No. 16 Baylor VB Rolls into the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament

[Ingram, Brent]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Dec. 5, 2024

No. 16 Baylor Rolls into the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament
Elise McGhee sets new school record for most amount of service aces in a tournament

By Zach Babajanof-Rustrian, Baylor Athletics Communications

Waco Sub Regional Media Hub<https://baylor.box.com/s/8r17vw4tmeudz0dtd6uh6sqoes4hd7bp>

For more information contact: Madelon Allen, 254-252-7168, madelon_allen at baylor.edu<mailto:madelon_allen at baylor.edu>

WACO, Texas -- The number four seeded and 16th ranked Baylor volleyball team took down Wofford, 3-0 in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday night at the Ferrell Center.

The Bears (23-7) defeated the Terriers (23-9) in a dominant fashion. BU took the first and second sets at 25-11 and completed the sweep with a third set win at 25-18.

Elise McGhee set a new school record with most amount of service aces in a Baylor tournament game with six and lead the Bears, alongside Allie Sczech, with 14 points each. Sczech also garnered 12 kills and three digs and hitting for .600. Alicia Andrew had a total of four blocks with six kills and hit for .500.

THE RUNDOWN
Set 1
The Bears started off hot with two service errors from Wofford, following it with a attack error from the Terriers at 3-1 and a kill from McGhee to make it 4-1. Baylor was able to capitalize on Wofford’s three attack error’s in a row to put BU ahead 7-2. With a kill from redshirt junior Alicia Andrew and an ace from McGhee the Bears pushed to 9-2. The Terriers were able to garner three kills and closed the gap to 11-5. Wofford went on to score two more kills before Baylor ended their run with a kill from sophomore Victoria Davis followed by a service ace from Lauren Briseno to extend the lead 14-7. Both teams went back and forth on kills putting before a Baylor service error followed Sczech’s first kill of the day to make it 17-10. The green and gold went on a five point run before a service error to end the run 21-11. With two more kills to make it set point, sophomore Tehani Ulufatu delivered an ace to close out the set, 25-11.

Set 2
The Bears started with kills from McGhee and sophomore Kendal Murphy before Wofford went on a five point run that was ended with an attack error at 3-5. BU was able to close the gap with two kills and an ace before Wofford responded with a kill to make it 6-6. With two aces from McGhee, BU went on a five-point run of their own before a service error at 10-7. With her seventh kill of the match, Sczech contributed another point with a block assist along side Davis to make the Bears up six, 13-7. Wofford responded with a kill but the Green and Gold answered with two kills of their own from Davis and McGhee before another Terrier kill at 15-9. After two attack error’s from both sides, the Bears countered with two kills from Davis and Andrew followed by another Wofford attack error and kill from McGhee to make it 20-11. Baylor went on a four point run including a block from Sczech and Andrew to make it set point.  The Bears ended the set with a victory after a kill from Sczech to close out the set 25-11.

Set 3
BU started with an attack error from Wofford followed by a block from Andrew. Andrew and McGhee then delivered a kill each before Wofford ended their four point run with their own kill at 4-1. The Terriers then went on to have a four point run before a kill from Andrew to make it 5-4. Each team then delivered one kill respectively before McGhee garnered two aces in a row. After a successful challenge, McGhee garnered her sixth ace of the night, setting a new record for most aces in a tournament, to make it 10-5. The Terriers earned a kill and a block before Sczech replied with two kills. After a Wofford kill, McGhee and senior Ava Grace Haggard put two more kills on the board before Wofford was able to gain two points from a kill and an attack error at 15-10. Murphy then delivered a kill followed by attack errors from both squads with another Murphy kill and then attack errors from both teams at 19-12. Following two kills from both sides, the Terriers capitalized off a service error with a kill and an ace to lessen BU’s lead to 20-16. After each squad gained a kill, Baylor earned three points to make it set point. Wofford delivered one more kill before freshman Grace Carroll closed out the set and match 25-18 to garner a sweep.

HIGHLIGHTS

  *   McGhee set a new record with six service aces in a tournament match
  *   Sczech led the Bears with a match-high 12 kills
  *   Sczech and Andrew had 4 blocks
  *   The Bears move onto the second round against No. 23 Dayton

WHAT’S NEXT
The Bears will face No. 23 Dayton in the second round of the NCAA tournament held in the Ferrell Center at 7 p.m. airing on ESPN+.

To stay up to date all year long on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, X and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.

