By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
The expectation for the incoming group to Baylor volleyball was to experience the learning curve many face when entering college volleyball.
“[The freshmen are] so much fun both on and off the court,” junior middle blocker Victoria Davis said during preseason Big 12 volleyball media days. “They’re all very talented, but they really want to learn.”
The star freshman trio struggled in the season opener against South Alabama. Outside hitter Ksenia Rakhmanchik totaled six kills with a -.080 hitting percentage, outside hitter Bailey Warren added four kills on a .071 percentage and libero Morgan Madison tallied 12 digs.
Then, they took off.
Madison won her first of two Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors with 26 digs against then-No. 10 SMU. Warren connected on 15 kills against the Mustangs — the first of her 12 matches in double digits.
Rakhmanchik reached double-digit kills against Northwestern with 15, then recorded 10 or more kills in 15 of Baylor’s last 16 matches. She also won four conference weekly awards before being named to the All-Big 12 First Team.
Behind the production from the freshman trio is the group of seniors that guided them in their first season as Bears.
Graduate middle blockers Gabrielle Essix and Manuela Bibinbe played a major role in both offense and defense at the net. Bibinbe’s ranked third in kills per set as well as blocks per set. Essix led with 1.21 blocks per set while sitting at sixth in kills per set.
Setter Bri Denney, middle blocker Anastasiia Nikolnikova and outside hitter Brielle Warren — older sister of Bailey Warren — also contributed to the development of the young core despite limited playing time.
“Our seniors are so inspiring,” McGuyre said. “They are so wise and they’re so grounded … I know they’re going to do amazing things moving forward.”
The entire season was not as smooth as Baylor had hoped. It was a tale of two teams as the Bears finished with an 11-1 home record but fell to 5-7 on the road.
Baylor played efficient volleyball in front of its home crowd. They averaged a .273 hitting percentage at the Ferrell Center and hit .197 on the road.
Their road woes reflected the team’s main struggle: errors. Four of their five matches hitting under .200 came on the road, including a season-low .134 at then-No. 2 Texas and at Iowa State.
Baylor connected on 28 kills with 15 errors in 97 total attacks. Rakhmanchik and Warren combined for 10 kills and nine errors. Madison made nine digs throughout the Longhorns’ sweep.
Warren led the Bears with 13 kills against the Cyclones but added eight errors. Rakhmanchik committed five errors with seven kills.
“All season, time and time again, we’ve been tested and put in positions where we had to fight back,” Davis said. “We had to put in our all in every moment and just be able to make up those points and get great kills and just keep it going.”
Their struggles on the road culminated in a five-match road losing streak that spanned from Oct. 8 to Nov. 12, getting swept three times.
McGuyre said during the season that limiting errors was a top priority for his squad, particularly for Rakhmanchik and Warren, who were taking most of Baylor’s attacks.
The freshmen, along with the team as a whole, picked it up offensively toward the end of the skid. Rakhmanchik won two Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors and an Offensive Player of the Week award in November, cementing her spot as the Bears’ premier attacker.
Madison was also named Defensive Player of the Week after posting a career-high 31 digs against Texas Tech.
“These girls are so special and they’re something different,” Davis said. “Moving forward, I know that we have great things to come.”
Rakhmanchik and Madison also made their marks in the tournament. Rakhmanchik notched a career-high 32 kills in the Bears’ first-round victory over Arkansas State, while Madison’s 22 digs set the program record for digs in a five-set tournament match.
The two, along with Bailey Warren, had a rude awakening in the second round against No. 3 seed Purdue. Rakhmanchik was held to 12 kills on a .171 hitting percentage, Warren recorded eight kills on a .136 percentage and Madison tallied only nine digs against the Boilermakers — the seventh time she dipped below double figures in 28 matches.
For the freshman, the experience set expectations for future postseason competition and what they need to do to find success in the tournament.
“It’s not a feeling that we enjoy, but those things are going to create some fuel and some fire to make sure we’re back here in this situation again and continue to execute it at a higher level,” McGuyre said after the loss to Purdue. “The experience is going to help this young team.”
The three will look to lead Baylor to the top of the Big 12 after finishing fifth in 2025 and back to the postseason for what would be the program’s 11th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
