By Bennett Parker | Sports Writer
No. 20 Baylor volleyball had its first major test of the season against No. 17 Florida. The Bears looked to ride their undefeated start to their first top-20 win of the season.
The Gators (3-1) had different plans, sweeping Baylor (4-1) in three sets 25-13, 25-23, and 25-19.
The Bears are now 21-9 against ranked opponents at the Ferrell Center since 2019.
Decorated head coach Ryan McGuyre looked to improve his impressive home record but had a tall task against Florida, who already have multiple games against ranked opponents under their belt.
On the heels of a three-set sweep against North Texas, Baylor fans expected a competitive match against the visiting Gators but ran into a buzzsaw. The Gators made up for their 14 service errors, boasting a .281 hitting percentage to the Bears’ .046. The high pressure didn’t help a Baylor team that struggled with errant play.
Sophomore outside hitter Bailey Warren saw an uptick in playing time with six kills on 19 total attacks, including multiple kills and a solo block to keep the Bears close in the second set.
“It was really refreshing and really supportive as well,” Warren said. “It’s having a support system and I just love playing … I’m very grateful to be able to do it.”
She made her season debut on Thursday against North Texas, recording a trio of kills on nine attacks.
While the main storyline was the 20 errors that left Baylor flustered, McGuyre recognized another poor stat that hindered the Bears.
“I think we want to serve 93% from the service line,” McGuyre said. “So that part was pretty bad … Baylor’s brand of serving wasn’t very strong there.”
The Bears had eight service errors in the match, which is especially fatal when serves that make it over aren’t putting the pressure on.
Florida’s high leverage experience proved too much for the Bears in set one. The Gators took advantage of Baylor’s sloppy play across the board, leaving no doubt and taking the set 25-13.
The Bears came out with resilience in the second set, with great performances from Warren and senior setter Harley Greek. However, the Gators remained solid behind some solid libero play from sophomore Lily Hayes, who logged 18 digs across the three sets.
“Harley came in, we started doing better offensively with some of those things there,” McGuyre said. “[We] still struggled from the service line that second set. We know there’s a fight within us, but there’s also got to be execution in it.”
The Gators jumped out to another early lead in the third set against a frustrated Bears team, whose attempts at gaining momentum were quickly hushed by decisive Gator kills. The hole was dug too deep for a late rally from the Baylor, losing the decisive set 25-19.
A test against a high-caliber team like Florida is hopefully a refining fire for the Bears before conference play.
“Florida is definitely probably the best team we’ve seen this season yet,” Greek said. “So it’s good for us to just see great, talented volleyball. They’re also playing their best volleyball right now, which is exactly what we want when we go into matches. We want the best version of every team to both test us and then see what we’re really capable of.”
Baylor opens the Ameritas Challenge Tournament against Georgia Tech at 4 p.m. Thursday at Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
