By Bennett Parker | Sports Writer
After cruising through two sets, Baylor volleyball found itself trailing 23-21 in set three in front of a hostile TCU crowd.
The Bears knew they had to handle business at that moment, ripping off a 6-2 match-sealing run behind six straight kills from sophomore outside hitter Ksenia Rakhmanchik. She stayed piping hot against the rival Horned Frogs after winning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week.
Baylor (12-5, 4-3 Big 12) found the win it had been looking for all season with an upset sweep of No. 10 TCU (15-4, 6-2 Big 12) 25-22, 25-22, 27-25.
The Bears were struggling two weeks ago, losing three of their first four conference games and falling out of the rankings for the first time in eight years. The team has won nine straight sets since then, sweeping Arizona and Texas Tech.
Sophomore setter Isabella Haggard and Rakhmanchik were in sync all afternoon. Haggard logged her fourth double-double of the season with 32 assists. She found Rakhmanchik all over the floor, helping her to a 23-kill effort on a .463 hitting percentage, narrowly missing her season high.
Service pressure pushed Baylor ahead in the first set, notching three aces and forcing poor returns from the TCU back line. Four separate 4-1 runs, five kills from Rakhmanchik and five service errors from the Frogs lifted the Bears to a 25-22 win in the first set despite being out-hit .429 to .296.
Baylor held the Frogs to a much lower .225 hitting percentage in the second set, while Rakhmanchik logged six more kills.
Haggard continued her phenomenal play after winning Big 12 setter of the week. She was all over the floor with 10 digs and 11 assists as Baylor took the second set with another 25-22 margin.
Baylor pulled ahead early on in the third set before a 7-2 run from TCU tied it at 19. The Bears brought consistent pressure at the net that kept the Frogs’ attack off balance.
Haggard and Rakhmanchik came through again and again in crunch time, combining on six straight points down the stretch before Rakhmanchik logged an unassisted seventh kill on a 7-4 Baylor run to seal the sweep.
TCU had the heavy-hitting arms, outhitting and outblocking the Bears through two sets, but Baylor was the more composed squad. The Frogs hit just .140 over the final set despite senior outside hitter Becca Kelley finally finding her groove. Five of her 11 kills came in the third.
Baylor fans had a bitter taste in their mouth from TCU over the weekend, but volleyball brought out the broomsticks at the right time. The Bears extended their win streak to three matches and look to be back in the top 25 before the extended homestand.
Baylor will return home to host the Houston Cougars at 7 p.m. Friday at the Ferrell Center.
