By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer, Claire Marie Scott | Sports Director
The road to Baylor was long for Anastasiia Nikolnikova and Ksenia Rakhmanchik, a pair of new volleyball arrivals from Eastern Europe, but they found their own ways to Waco.
Nikolnikova, a senior Syracuse transfer originally from Kyiv, Ukraine, wasn’t always a volleyball player. Before she ever hit the court, she lived for the pool.
“I actually started kind of late,” Nikolnikova said. “I started when I was in seventh grade. Before that, I was swimming.”
It took one encounter with a coach to change her life.
“I was swimming for five years,” Nikolnikova said. “One day, randomly, we were doing PT at the gym, and a … local volleyball coach saw me, and she was so excited.”
Nikolnikova’s height — listed at 6-foot-4 — won the attention of a coach who saw her physical potential. She answered the call and hasn’t looked back since.
“She’s like, ‘Please, you need to try it. You need to try it. You need to come here,’” Nikolnikova said. “I came to practice, and literally since day one, I absolutely fell in love with this sport.”
Rakhmanchik, a freshman outside hitter, found the sport earlier in her life. She grew up playing volleyball in her hometown of Minsk, Belarus.
Rakhmanchik won first place in nine tournaments with her club team RGUOR 2008, the Junior National Team of Belarus, including the Olympic Days of Youth tournament five times. She also earned a Belarus national championship and the Best Outside Hitter award through the club team.
After a successful Belarusian career, Rakhmanchik pivoted to a collegiate career in the US.
“I played volleyball in Belarus for eight years, and then I had suggested to be a professional volleyball player,” Rakhmanchik said. “I started to find about volleyball, like world volleyball, and I think America was the best suggestion because it’s not [just] about volleyball, but about study also.”
Rakhmanchik’s agent advised her to choose Baylor over the other teams on her radar.
“I had an agent, and for me, it was the best level in volleyball,” Rakhmanchik said. “Volleyball for me is everything, and Baylor was the best with what I had.”
Nikolnikova’s journey to Waco was more circuitous. She began her collegiate career at the College of Southern Idaho, playing two seasons at the junior college. She won NJCAA Region 18 Player of the Year and NJCAA First Team All-American honors.
Nikolnikova then transferred to Syracuse, where she finished top 10 in the ACC with 1.16 blocks per set in her only season in the conference.
When she entered the transfer portal, Baylor made the first move.
“I never heard of Baylor before they actually contacted me when I entered the transfer portal,” Nikolnikova said. “As they contacted me, I actually did my little research, and I definitely became really excited.”
She started to become more familiar with the program and the school after communicating with the coaching staff. Before long, she became more invested in becoming a Bear.
“I just love how good Baylor is, and I definitely wanted to be part of this family,” Nikolnikova said. “I wanted to be part of this legacy of the Baylor Bears.”
After three years of college volleyball stateside, Nikolnikova said the transition to Baylor wasn’t too difficult. After all, she said, Waco reminded her of Twin Falls, Idaho, where she played her first two seasons in the US.
“Waco reminded me a little bit of the town I used to live back when I went to JUCO,” Nikolnikova said. “It’s kind of like the same vibes, [with] bigger cities an hour, two hours away, and it’s not super small or super big.”
Rakhmanchik, playing in the US for the first time, has had a more difficult time adjusting to playing college volleyball and living in the US.
“It was hard for me,” Rakhmanchik said. “Now it’s easier, but still hard because the game is different, and it’s so hard, especially for me emotionally.”
Nikolnikova has helped Rakhmanchik along the way, including assistance with the language barrier.
“For me, it’s a little bit easier because she speaks in Russian,” Rakhmanchik said. “I speak in Russian, so sometimes when I didn’t understand something, she helped me.”
The two have seen growth since joining the Bears in the offseason. Nikolnikova has improved alongside a veteran middle blocker group that also features junior Victoria Davis and graduate Gabrielle Essix.
“Watching them play — watching those block moves, watching how their attitude towards the game, their attitude towards blocking — is definitely very helpful,” Nikolnikova said. “I’m a better person; I’m a better player right now because of them.”
While the pair continues its transition to Baylor, victory is still at the front of their minds. The Bears are ranked No. 20 and started the season 5-1, with their only loss coming against No. 10 SMU in five sets.
“We have in the locker room a huge whiteboard,” Nikolnikova said. “It has goals. We have like 50 of them, and it’s from bigger things, like the natty, to smaller things, and we’re working hard to achieve those goals.”
Baylor will return to the court at noon Sunday, when they will face off against No. 11 Florida at the O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla.
