By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
Baylor volleyball’s season has been a tale of two teams. The Bears boast a 10-1 home record, while falling to 3-7 on the road and extending their away losing streak to five matches.
No. 21 Baylor (14-9, 9-6 Big 12) fell to Kansas State (15-7, 8-6 Big 12) in Manhattan, Kan., for the first time since 2016 on Wednesday, losing 17-25, 25-23, 23-25, 20-25.
The Bears have not won on the road since Sept. 24, when they took down Texas Tech 3-1.
The first set was a familiar sight for the Bears on the road. A 6-2 run for the Wildcats lifted them ahead 9-5. They continued to push forward with the lead, taking the first set 25-17.
Baylor struggled on the attack, notching nine kills while committing seven errors and a .059 hitting percentage.
The Bears’ woes continued early in the second set as Kansas State held a 16-13 lead. Shaylee Myers helped her squad jump to that three-point lead with five kills and a block.
Baylor started to show some life in the match with an 8-2 run with service aces from redshirt sophomore setter Harley Kreck and sophomore outside hitter MJ McCurdy, as well as three blocks.
Back-to-back blocks from graduate middle blocker Gabrielle Essix forced Kansas State head coach Jason Mansfield to call a timeout.
The Bears grasped onto their first lead of the match and won a crucial second set 25-23.
Baylor looked to take advantage of its momentum by rattling off five consecutive points to take a 9-6 lead. The Bears held onto a one-point advantage with both squads trading kills. They started to pull away with a late three-point lead, but the Wildcats stormed back with five straight points to stun Baylor and secure the third set 25-23.
Kansas State started the fourth frame on a four-point run with a chance to close the door on the Bears. Freshman outside hitter Ksenia Rakhmanchik guided her team back even with the Wildcats, drawing six kills in Baylor’s first 14 points.
A trio of service errors from McCurdy, junior libero Tehani Ulufatu and sophomore libero Taylor Crain propelled the Wildcats to a 22-18 lead. The Bears totaled eight service errors in the fourth set.
Two more kills from Myers put the match on ice, handing Baylor its fifth straight road loss.
Myers finished the match with a double-double, tallying a team-high 21 kills and 12 digs. She joined senior setter Ava LeGrand and junior libero Symone Sims with double-digit digs.
Rakhmanchik led a slow Baylor offense Wednesday night, recording 23 kills — only trailing her 24 kills against then-No. 23 Colorado. The Bears hit .188 against Kansas State, marking the fifth time they have ducked below .200 this season. The last time they failed to reach the mark was in their 3-0 loss to Iowa State two weeks ago.
Baylor will continue its road trip against Houston, taking on the Cougars at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Fertitta Center.
