a service ace.
“I challenge if there’s ever been a better 5’8 player ever,” Horsmon said. “I know there have been some really good ones, but I got to coach this one and she’s ours. And I will go to the grave saying she’s the best one that I’ve seen.”
The fifth set came down to the wire. Back-to-back Gaby Arroyo service aces put the Flyers up 4-2, giving Dayton a two-point lead that wouldn’t be replicated for another 16 possessions. It was Almodovar, again, who set the plan in motion, drilling her final kill to take a 13-11 lead.
Three possessions later, it was over. Sarkissian spiked the ball cross-court, glancing it off the outstretched arms of sophomore outside hitter Kendal Murphy to close the match, and Baylor’s season, at 15-12.
“I think disappointment is normally not the end of a great journey but the start of something bigger and better moving forward,” Baylor head coach Ryan McGuyre said.
The Bears finished the year 23-8, their eighth 20-win season in 10 seasons under McGuyre. The loss marked their second consecutive year with a second-round tournament exit after three straight regional semifinal berths from 2020-2022.
