Dayton Outlasts Volleyball to Advance to Sweet 16

[Ingram, Brent]

BAYLOR ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS – Dec. 6, 2024

Dayton Outlasts Volleyball to Advance to Sweet 16
Bears Fall in Second Round of NCAA Tournament

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 – Allie Sczech had 21 kills and six blocks but Baylor volleyball couldn’t outlast No. 22 Dayton, with the Flyers edging the Bears in five sets (22-25, 25-22, 26-24, 21-25, 12-15) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, on Friday night at the Ferrell Center.

Dayton (31-2) posted the thrilling five-set win over Baylor (23-8), claiming the first, fourth and fifth sets to earn the program’s first trip to the Sweet 16.

The Bears bounced back from a sluggish start in the first set to win the second and third. After falling behind in the fourth set, Baylor was able to claw back to push a tight finish in the fourth. The Bears committed four service errors in the fifth set and after the final stanza was tied at 10-10, the Flyers were able to finish the match on a 5-2 run to post the 15-12 win.

The loss concludes another strong season for the Bears, who advanced to second round of the NCAA Tournament for the ninth straight year. Baylor was seeking its fifth all-time NCAA Sweet 16 berth and its first since 2022. Baylor now owns a 17-13 record in the NCAA Tournament and a 14-9 all-time mark under 10th year head coach Ryan McGuyre, the all-time winningest coach in program.

Sczech, a junior out of Sugar Land, Texas, led the Bears, collecting 21 kills on 41 swings, good for a .463 hitting percentage, while adding six blocks. Elise McGhee had 11 kills and five digs, while Kendal Murphy, a sophomore out of Scottsdale, Ariz., had nine kills and eight digs. Alicia Andrew finished with eight kills, two assists, two digs and six blocks.

Jackie Barrett Frazier, a graduate student and transfer from Auburn, had a double-double, going for a season-high tying 46 assists, 11 digs, four service aces and two kills. It marked her 18th double-double of the year and the 61st of her career.

RUNDOWN
Set One
The Flyers opened the match with three of the first four points but the Bears answered to take a 5-3 lead, getting an ace from Alicia Andrew and kills from Allie Sczech and Victoria Davis. UD rallied to take an 8-6 lead and stretched the lead to 11-9 before three straight points from Sczech, including two kills and a block gave the Bears a 12-11 lead. The lead grew to 15-13 after consecutive points from Andrew and Sczech answered a service error with a kill.

Jackie Barrett Frazier found Davis for a kill for a 17-15 lead before three straight from UD gave the Flyers a 18-17 lead, promoting a timeout from McGuyre. The lead grew to 19-17 before a service error snapped a 4-0 run. A 6-1 UD run led to a 20-18 lead, with the margin growing to 24-20 to set up set point, promoting a BU timeout. After a pair of points, Dayton finished off the set win, 25-22. The Flyers were led by seven kills from Lexi Almadovar and 11 assists from Alyssa Miller, with UD hitting .516 as a team and the Bears held to .323.

Set Two
Dayton opened with the first two points of the set before Sczech got the Bears on the board. Dayton notched six of the first nine points before the Bears started a 7-1 rally to take a 10-7 lead. The matched evened at 10 after a UD service ace but the Bears earned five of the next seven points for a 15-12 lead. The lead grew to 18-14 and forced a timeout from Dayton. Out of the timeout, UD went on a 4-0 run to even the match and prompt a McGuyre timeout. The Bears notched three straight points before Brooke Smith snapped the stretch for UD with a kill to cut the lead to 21-19.

Elise McGhee answered a UD point with a cross court kill to put the Bears three points from the set. An attack error pushed the BU lead to 23-20. The Bears finished off the set with a monster block from Andrew and Sczech for a 25-22 win. The Bears hit .300 in the set and held UD to a .175 hitting percentage. At the break, Sczech led the Bears with 10 kills, hitting .625, while Almadovar had 15 kills on 31 attacks.

Set Three
The teams traded the first 14 points of the third set, with a block from Barrett Frazier evening the match at 7-7. The Bears were the first to 10 with Ander notching consecutive kills and the lead growing to 11-8 – prompting a UD timeout – after an Andrew and Sczech block.

A lengthy rally out of the timeout ended with a kill from Sczech for a 12-8 lead. A right-handed swing from Kendal Murphy snaped a two-point run and gave the Bears a 13-10 lead. A middle court helper for McGhee from Barrett Frazier pushed the lead to 14-11. The Flyers ripped off a 4-0 run to take a 15-14 lead and necessitate a timeout from McGuyre.

A cross-court kill from Almadovar – her 19th – kept the rally going before a successful dump-off from Murphy snapped the run and cut the UD lead to 16-15. A Davis block made the set 17-17. McGhee smashed one inside the line – her eighth kill of the match – to take a 18-17 lead. The Bears stretched their lead to 20-18 after a pair of UD attack errors, prompting a UD timeout. The lead grew to 23-21 before a Dayton kill and a service ace evened the set at 23-23.

