No. 20 Baylor VB Clips South Alabama 3-1 in season-opener

[Roberts, Matt]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Aug. 29, 2025

No. 20 Baylor VB Clips South Alabama 3-1 in season-opener
The Bears pick up a second-straight win in a season opener
For more information, contact: Matt Roberts, 254-227-2280, WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu<mailto:WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu>

WACO, Texas – No. 20 Baylor volleyball won its fifth season-opener of the Ryan McGuyre era with a 3-1 victory over South Alabama on Friday afternoon in the LSU Tournament.

After dropping the first set 25-23, BU battled back to even the match with a 25-18 win in set No. 2, behind three kills each from Brielle Warren and MJ McCurdy.

Down 19-14 in a pivotal third set, the Bears outscored the Jaguars 16-9 down the stretch to claim the 30-28 win. Surviving match-points at 25-24 and 27-26, Grace Carroll and Gabbi Essix teamed up on the clinching block to swing things back in favor of the Bears.

Leading 2-1, Baylor jumped out to a quick 7-4 lead in the fourth set on the strength of a Manuela Bibinbe kill, one of her 10 on the afternoon. Up 12-9, BU used another 4-0 spurt to take control of the match, with a seventh ace, courtesy of Kseniya Rakhmanchyk. BU polished off its first win of the season, 25-17, as McGuyre improved to 5-6 in season openers with the Bears.

Making her Baylor debut, McCurdy finished with a match-high 12 kills, her 18th double-figure kill match of her career. Senior Bri Denney, who entered this season with two career assists, notched 31 on Friday, which was also a match-high.

Freshman Morgan Madison also left her mark on the match with a team-high 12 digs.

Next up for the Bears is a Lone-Star showdown on Saturday against No. 10 SMU at 3:30 p.m. The Ponies, led by former BU assistant Sam Erger, open their season on Friday night at 7 p.m., against the host Tigers. Stats for all matches will be available via StatBroadcast.<https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=bay>

Single-game and season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at Baylorbears.com.<https://baylorbears.evenue.net/list/VB> Follow @BaylorVball on X, Instagram and Facebook for additional updates.

—Baylorbears.com—


Matt Roberts | Director of Athletic Communications (FB/EQ/MGOLF/ WGOLF)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-227-2280
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