No. 14 Baylor VB Thwarts TCU to Open Big 12 Slate

[Allen, Madelon]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Sept. 21, 2022

No. 14 Baylor VB Thwarts TCU to Open Big 12 Slate
Bears take the conference opener in four sets to Horned Frogs
For more information contact: Madelon Allen, 254-252-7168, Madelon_Allen at Baylor.edu

WACO, Texas – The No. 14 Baylor volleyball program thwarted TCU’s comeback on Wednesday night in the Ferrell Center, taking the 3-1 win to open Big 12 play.

The win marked head coach Ryan McGuyre’s 500th career win, spanning across his head coaching tenure at Biola, California Baptist and Baylor.

The Bears (11-2, 1-0) took the match over the Horned Frogs (5-7, 0-1) in four sets, 25-13, 29-27, 15-25, 25-19 to open conference play with a victory.

It was TCU head coach Jason Williams’ first time back in Waco after taking the head role for the Frogs, facing his former boss McGuyre across the net. It was also homecoming for fifth-year player Callie Williams and volunteer assistant coach Preslie Anderson.

Lauren Briseño and Allie Sczech had career nights for the Bears, with Briseño serving up six aces and and Sczech throwing down 12 kills on 23 attempts with only two errors for a .435 attack percentage. In addition, Sczech put up six blocks and had three digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
The Bears started out hot with Kara McGhee getting a kill. TCU matched BU’s points and it was tied up at 3-3 with a Sczech kill. Mallory Talbert put Baylor ahead again at 6-5 and again at 7-5. Riley Simpson got her first kill of the match at 8-7, then again at 10-10 and 11-10. Briseño started off a 10-point scoring run at 14-11 with a TCU attack error, then had her first ace at 15-11, transitioning into a media timeout. She got her second in a row, prompting a TCU timeout at 16-11. Out of the timeout, Talbert and Sczech teamed up for a block on Julia Adams’ ball. Talbert got another kill to push TCU into another timeout before another ace from Briseño at 20-11. Sczech and Talbert got another block after a Sczech kill to make it 23-11. The Frogs got their first point after a while at 23-12. The set ended on an Elise McGhee kill at 25-13.

Set 2
Kicking off the second set was Sczech with a kill, followed by two straight attack errors, one for each team. Kara McGhee kept it going with a kill before getting the block with Sczech on Adams. At 6-3 Elise McGhee got in on the fun for the second set. After some attack errors and TCU kills, the Bears got back in the attack game with a Talbert kill at 9-5. Simpson made it 10-8 before Carlson got an ace at 11-8. Following that, Simpson and Kara McGhee got a block on Zoe Hall. After a Talbert kill at 15-11, media timeout interrupted play. Out of it, TCU got a kill then Elise McGhee and Talbert teamed up for a block. The Bears were ahead by two at 18-16 before the Frogs caught the Bears at 19-19. TCU tried for a comeback, and did overtake BU a few times, but Baylor finally escaped and capitalized on set point with Kara McGhee’s hot hand from the middle at 29-27.

Set 3
With two set wins under their belt, it was on to set three. But this time, TCU struck first and went on a four-point run. Momentum swung in their direction, and kept swinging. BU called timeout at 6-1, and out of it TCU got another kill before Riley Simpson stopped the bleeding with a kill of her own. Though the pressure helped, the Frogs put even more pressure on in return, and BU took another timeout at 16-6. Down by 10, BU couldn’t get another kill until Kara McGhee had a good attack at 18-8, just the fifth kill of the set. Simpson got her third of the frame at 19-9, then Sczech at 19-11. Elise got in on the push back at 22-13, but the Frogs made too much headway. McKenzie Nichols of TCU ended the set at 25-15 on an ace to force a fourth set.

Set 4
BU felt the sting of dropping a set for the first time since Sept. 2 and came out with claws out. The Bears went up 3-1, then 4-2. Simpson pushed the pack ahead at 6-4, but the Frogs were fighting. A big block came at 9-7 from Sczech and Kara McGhee, then McGhee, Sczech and Talbert got kills in succession to make TCU call for a pause. Briseño served her fifth ace of the night out of the pause, then Sczech, Elise McGhee and Talbert got three kills in a row to bring the squads to 12-8 and force another timeout from TCU. The Bears were chugging along when the Frogs started their comeback. At 19-16, Baylor called time. Out of it, a Kara McGhee kill followed by back-to-back blocks from the pairing of McGhee and Sczech. Briseño served up her final ace at 24-18 before the match was clinched on a service error from the Frogs.

NOTABLES

  *   Head coach Ryan McGuyre got his 500th career win. He’s now only 18 wins away from being the outright winningest coach at Baylor
  *   Lauren Briseño had a career-high and team-best six aces
  *   Allie Sczech went 12-2-23 for a .435 attack percentage along with six blocks
  *   The Bears are 5-3 in conference openers under McGuyre while also 6-2 in Big 12 openers at home

UP NEXT
The Bears go on a two-match, two-state road trip to Ames, Iowa and Lawrence, Kansas, respectively. BU will face Iowa State on Sept. 28 at 8pm for an ESPN2-broadcasted matchup before facing Kansas on Oct. 1 at 11am on ESPN+.

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


-BaylorBears.com-



__________________________________

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

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