- BaylorBears.com -

BAYLOR POST-MATCH QUOTES

Baylor Head Coach Ryan McGuyre
Opening Statement…
“Just, first of all, want to congratulate Wofford on a great and amazing season they've had. You know, scouting them was really difficult because they have so many good players, and love the way they battled to win their conference tournament and go through things. I think Coach Lynze (Roos), just from a big picture... I feel like we're like minded, and volleyball is just a small part of the big picture, and just some of the things, like with her family, and things that she's navigated through with a great staff and everyone, I think that program has got a lot to be proud of, and clearly they keep getting back into the tournament. So, they're, they're in great, great, great hands.

“For us tonight. I think we knew we needed to be error free, that they may need a little bit of help. So, I like that we kept the errors down, especially in the in the first set. Ten aces and serving 94%, so not giving away errors from the service line. When we stubbed our toe this year, that's normally been the case there. These two, Allie, hitting error free, hitting .600 is hard to do, probably with nobody in practice sometimes, as we're just working through stuff. I thought she did a good job moving the ball around. Had some great range, from 516, to deep one to, you know, from Lauren setting her bounce to ball, cross court on it. So, I thought we did a good job keeping errors down. Tomorrow will be a new battle.”

On the postitive of a three-set win with tomorrow looming …
“Yeah, you want to have fresh legs. You don't want to wear out the shoulders with tons of swings. Most of the year, you have the days in between travel. So, yeah, I think getting in and out is something our seniors understood as part of being a mature team in the tournament, in you don't want to play longer than you need to. I think when you play 100% all out, it goes fast. I think when you try and cruise and you're trying to save and those.. it's normally when it turns into a longer match, because you're having more rallies and giving up points. So, we should feel fresh for tomorrow. I think these girls train hard, and so we've trained well. I feel Coach Mike (Wenger) does a great job with our strength training, and we'll recover well tonight. We feel well and be ready for tomorrow.”

On facing a top-25 Dayton team on Friday …
“Yeah, Dayton. Strong program. They hit at a high percentage. I know the coaching staff really well coached with Tim Horsmon at Maryland. So, there's a lot of connections there. I think we've probably stolen drills from each other, and, yeah, a lot of firepower. I think it'll really, really be key that our block shows up tomorrow, because I they have some girls that hit with a heavy pace, but I think we can get our hands in the right place. I think both of us will want to... you always want to win that serve and pass battle. I think we can still be a threat from the service line to get them out of system and then put up well-form blocks. But I know they'll probably serve as aggressive as they can for us to try and do the same thing. I think it will really come down to who is the most disruptive when chaos happens. I like what we do and what are, how hard our hitters work when that chaos happens to maybe not win the point but be disruptive to get the ball back. That was probably a big difference today. Wofford played hard. They actually got a lot of balls up, but like, we're error free, but we weren't too stressed after their digs. When we dig the ball, we need to stress them more than they stress us when they make digs.”

Allie Sczech, OPP, Jr.

On having a big game …
“I think it was good, especially just to work out some kinks we've had in transition, just to kind of see the way that we've been able to hit out of system a lot better than we have, kind of in conference. And so I think it was just a good way to kind of get our feet on the ground for the tournament. I think just like seeing us, obviously, like I said, hit good in trans but also just be good on first ball, be good on the little things, but also be able to implement the new tricks and tools we've been working on in practice. I think it's been great.”

On a first set free from attack errors …
“Oh, it's so important. I kind of mentioned that in the huddle before we go into the third set. It's just like, staying disciplined and applying the pressure. It just shows us what we're capable of. It was all in our control, and it was nothing that anyone was doing except for us, and we were controlling our side of the net really well. And so, I think it just kind of gave us a confidence of, like, okay, we can literally play almost perfect volleyball when we're all in it to win it, and all locked in. So, I think it was just good to see that we have the potential there to keep doing that.”

On getting on a roll to finish off a set …
“I think it was just kind of like a rhythm and a flow. I felt like we were kind of all locked in, like I said from the beginning. I felt like, that's how the whole game went. And it was just kind of like, how can we just be good after good every single point? And so, I think while, yes, it's awesome, I think I noticed it, and it was great. But I think at the same time, it's just like, focusing on the next ball and just kind of carrying the momentum over.”

Elise McGhee, OH/OPP, Sr.
On winning the first game at home …
“We always say, kind of a motto I'm also living by this season, is like pressure is a privilege, and so we love hosting. That was something that we really wanted to do this year, and just being able to have the opportunity to defend our home court is super exciting. Knowing that we have another game in order to do that is really fun for us.”

