By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
Baylor volleyball honored five players on senior night Thursday, a group that has totaled 153 matches in the green and gold.
While the Bears reflected on the past, the future shone. Freshmen outside hitters Ksenia Rakhmanchik and Bailey Warren led the Bears on the attacking end as No. 23 Baylor (16-9, 11-6 Big 12) defeated Texas Tech (10-17, 2-13 Big 12) 22-25, 25-18, 25-16, 25-22.
Rakhmanchik led the team with 15 kills while Warren followed right behind with 14.
“They’ve had to grow up a lot this season,” assistant coach Joshua Walker said. “They’ve been huge for us all season, and we’re definitely going to need them heading to the back end.”
While Rakhmanchik and Warren led the offense, freshman libero Morgan Madison held down the back line with a season-high 31 digs.
“I definitely thought I was in a groove tonight,” Madison said. “[I was] just reading the hitters really well, just getting through all the balls today.”
The Bears premiered a senior-focused starting lineup with setter Bri Denney, middle blocker Anastasiia Nikolnikova, middle blocker Gabrielle Essix and outside hitter Brielle Warren to begin the match.
“They’ve had a lot of unique stories individually, a lot of hardships,” Walker said of the seniors. “Them even getting to this night playing volleyball and being at Baylor is just unique in itself.”
The group did not fare well, falling behind 4-1 with a kill and an assist from setter Peyton Dunn. Baylor continued to falter throughout the set, particularly from the service line. The Bears committed five service errors in the first set.
They started to crawl back, rattling off a 5-1 run with an ace from sophomore outside hitter MJ McCurdy to trail 17-15. The Red Raiders answered with four consecutive points to hold onto a strong lead.
Baylor’s comeback efforts fell short as they dropped the initial set 25-22, capped off by a kill from Texas Tech outside hitter Kalli Jioshvili Ravva, who had a match-high 19 kills in the squads’ last meeting on Sept. 24.
The Bears turned the tide in the second set. They fell behind only once, trailing 4-3 on a kill from Dunn. They grew a steady lead with freshman outside hitter Bailey Warren leading the path with six kills and an assist, tying the match with a 25-18 victory.
“Bailey was coming in, finding a role, scoring really well in the front court,” Walker said. “She was just steady out there, front row, back row, doing everything she needs to do.”
The Red Raiders started the third set strong, leaping out to a 10-6 lead. Jioshvili Ravva connected with four kills and a service ace and finished the match with a team-high 15 kills.
Baylor would not go away. Texas Tech fueled the Bears’ seven-point run with three straight attacking errors to give them a 15-11 advantage.
“Once we got in the third set and things kind of steadied out, as far as what we’re doing in the front court, as far as Manu [Bibinbe] being great on the line,” Walker said. “That’s how you get runs in volleyball. It has to come from the service line, putting the ball in, getting the ball out of system, and then finishing at the net.”
Following a kill from Texas Tech’s Kenna McKenzie, Baylor tallied four more points to lead by seven. The Bears cruised to a 25-16 victory to move ahead 2-1 in the match.
Both squads went back-and-forth to start the fourth set, with Baylor holding onto a 15-14 lead. Two straight kills from Rakhmanchik led a four-point run for her team.
Rakhmanchik elevated on a dime from redshirt sophomore setter Harley Kreck to tie Shelly Stafford for the second-most kills by a freshman in program history with 295, giving the Bears a 20-16 advantage.
A big swing and a kill from Bibinbe completed the night and secured Baylor’s 11th home victory on the season.
The night finished with tearful appreciation for the seniors in their final match at the Ferrell Center. The five seniors pushed their squad to a win.
“We all knew that tonight was special for us because we wanted to play for them,” Madison said. “I wanted to win so bad for all of them because they all deserve the world and win so much.”
Despite the emotion-filled night, the Bears still have one more regular-season match before the Big 12 tournament. Walker believes the team’s unity will push them through.
“At this point, you’re fighting for every moment you have left with each other,” Walker said. “They’re very motivated to make sure we keep this thing running as long as possible.”
Baylor travels to Fort Worth to face off against No. 20 TCU at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Schollmaier Arena for the season finale.