Out of the Baylor timeout, Sczech smashed her fifth kill of the set and 15th of the night, to get BU to set point. Almadovar’s 23rd kill evened it at 24 and Murphy answered with her seventh kill to set up set point, which was won by the Bears following an attack error, 26-24. The Bears hit .341 and held Dayton to .128 in the set, owning 16 kills and three blocks in the game.

Set Four
Dayton notched seven of the first 10 points to open the set, forcing a Baylor timeout. Out of the break, Murphy notched her eighth kill to cut the lead to 7-4. After UD took an 8-6 lead, the Flyers rallied with three straight to take an 11-6 lead.

Andrew’s seventh kill cut the lead to 11-7 and Sczech notched consecutive kills, taking her to 17, to cut the lead to 12-9. After a pair of UD points, the Bears called their second timeout of the game, trailing 14-9.  The lead grew to 17-11, giving the Flyers a commanding lead in the fourth. Trailing 20-15, the Bears narrowed the lead to 21-17, and then 22-18 after a point from Sczech. An ace from Andrew cut the lead to 22-19 and a double block from Sczech and Davis cut the lead to 22-20 and prompted the final timeout from Dayton. A service error thwarted the momentum and allowed Dayton to post the set win and force a fifth, 25-21. The Bears hit .156 in the set, with the Flyers totaling a .303 hitting percentage.

Set Five
The teams split the first 12 points of the fifth set, which featured six errors and two aces from the service line.

An ace from Barrett Frazier was answered by a point from Dayton to even it at 7-7 and UD took an 8-7 at the changeover. Out of the break, Sczech smashed her 20th kill to even it at eight but a service error allowed UD to regain the lead. Andrew tied the match back up with her eighth kill and the lead went to Baylor following an attack error. After a Baylor service error, Liana Sarkissian gave UD an 11-10 lead, prompting a BU timeout. The lead grew to 12-10 following a kill from Almodovar, which was answered by Sczech but Almodovar notched her 34th kill to take a 13-11 lead. McGhee’s 11th kill cut the lead to 13-12. The Flyers notched the next two points to post a 15-12 win.

- BaylorBears.com -

DAYTON POST-MATCH QUOTES

Dayton Head Coach Tim Horsmon
Opening Statement…
“Wow, what a day, what a night? What a weekend. Just incredibly proud of our group and the hard work. Just to celebrate this group. We have some alumni in our locker room right now. They kind of started this whole process and we talk a lot about legacy and family and there are just so many generations now that I think are going to be incredibly proud and happy of this program. Just a cool night. Just great volleyball. Baylor played great. They were tough. We knew they would be. They're well coached, which made it even better, made it sweeter. I know they had a heck of a season and I'm sure they are disappointed. I know we beat a really good team. These three were unbelievable - the heart and soul of our group tonight and performed in a really high level. I’m just excited about what the what the program did today.”

On the difference in a tight match …
“We were just really consistent in our process. I think we lived in the moment. I think we never got too far ahead of ourselves or got too down on what was happening, even when things weren't going the way we wanted. We kept hammering away from the service line. I thought we were really aggressive. Brooke Smith turned her ankle this morning and we didn't know if she was going to go. Then our other outside, Taylor Russell, had shoulder issues, so we kind of came into this thing feeling like, we're in a tough spot and we just talked about being fearless. We just we just wanted to come out and try to be the aggressor in every single point and we knew how physical they were. Again, they are well coached and we just knew we had to had to keep coming at them, and I think again, this group did.”

On if Lexi Almodovar is the best 5-foot-8 outside hitter in the nation …
“I challenge, if there's been a better 5-foot-8 player ever. I know there have been some really good ones, but I got to coach this one and she's ours. I will go to the grave saying she's the best one that I've seen.”

On Alyssa Miller’s performance …
“She's being really humble. She was really good tonight. Again, to beat a team like that and have your L1 struggling with her injury and finding ways to score points. Liana (Sarkissian) could be in here after having a great just an unbelievable night as well. Brooke (Nichols) kind of mustering up enough energy and toughness to be able to play and kill balls today and do that, it was it wasn't easy for her and she found a way to do it.”
 

Lexi Almodovar, OH, R-Sr.
On this win …
“I think we've just been in this moment so many times and we've continued to say that we can compete with the best teams in the country, that Dayton volleyball should be respected and that we belong playing against these great teams. Since I've been here, we've lost two five-set matches, tight like that. Just back and forth games and we've just wondered what is it going to take for us to be able to finish and get to that next round, the Sweet 16. Like coach was saying, this is legacy. This has been building up for a long time and we finally had our moment and I think that we just took full advantage of it and we went out there and we said we were going to be fearless and that we were going to have fun and that we were going to leave it all out there if there were regrets. So I think for me this moment is one of the best of my life, just cause I know how many people have worked towards this um who are here today and who are not. So I think it's just a combination of years and years of work and time spent doing this.”

Alyssa Miller, S, Sr.
On a 51-assist night …
“I mean, everybody else did all the work they just made my job easier. Karissa (Kaminski) was getting me absolute money, which made it so easy just to give it to Lexi and Lexi was on fire. So, I mean, I can't really take any credit for it. These two did all the work.”