On her big service game …
“I kind of want to second what Allie said, getting into rhythm. And so, I feel like that's a big thing, especially with the topspin serve, is making sure I'm in rhythm and making sure my routine is very precise. I've missed a lot of balls, too. So it's, it's definitely just going into the tournament wanting to the best I can, but also being okay with misses, as long as I'm going for it every single time.”

WOFFORD POST-MATCH QUOTES

Wofford Head Coach Lynze Roos
Opening Statement…
“It was a great experience to make the NCAA Tournament. I feel like it’s an honor to compete in December. It’s an honor to be in this tournament. I feel like I’m really proud of our girls, proud of the careers of these two and our program for just being here to compete. I think Baylor’s a great team. They came out to get things done today. We’re going to be cheering them on through the next round. Hopefully, they advance, and we can say we lost to the champions.”

On keeping Baylor out of runs …
“Thanks for the reminder. I think they’re a tough team. They’re big and physical. I feel like we never get into our groove as far as what our style is, and so they did a really nice job of just being disruptive. The runs killed us. I think our attacking errors and some of our service errors early on just kind of took us out of our game. But when we were in system and kind of feeling ourselves, we were able to win some good points; it just wasn’t enough. We would win half the point but then we weren’t finishing. I think that was the difference, especially on those runs.”

On keeping the ball off the floor and creating rallies …
“I think we had some really good rallies. I think there were times where it was four or five times across the net and you thought, ‘Yeah, we’re going to win this one.’ And that’s kind of been our schtick. We have won those rallies, so when it wasn’t going our way, it was like, ‘Oh man.’ We did some really good things in the rally, but it didn’t end in a point. Then you look up and it’s 8-2 and you think, ‘Man, we’ve played some good volleyball, but it wasn’t resulting in points.’ I think defensively, we were top of the country, maybe top-three at one point with digs per set. We have a really great libero in Laney Klika, so I feel like it’s been something we’ve focused on, just transition points off digs to kills, but we didn’t really have that stat tonight.”

On reflecting on the seniors' career at Wofford …
“I’m so proud of these two [Sarah MacLean and Mary Emily Morgan] and the journey they’ve been on as volleyball players at Wofford. Coming in, I can look back in my mind and see these two walking into preseason. To be sitting here today with you guys is exactly what you dream of as a coach. The people that you are and the things you’re going to do next is exactly what you hope for as a parent, as a coach, and as young people in this world. I think these are two of the finest young women you’ll find playing in this tournament. When we walk out of this room, there are no regrets in the things they’ve accomplished and things that they can hang their hat on. Not just in the record books but sitting up here with two All-Conference performers that when you recruit them as freshmen, you can see into the crystal ball of what they can be. When they accomplish it and we’re sitting here seven states away, you earned all the things you’ve received this year. Yes, it's bittersweet to leave the way we are, but so much pride in these two and the impact they’ve had on Wofford.”

Sarah MacLean, RS, Sr.
On being a senior and making it to the NCAA Tournament …
“I’m really proud that our team got to do it back-to-back. I think it’s a privilege of getting to play such a good team and Baylor made it a great experience for us.”

On reflecting on your career at Wofford …
“I just think that every player that I played with during my career has made me a better person and a better player. I also had a great coaching staff all four years of being here. I think there’s a lot of potential for the coming years to just set higher standards for us.”

Mary Emily Morgan, OH, Sr.
On being a senior and making it to the NCAA Tournament …
“Obviously, winning last year was a really big deal for our school and our program, so doing that back-to-back was huge. It just sets the standard moving forward that we want to keep going. Also, we have a lot of young players, so getting to experience Baylor and getting to do all the things that go along with the NCAA Tournament was just really impactful for them as well.”

On reflecting on your career at Wofford …
“What stands out to me the most is how different it is and how much of a standard we have now to make the tournament and win these big matches. Earlier in the season when we played Tennessee, beating Tennessee and having these huge wins and making it here again, that was a standard we had in this season because of the season we had last year. It’s just really great to see our underclassmen in the locker room right now already to come back and be in this spot again next year. As a senior that’s leaving, that just feels like the legacy we’re leaving as seniors as well, which is really cool.”





--
Brent Ingram | Associate AD for Communications
Baseball Sport Program Administrator
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 210-845-8651

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