By Bennett Parker | Sports Writer
Big 12 volleyball is not easy. The conference is home to six teams in the top 25. No. 17 Baylor volleyball witnessed that firsthand in its first Big 12 road trip in Utah.
Service errors and general inconsistency left Baylor with back-to-back losses to start conference play.
No. 17 Baylor (8-4) started strong in Salt Lake City, winning the first set against Utah (10-3). The Utes defense improved in each set, helping defeat the Bears in four sets, 25-18, 23-25, 23-25, 20-25.
Baylor broke a Big 12 hitting percentage record in their last match against BYU, converting at a .393 clip over five sets.
The Bears kept that momentum in the first set, hitting .591 with all six starters logging kills and winning 25-18. Senior middle blocker Victoria Davis shined to open the match, connecting on five kills and a pair of blocks in the initial set.
Baylor utilized the middle of the court more often early in the afternoon, giving Davis plenty of opportunities on the attack.
Utah got its first glimpse of momentum out of the gate in the second set. The Utes jumped ahead with a 5-1 lead. Baylor answered right back with a 9-2 run, capped off by back-to-back kills from sophomore outside hitter Bailey Warren. The Bears tried to keep their distance over the next 12 rallies.
The Utes exploded for six straight point, to take a 22-19 lead and turned the momentum of the entire match on its head. The Bears clawed back to tie it at 22-22 but couldn’t finish the job, dropping the set 25-23.
“When we can keep the middle as a threat, we can keep them off balance,” head coach Ryan McGuyre said to ESPN broadcasters during the break. “[Haggard] is playing great; we are hitting great; we really need the defense to step up.”
Both sides could not pull away in the third set. The biggest lead was Baylor’s four-point advantage at 14-10 and 15-11. Utah quickly chipped away at that deficit, winning four of the next five points. The rest of the set saw three lead changes before the Utes won 25-23.
The Baylor defense improved in the third set, getting some contact at the net to slow the Utah attacks. The Utes’ defense was also on point, dropping Baylor’s hitting to .179 in the set.
The Bears found themselves down 15-14 in spite of a -.038 hitting in the fourth set. Baylor failed to capitalize on the opportunity, and Utah pulled away behind five more errors from the Baylor attack, winning the deciding set 25-20.
The Bears kept feeding sophomore outside hitter Ksenia Rakhmanchik, but she struggled to find her groove. She had another 15-kill performance but hit .065 and had six service errors over the afternoon.
Sophomore setter Isabela Haggard had some great decision-making as well; she had 41 assists and six kills in the loss.
Baylor’s next match is against UCF at 7 p.m. Friday at the Ferrell Center.
