Lariat TV News brings you down to the court for Baylor’s rally.
By Jackson Posey | Sports Writer, George Schroeder | LTVN Executive Producer
No. 18 Baylor volleyball dropped its Big 12 home opener to Kansas State 3-2 after battling back from a two-set deficit Thursday night in the Ferrell Center. The loss drops the Bears to .500 on the season overall.
Kansas State jumped out to an early lead, turning a 9-5 advantage into 16-11. Baylor (7-7, 1-3 Big 12) struggled to contain the Wildcats’ aggressive attacking offense. At one point in the set, it trailed the dig battle 15-8. The Bears dropped the set 25-18.
The second set featured more of the same, as the Wildcats (9-5, 3-2 Big 12) jumped to a 5-0 lead on three kills and an ace. Following a Baylor timeout, the Bears scored via their own service ace.
A 5-3 run gave the Bears some life, but they allowed consecutive kills going into the media timeout. Baylor held a 48-42 match lead in total attacks but trailed in kills 22-10. That hit percentage differential (40.5% to 4.2%) proved to be the difference, as Kansas State won the set 25-14.
With their backs against the wall, the Bears stormed out of the gates in the third set, opening on a 6-2 run. It was their first lead of the game — and one they wouldn’t relinquish, as they went on to win the set 25-22.
“I think there was a little bit of fire,” head coach Ryan McGuyre said of the team after the first two sets. “Very discouraged with the slow start, … [but] I thought once we were hungry, we were playing pretty good.”
After trailing in the beginning of the fourth set, the Wildcats went on a 3-0 run to take a 9-8 lead. Baylor battled back to take a 15-14 lead at the media timeout. Neither team built a lead of more than two points until freshman libero and defensive specialist Tehani Ulufatu drilled a service ace to cap a three-point run and make the match 19-16.
From then on, it was gravy for the Bears, who scored nine of the final 14 points to send the game to a fifth set. Sophomore opposite hitter Allie Sczech made consecutive blocks in that run, and junior middle blocker Manuela Bibinbe scored on back-to-back plays to tee up a set-ending attack error by Kansas State senior outside hitter and opposite hitter Aliyah Carter.
The final set was tight the entire way. Heading into the media timeout, the score sat at 8-7 with Baylor leading, and neither team had built a lead of more than a point. A Kansas State attack error changed that, upping the Baylor edge to 10-8, but the Wildcats rallied back with 6-2 run, including consecutive kills by Carter, to reach a 14-12 match point.
Bibinbe countered with a kill of her own, assisted by freshman setter Averi Carlson. But the Wildcats drew up a game winner in a timeout, and Carter ended it with her game-high 19th kill of the night.
“It hurts,” freshman outside hitter Kyndal Stowers said of the loss. “Don’t want to feel like that … but definitely encouraging that we were able to fight back after going down those first two sets.”
Following the game, Baylor held a brief ceremony to honor McGuyre, who became the school’s all-time winningest volleyball coach on Sept. 9 against Bowling Green.
The Bears will get a chance to even the season series with the Wildcats when they meet at 7 p.m. Friday in the Ferrell Center.
