By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
No. 20 Baylor looked down and out Friday, with no answer for a top Texas offense that recorded a season-high .435 hitting percentage in a sweep of the Bears. Five days later, Baylor (7-3, 2-0 Big 12) defeated Texas Tech (8-5, 0-1 Big 12) 25-17, 26-28, 25-15, 25-16 behind a strong defensive showing in Lubbock.
The defense led the way in the Bears’ bounce-back win. They held the Red Raiders to a 31.2 point-scoring percentage and a .176 hitting percentage.
Freshman outside hitter Bailey Warren started hot for the Bears, scoring four of the first seven points of the match. She finished the first set with five points, which led the way for Baylor.
The first set went back-and-forth to an 11-10 score with three ties. Baylor went on to win six of the next seven points, including three from graduate middle blocker Gabrielle Essix, to take a 17-11 lead. The Bears held on to at least a five-point lead for the rest of the set and won 25-17.
Redshirt sophomore Harley Kreck opened the second set with three service aces, helping Baylor’s 6-0 run. The Red Raiders crawled back, taking an 18-16 lead behind 8 points from Kalli Jioshvili Ravva.
Jioshvili Ravva shone for the Red Raiders with 19 kills on 50 total attacks — both leading the match. The freshman continued a strong start to her collegiate career, ranking third in kills and fourth in total attacks.
Head coach Ryan McGuyre called a timeout to halt the Texas Tech momentum. The move paid off as the Bears came back and forced extra points.
The Red Raiders were one step ahead of Baylor, never trailing in extra points and completing the comeback to tie the match at one.
The Bears dominated the third set. They jumped out to a 14-4 lead with five points from graduate middle blocker Manuela Bibinbe and four by freshman outside hitter Ksenia Rakhmanchik. Baylor kept its distance, winning 25-15 to take a 2-1 lead.
After building a 13-12 lead, the Bears fired a 10-2 run to take a commanding 23-14 lead. A strong kill from Bibinbe put the final nail in the coffin and secured the Bears’ second conference win, 3-1.
The Baylor defense was strong both at the net and in the back line. Essix contributed to Baylor’s 14-9 block advantage as the only player in the match with double-digit blocks. Freshman libero Morgan Madison kept up her fast start for Baylor with a team-high 15 digs, her third-highest mark of the season.
Baylor will return to the Ferrell Center to duel with No. 9 TCU at 2 p.m. Saturday.