BAYLOR POST-MATCH QUOTES

Baylor Head Coach Ryan McGuyre
Opening Statement…
“Congratulations to Tim and Peyton and their team. We knew this was going to be a battle. There’s no easy sets for any teams and any point in there. It’s one of those matches where the margins are just really thin. Clearly Lexi (Almadovar) should be an All-American. She did a really, really good job with 34 kills. We knew that was a key that we needed to stop there. Proud of this Baylor team and this squad. I clearly felt like we were fighting all the way through the match and especially what we were able to accomplish this season when others counted us out and who we are now is so much better and bigger than who we were at the beginning of the year both as a volleyball team but most importantly as women and followers of Christ and the impact these girls have on each other. It’s disappointing because it’s been a fun, real fun season. You know, I’ve coached a long time and maybe there’s seasons where it’s kind of a relief when it’s over and that’s not been the case since I’ve been here at Baylor but then especially with this squad right here. It’s been really, really spectacular. You know, I think disappointment is normally not the end of a great journey but the start of something bigger and better moving forward. So for our seniors, I look forward to seeing what God’s going to continue to do in their lives as they move forward. And then, you know, the future of Baylor continues to be bright, like we have Allie (Sczech) on a big stage, 21 kills, (hit) 463, spectacular individual performance from her offensively in that regard. Our hitting percentage was good, or even on blocks, like you look at serving percentage, their 89% to our 88% and those are just little things that are difference makers right there.”

On Allie Sczech’s performance
“I think she came in with some fire, some tenacity, she had 600 last night in that regard. One thing about Allie is she’s probably put more hours in the gym than anybody, you know, in addition to their centers, getting reps from blocking, getting reps with attacking, but clearly she made the decision that I’m gonna come in, I’m going to elevate and annihilate. But really this year too she’s been able to do some off speed and get some kills, like 2 errors on 41 swings, i think, is immaculate. So her ability to start seeing the court much better has been huge for us and yeah, there’s no way we’re not in the match without her doing what she did today.”

On the match being a good, NCAA-style match …
“You look at the hit percentages of both teams, we hit .282 and they hit .275. I think normally, when you hit .300, that gets you a win. Both teams I thought did well offensively. Set one, they hit .500 and we hit 33-percent. We’ve probably won all sets this year that we’ve hit 33-percent or higher. We came back .300 and brought them down, but they came back and hit .300 those last two sets. I think the plain takeaway is that I could talk more x-and-o’s probably little bit dynamic and mixing things up that we have to be better at. Things like that where we can’t make those little adjustments, those little things have got to be in play right there. At the end of the day, which teams are going to take big swings is what matters. [Allie] Sczech was doing that for us and No. 4 [Lexie Almodovar] was doing that for them.”

On players coming back …
“I think our future is super, super bright for us here. They’re all in there crying. They’re all in there hugging. In our new NIL and transfer portal days, I’m not expecting any surprises, but we’ll forward to those conversations. We returned our middles. We returned our opposites. We returned great setters. We have great DS’s in the gym. [Kendall] Murphy’s been playing with a bad shoulder all season, so we’ll get that healthy and healed. I think that’ll make a huge difference for her game and what’s coming there. I feel with even just the returners, we can go back out there and battle again. Again, I think they’ll have great takeaways and looking to Sczech as a future leader for us. She’s always been a leader, but it’ll be different voices in the huddles. I think the same virtue will come out.”

Allie Sczech, OPP, Jr.
On the difference the last couple nights…
“I’m gonna try not to cry when I say this but honestly, Jackie Barrett Frazier has just talked a lot about how we have to play for the seniors and how it really is our last match. Especially with this group of seniors, they just had a really big impact on me since my freshman year and specifically Elise (McGhee). I just think they’ve all really poured into the program a lot and I don’t know if I’ve played with a better senior class. I think every time we stepped out there, I’m just gonna go as hard as I can for them and regardless of what happens, I was talking to myself and I was like hey, ‘I’m gonna go out there and ball for the team and my friends’. I know obviously the friendship is not over. I think it’s just sad right now just because of where we sit and like we can’t play another game together and put on another practice shirt with Elise. I just think like the love is still there and I’m just so grateful to have gotten the opportunity to play with them and be with them.”

On what was working for the third set …
“I think it’s just so good to have key players like that are so confident in me and confident in themselves. I think it just goes back to the relationship that we’ve built and the trust there that I felt. In the match, I had trust in both of them to get the ball exactly where they need to be. With that, it’s just like now I have to go do the work. It was awesome, but I’m just super proud of the way they’ve continued to trust me and continue to pour into me. They’re another group of people that I enjoy and am so grateful I’ve gotten the opportunity to learn from.”

Elise McGhee, OH/OP, Sr.
On what you’ll take away from your time at Baylor …
“That’s a loaded question. I think just how much I love every single person on this team. I can just go on about each of them. I feel like this is a one of a kind group. I truly just would not have spent my last four years any where else besides Baylor and with this staff and these people. Like Allie [Sczech] said, it’s not that the friendships will end, but it is sad knowing that I won’t be able to play with them anymore.”

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

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