Thursday, September 15
Waco, Texas
6 PM
Baylor
3
vs
0
Tulsa
No. 14 VB Sweeps Golden Hurricane on Day 1 of Baylor Classic
9/15/2022 11:41:00 PM | Volleyball
The Bears defeated Tulsa on the first day of the home tournament
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane had to feel like they were seeing double in Thursday's opening day of the Baylor Classic.
Sisters Kara and Elise McGhee had 12 kills apiece to lead 14th-ranked Baylor (8-2) to a 3-0 sweep of Tulsa, 25-20, 25-18, 25-17, in the nightcap of the four-team tournament at the Ferrell Center.
"For the two sisters to lead us in kills, I think, is fun," said Baylor coach Ryan McGuyre, whose team won its seventh in a row and sixth-straight by a sweep. "They're a great family. They both had 12 kills, three errors. It was like twinsies today."
With senior outside hitter Lauren Harrison sidelined, sophomore Elise McGhee made the most of her fourth start of the season, recording seven of her career-high 12 kills in the third set. Her previous high was eight in last Saturday's 3-0 sweep of Evansville in the Baylor Invitational.
"We say all the time, you never know when it's your time to shine," McGuyre said. "Just her comfortability out there digging, but also being a target on serve receive. I loved the confidence that she played with. Hitting out of the back row, I thought, was strong for her."
The McGhee sisters played two years together at San Antonio Clark High School and are now in their second season at Baylor. But, while Kara is a two-time All-Big 12 pick and four-year starter at middle blocker, this was the biggest impact Elise has had in the green and gold.
"I'm just really proud of her," Kara said. "Obviously, I just love seeing her play, but I love seeing the joy she plays with, and it's on and off the court. It's fun to be around her, because she brings so much joy in everything she does."
Tulsa (5-5), which had a three-match winning streak snapped, was led by senior outside hitter Kayley Cassaday with 15 kills, three digs and the Golden Hurricane's only service ace. Mallory Talbert and Riley Simpson chipped in with eight and seven kills, respectively, for the Bears, while freshman setter Averi Carlson had 39 assists and helped team hit at a .315 clip.
Trailing 12-11 in the first set, BU used a pair of 3-0 runs to take control and went up 17-13 on a kill by Allie Sczech. Kara closed out the first set, 25-20, on her fifth kill of the match.
"Definitely something I've wanted for a long time," Kara said of an attack that uses the middle blockers in more of an offensive-minded role. "I definitely feel like I've risen to challenge. So has Mallory. The whole team has done a great job of getting great passes and just encouraging other."
In a back-and-forth second set, the Bears rallied from a three-point deficit to reel off six unanswered points in a run that included kills by both McGhee sisters and Simpson and a solo block by Kara. Baylor closed the set on a 13-2 run and back-to-back kills by Kara and Elise.
Dominating the third set, Baylor held Tulsa to a minus-0.30 attack percentage and got four kills from Elise McGhee in a decisive 5-0 run that gave the Bears a 20-12 lead. Kara McGhee then finished off another set with her 12th kill of the match, two off her career-high.
"I think we've had some things click," Kara said. "I think the energy level is so much higher than the get-go. Honestly, I think that's the biggest thing, just the energy we bring the start."
McNeese State defeated Sam Houston in a five-setter in the opening match of the tournament, delaying the start of Baylor-Tulsa by an hour.
Friday's schedule begins with Tulsa-McNeese at 10 a.m., followed by Baylor-Sam Houston at 12 p.m., Sam Houston versus Tulsa at 5 p.m. and Baylor-McNeese in the finale at 7 p.m.
Live scoring is available at baylorbears.com.
Baylor Bear Insider
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane had to feel like they were seeing double in Thursday's opening day of the Baylor Classic.
Sisters Kara and Elise McGhee had 12 kills apiece to lead 14th-ranked Baylor (8-2) to a 3-0 sweep of Tulsa, 25-20, 25-18, 25-17, in the nightcap of the four-team tournament at the Ferrell Center.
"For the two sisters to lead us in kills, I think, is fun," said Baylor coach Ryan McGuyre, whose team won its seventh in a row and sixth-straight by a sweep. "They're a great family. They both had 12 kills, three errors. It was like twinsies today."
With senior outside hitter Lauren Harrison sidelined, sophomore Elise McGhee made the most of her fourth start of the season, recording seven of her career-high 12 kills in the third set. Her previous high was eight in last Saturday's 3-0 sweep of Evansville in the Baylor Invitational.
"We say all the time, you never know when it's your time to shine," McGuyre said. "Just her comfortability out there digging, but also being a target on serve receive. I loved the confidence that she played with. Hitting out of the back row, I thought, was strong for her."
The McGhee sisters played two years together at San Antonio Clark High School and are now in their second season at Baylor. But, while Kara is a two-time All-Big 12 pick and four-year starter at middle blocker, this was the biggest impact Elise has had in the green and gold.
"I'm just really proud of her," Kara said. "Obviously, I just love seeing her play, but I love seeing the joy she plays with, and it's on and off the court. It's fun to be around her, because she brings so much joy in everything she does."
Tulsa (5-5), which had a three-match winning streak snapped, was led by senior outside hitter Kayley Cassaday with 15 kills, three digs and the Golden Hurricane's only service ace. Mallory Talbert and Riley Simpson chipped in with eight and seven kills, respectively, for the Bears, while freshman setter Averi Carlson had 39 assists and helped team hit at a .315 clip.
Trailing 12-11 in the first set, BU used a pair of 3-0 runs to take control and went up 17-13 on a kill by Allie Sczech. Kara closed out the first set, 25-20, on her fifth kill of the match.
"Definitely something I've wanted for a long time," Kara said of an attack that uses the middle blockers in more of an offensive-minded role. "I definitely feel like I've risen to challenge. So has Mallory. The whole team has done a great job of getting great passes and just encouraging other."
In a back-and-forth second set, the Bears rallied from a three-point deficit to reel off six unanswered points in a run that included kills by both McGhee sisters and Simpson and a solo block by Kara. Baylor closed the set on a 13-2 run and back-to-back kills by Kara and Elise.
Dominating the third set, Baylor held Tulsa to a minus-0.30 attack percentage and got four kills from Elise McGhee in a decisive 5-0 run that gave the Bears a 20-12 lead. Kara McGhee then finished off another set with her 12th kill of the match, two off her career-high.
"I think we've had some things click," Kara said. "I think the energy level is so much higher than the get-go. Honestly, I think that's the biggest thing, just the energy we bring the start."
McNeese State defeated Sam Houston in a five-setter in the opening match of the tournament, delaying the start of Baylor-Tulsa by an hour.
Friday's schedule begins with Tulsa-McNeese at 10 a.m., followed by Baylor-Sam Houston at 12 p.m., Sam Houston versus Tulsa at 5 p.m. and Baylor-McNeese in the finale at 7 p.m.
Live scoring is available at baylorbears.com.
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