No. 23 Baylor VB Tussles with Rice at Tudor, Sweeps

Tue Sep 3 20:12:17 CDT 2024

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Sept. 3, 2024

No. 23 Baylor VB Tussles with Rice at Tudor, Sweeps
Bears get their fourth sweep of the season

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

HOUSTON, Texas – The 23rd-ranked Baylor volleyball team swept Rice on Tuesday night at Tudor Fieldhouse for its fourth win and sweep of the season.

It was the only road non-conference match for the Bears this season, all in Texas, a first for the program.

The Bears (4-0) handed the Owls (2-1) their first loss of the season in three sets.  Winning the first set 25-20, BU took the second set at 25-19. Baylor stole away the third set, 25-23, holding Rice to a .111 hitting percentage overall.

Elise McGhee led the squad with 13 kills, but Kendal Murphy recorded her second-straight double-double with 10 kills and 14 digs to lead the team. Murphy also served up her second consecutive two-ace match, tying her career high.

THE RUNDOWN
Set 1
Rice made mistakes early that put BU up 5-2 with a kill from Allie Sczech. Kendal Murphy got a kill to make it 8-3 and then 10-3 with an attack error from Rice sandwiched between. The Bears missed a few balls, and the Owls lessened the gap all the way to 13-12, BU calling for a pause. The Bears pulled away to go up 19-13 but Rice pressed again and made it 19-17. Elise McGhee won the joust and Murphy followed her with an ace that the Owls couldn’t handle, the score now 23-18. To finish it out, McGhee got the final kill at 25-20.

Set 2
Starting off on a high note, McGhee got a block to get the Bears’ first point, with Victoria Davis and Murphy teaming up on the net for the next point, 2-1. Rice started to heat up and got a run of five going, Alicia Andrew putting a stop to it at 7-4. Setter Jackie Barrett Frazier caught them slipping with a dump over the net, McGhee throwing down the next ball 8-6 to close the gap. Rice kept its foot on the pedal and pushed it to 11-6 for a Baylor timeout. Out of it, McGhee tooled the block and got another kill to pull her team within two, 11-9, and Rice making an attack error to have Baylor on a four-point run, prompting Rice to call time. The Bears made an exceptional dig on a hard ball from the Owls for Manuela Bibinbe to put right where they weren’t, now 15-12 still in Rice’s favor. McGhee and Sczech went on a roll to get the Bears within one, 17-16. Murphy tipped it, then a wayward ball from the Owls tied it for just the second time on the set. Up two, Rice called time. Up four, McGhee had a bomb of a kill to advance it 24-19. Back in control, the set ended with an overpass kill from Andrew, 25-19.

Set 3
Set two under the Bears’ belt, Rice had a renewed energy entering set three and came out shooting, going up 6-1 out of the gate. A fire was lit under BU in a timeout, causing an Owl attack error and Murphy getting two kills, followed by one from McGhee and an ace off Andrew. A run underway, Bibinbe tooled the block to cut the lead to two, now 9-7, Rice calling time. McGhee got the Owls to scramble with her kill to continue the run before Rice finished it with a kill down the line, 10-8. A service error on Rice tied it and a McGhee ace put them up by two, 14-12 Baylor. Murphy and Andrew got the block, but Rice went on a run, coming back to tie it 17-17, then took the lead 20-17. After a timeout, McGhee came right out with a kill. Tying it up again at 21-all were Bibinbe and Sczech. The teams started trading points, but Murphy and Sczech went back-to-back to stop that business. A block from both Andrew and Sczech finished the set and match at 25-23.

HIGHLIGHTS

  *   Murphy tied her career-high aces with 2 and had a double-double (10k, 14d)
  *   Shelby Livingstone got her first win over her alma mater as Assistant Coach
  *   Baylor improved to 4-0 with its fourth sweep
  *   The all-time series with Rice improves to 26-23
  *   Baylor handed Rice its first loss of the season

UP NEXT
Baylor returns to Ferrell on Friday as they host the fourth iteration of the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge with Minnesota, TCU and Wisconsin. BU will face Minnesota on Friday night at 7 p.m. and Wisconsin on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Fans interested in purchasing tickets for home matches can visit BaylorBears.com/Tickets<https://app.baylorbears.com/BUVBTix?_ga=2.247694151.1167521053.1712169815-422842061.1678217840>.<https://app.baylorbears.com/BUVBTix?_ga=2.247694151.1167521053.1712169815-422842061.1678217840> All seats are general admission for volleyball in the Ferrell Center.

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

- BaylorBears<http://www.baylorbears>.com -

__________________________________

Madelon Allen | Associate Director of Athletics Communications
A&T, EQ, VB, BaylorBears.com
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-252-7168

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