By Jackson Posey | Sports Writer, Claire-Marie Scott | LTVN Sports Reporter
No. 20 Baylor volleyball fell to TCU 3-2 on Saturday after taking an early 2-0 lead. The Bears dropped the final three sets 25-22, 26-24 and 16-14 after winning the first two in blowout fashion.
The loss marked the second time the Bears have been swept in conference doubleheaders, as they previously lost to then-No. 5 Texas in Austin. The series with the Longhorns bore another striking resemblance to Saturday’s game against TCU: The Bears lost in five after winning the first two sets of the first matchup.
“Discouraged and frustrated, just for the girls, thought they fought hard,” head coach Ryan McGuyre said after the loss to TCU. “Obviously we came out ready to compete. … Winning’s hard. The margins are thin. And at the end of the day, we have to use it to make us better.”
TCU jumped out to an early 3-1 lead, but then the Bears rattled off an 8-1 run on the backs of sophomore opposite hitter Allie Sczech and junior middle blocker Manuela Bibinbe, who chipped in with two kills apiece. A second 5-0 run made it 15-7. The Horned Frogs made a late push, scoring eight of 10 to cut the deficit to four, but the Bears held on for a 25-20 win.
The second set brought more Baylor dominance, as the Bears rode an 11-2 run en route to a 25-14 victory. The set saw 18 errors, but junior outside hitter Elise McGhee recorded seven kills in the frame, nearly out-killing TCU (eight) for the set.
“She’s been really good,” McGuyre said of McGhee, who led all scorers with 22 kills. “She’s been the one steady highlight for us, in just making good swings, high swings, powerful swings, and she’s just going to continue to get better.”
But TCU wasn’t done. The Horned Frogs won a back-and-forth set behind eight kills from graduate student outside hitter Audrey Nalls, including two to close it out. Nalls finished the night with 16 kills, tied for a team-high with junior outside hitter Melanie Parra.
LTVN’s Claire-Marie Scott brings you down to the court.
The fourth set came down to the wire. TCU went up 23-20, but Baylor battled back, escaping set point on an attack error by graduate student middle blocker Brianna Green. At 24-24, the Bears had a chance to end the game — but two attack errors by Bibinbe gave the set to the Horned Frogs. For the third time this season, Baylor let a 2-0 lead slip away. The final set was critical, with both teams jockeying for tournament-seeding position — or position at all — in the eyes of the committee.
The Bears led 7-5, and just two of TCU’s point had come on kills. But then it went the other way, with Nalls and sophomore middle blocker Sarah Sylvester recording kills to knot it up at seven.
Then, an answer. Bibinbe and redshirt sophomore opposite hitter Riley Simpson scored kills, and an attack error by sophomore outside hitter Jalyn Gibson gave Baylor a 10-7 lead. The in-stadium sound system began playing House of Pain’s “Jump Around.” The Bears proceeded to extend their lead to 13-10, needing just two points to close out a victory.
But it didn’t go as planned. TCU returned the favor, scoring six of the game’s final seven points to take the final set, the match and the series sweep. Baylor had the door shut on it after holding a two-set lead.
“That hunger has to be there to finish things off,” McGuyre said. “At the end of the day, [we] have to make plays.”
The loss drops the Bears 14-11 on the season and 8-7 in conference play. With the NCAA Tournament looming, Baylor will have three more opportunities to impress the selection committee, starting with a game at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Kansas.
