By Bennett Parker | Sports Writer
No. 18 Baylor volleyball struggled to get past UTEP throughout their Friday night battle. The Bears found themselves trailing 20-15 in the third set while trying to secure the sweep.
They gained some momentum on a kill from junior outside hitter MJ McCurdy and back-to-back attack errors from the Miners. Within striking distance, Baylor strung together two more points to take the lead and force UTEP to take a timeout.
The Bears (8-2) secured the third set to sweep the Miners (8-3) to close their nonconference schedule and extend the win streak to three games.
“I hear it all the time, ‘Let’s play Baylor volleyball,’ and I don’t think I truly felt that until tonight,” sophomore setter Isabela Haggard said. “It was so much fun, and I just think that’s a testament to who we are. Down 18-11, I don’t think we truly played Baylor volleyball until that point.”
Baylor entered the night looking to get back in a groove after an underwhelming performance against UIW on Wednesday, while UTEP was in search of their first win against a ranked opponent in this decade.
Baylor didn’t have its sharpest play in the first set, allowing the Miners to hang around up until 21-19. Sophmore outside hitter Bailey Warren’s trio of kills helped the Bears take four of the next five points and close the set 25-20.
Sophomore outside hitter Ksenia Rakhmanchik topped the stat sheet again, finishing the match with a team-leading 15 kills on 31 attacks.
“I think we have weapons,” Haggard said. “I’m up there, like, I don’t know who to set, but I don’t think it matters. These are all great options. [Rakhmanchik] is great; we can lean on her a lot when we need to … we got to have all five or six weapons going at the same time.”
Baylor still struggled to hit its stride in the second set, allowing a .300 hitting percentage from the Miners and not finding a lead until 18-17. The Bears were able to out-rally the Miners down the stretch, earning them a 25-21 victory.
The third set was more of the same, digging their biggest hole of the night at 18-11 before clawing back to a 21-20 lead with class play across the court. The match-winning 14-4 run electrified the building, ending the evening on a high note.
“The runs happen on defense,” head coach Ryan McGuyre said. “So it was our backcourt getting balls off the court for us tonight, as it was pretty anemic blocking from us tonight.”
McCurdy made the most of her limited opportunities. She shined in the clutch, logging three kills in the comeback despite sitting the first two sets.
“I think MJ won us the game,” Haggard said. “Came in there, had three kills in a row, and that’s hard to do after setting two sets, so, yeah, I think it’s awesome.”
Family weekend helped bring some of the best attendance yet to the Ferrell Center and made for the most exciting environment of the season.
“Come watch us play,” Haggard said. “I think that you can truly see the light that we play with, and we’re doing big things this year, so they want to be part of it.”
Baylor will hit the road to take on BYU at 9 p.m. Friday at George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, Utah.
