By Jackson Posey | Sports Writer
A longtime rivalry could be coming to an end.
Baylor and Texas have played numerous games as Big 12 foes, with the Longhorns sweeping last year’s series en route to a national championship. But with No. 5 Texas headed to the SEC in the latest round of conference realignment, those battles could be coming to an end.
“I probably haven’t wrapped my mind around it, just because they’re a good program, we’re a good program, the rivalry is there,” Baylor volleyball head coach Ryan McGuyre said. “It’s always tough matches in Gregory [Gymnasium]. Yeah, we know there’s history of us not doing well there, so we want to change that, and this is the last chance to do it under the umbrella of the Big 12.”
The defending champion Longhorns enter the game with a built-in scheduling advantage. Not only are they at home in one of the toughest venues in the country, but they also haven’t played a match since Oct. 18. No. 20 Baylor played earlier this week.
“I haven’t been shy about our schedule this year,” McGuyre said. “They’ve had eight days off. We get a day off and then we’re on the road there to play them twice. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I love my team so much. They’ve been so resilient. We want to make sure we battle, go make history, go get some wins on it.”
The location also plays a role. Gregory Gymnasium is one of the most celebrated — or, to some, infamous — volleyball venues in the nation. The 4,000-seat arena offers the Longhorns a strong home-court advantage.
“It’s always so much fun playing Texas, especially being able to play in Gregory Gym,” junior libero and defensive specialist Lauren Briseño said. “The gym is just notoriously known for being super loud and having a really engaged crowd. So we’re really looking forward to the matchup, for sure.”
The Bears (12-7, 6-3 Big 12) are on a five-game winning streak and have remained ranked throughout the season. The top-five Longhorns will be the Bears’ seventh ranked opponent this season, and they’re fourth ranked inside the top 11. After Thursday, they will have played half of the current top eight teams in the nation.
“Just starting up with a tough schedule I think has been really good for us,” Briseño said. “Just to see how hard it’s going to be, but also learning how to embrace every challenge that there is with these super hard matchups and super loud crowds. Especially like playing at BYU, I think, was also a really cool experience, to have these hard matchups and super loud crowds. … I think our schedule really prepared us for this matchup and just learning how to be able to play against really big hitters throughout the Big 12.”
Despite early growing pains this season, McGuyre said he will continue to schedule tough games to open the season — including, he hopes, against Texas.
“At the end of the day, our program is not going anywhere, they’re not going anywhere, we’re 90 minutes from each other, we’ll probably keep each other on the schedule because we sharpen each other,” McGuyre said. “To a small extent, if you ask them, our rise has probably helped them push it a little bit more with what they’ve been doing. We go there and we want to compete, and it would be absolutely sweet to get not just one win but two wins, and what better way to send them off to the SEC.”
McGuyre said he’d “100 percent” like to keep playing Texas, even after the Longhorns move to the SEC. The teams are already in talks about 2024.
“It makes so much sense from an RPI, KPI standpoint,” McGuyre said, referring to metrics used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee. “We’re right next to each other. We get great crowds, great atmospheres. It’s so good for the Texas volleyball community for us to go battle each other. We’ve already been talking about 2024, scheduling home and away. You know me, I’m not afraid to play good teams. They want to play good teams. Why fly, drive hours when you can get great matches right here?”
Baylor will open its series against Texas at 7 p.m. on Thursday in the Gregory Gymnasium in Austin. The Bears are currently on a five-game winning streak — their longest of the season — including series sweeps over Cincinnati and UCF. In October, they’ve only once lost multiple sets in a match.
Meanwhile, Texas enters the series on the heels of a nine-game winning streak, including series sweeps over No. 21 Houston, No. 17 Kansas, No. 9 BYU and Oklahoma. Since a shocking season-opening loss to Long Beach State, the Longhorns are 14-2, with the sole losses coming against No. 2 Stanford and No. 11 Washington State.