Thursday, October 12
Cincinnati, Ohio
5PM
Baylor
at
Cincinnati
No. 20 VB on the Road to Face Cincinnati
10/11/2023 3:54:00 PM | Volleyball
Bears set for series with new league opponent
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
After losing the first game in splitting back-to-back series against Iowa State and Kansas State, the 20th-ranked Baylor volleyball team (8-7, 2-3) will try to buck that trend when the Bears face the Big 12 newcomer Cincinnati (9-6, 2-3) at 5 p.m. CT Thursday and Friday at Fifth Third Arena.
Continuing a pattern that started in 2020, when the Big 12 implemented back-to-back matches because of the COVID pandemic, Baylor is 15-1 in the second game of back-to-back series while struggling on the first night.
"We've got to start better,' Baylor coach Ryan McGuyre said. "Even when we've won them in the past, we're winning in four or five sets and the next night we're winning in three. . . . It's definitely about hungrier, better, stronger, in rhythm. You learn from (the loss), but can we play like we've already lost or have that sting a little bit? As we're maturing as a young team, that's been building, but needs to be stronger."
While junior outside hitter Elise McGhee was the closer in last Friday's 3-1 win over Kansas State, serving up two aces in a closing 6-0 run, "we need a player to just step up from the start," McGuyre said.
"I think we're just slow to identify or have that person be like, 'Hey, I'm going to carry us through the first 15 points,''' he said. "And now, great, we can distribute to wherever we need to be and get our kills. Through the first two sets, I think we're still waiting for that."
McGhee, who's second on the team with 3.1 kills per set, said the "bitterness of losing may be the spark" for game two.
"I don't know if we've figured it out yet, but we definitely have the mentality of, 'We're going to go in and prove why we should beat this team going forward,''' she said.
Redshirt sophomore Riley Simpson provided a spark against Kansas State, recording a season-high 10 kills in the first game and then hitting .529 with nine kills and no errors on 17 swings in the game two win.
"I think we learn a lot of things about the team in the first match, and then we really try to apply that," Simpson said. "Where I think we can be one degree better is learning that and making adjustments early and winning the first night. Obviously, we all want that. And then, we can also win the second night without having to wait and learn."
Cincinnati is coming off a split with TCU on the road, winning the first one 3-2 and dropping the next one in straight sets. In their first year in the Big 12, the Bearcats also won in four sets at Kansas State and dropped two at home to UCF.
Strongest at middle blocker, the Bearkats have gotten 2.89 kills per set with a .317 hitting percentage from Zeta Washington in conference play, while Ligia Williams ranks seventh in the league in conference-only matches with 1.26 blocks per set and had eight in the four-set win at K-State.
"They're heavy in the middle and good on the pins," McGuyre said, "but definitely a lot of middle attack. So, we'll need to defend that well. It's hard on film to tell what the atmosphere is like in the gym there. But I think our girls enjoy playing on the sports courts that different programs have, and they feel fresher and ready to go."
While this is the two programs' first conference matchup, Baylor is 1-1 all-time against the Bearcats. In a pair of pre-rally scoring matches, Cincinnati won a four-setter in the Auburn tournament in 1988 and the Bears swept the Bearcats at home in 1992.
McGuyre and his wife, Jennifer, went up separately in a truck and trailer for the 18-hour drive to Cincinnati to pick up something for a "project that's been on my mind for a while."
"It's not for my family. My family will enjoy it, but it's for other families," Ryan said. "It's for families with small children like the (Joshua) Walker family, for Braya (Hunt) and for Jana (Brusek) Goyette and her little kids. I'm trying to do something for former players and their families when they come out and can just have some family fun. . . . I'll invite you out to Adventure Ranch whenever it's done."
The Baylor-Cincinnati matches will be streamed by the Big 12 Network on ESPN+, with Anthony Mazzini calling the action on both nights with analysts Stephanie Niemer and Melissa Luckey on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
WACO, Texas – The 20th-ranked Baylor volleyball squad heads northeast to face the second of four new league opponents in Cincinnati, playing the Bearcats on Thursday and Friday at Fifth Third Arena with start times of 5 p.m. CT for each match.
BU (8-7, 2-3 Big 12) hasn't faced UC (9-6, 2-3 Big 12) since 1992, and owns a 1-1 record against the Bearcats dating back to 1988. This will also be Ryan McGuyre's first time facing Cincinnati as a head coach.
The Bears are coming off a 1-1 series with Kansas State at home at the Ferrell Center to hit the road again, KSU taking the first match in five sets and BU winning in four sets on the second night. McGuyre is known to say the "better team wins the second night" when it comes to back-to-back matches with the same opponent. Since the 2020-21 season when the Big 12 Conference implemented the back-to-back matches, the Bears' boast a 15-1 record on the second night. It has happened four times that Baylor has lost the first night and come back to win the second, happening twice this season against Iowa State and K-State.
The Bearcats host BU after splitting the series with TCU on the road in Fort Worth. UC won in five sets the first night against the Horned Frogs before falling in three sets on night two. In the first Big 12 series of the season for Cincinnati, it was swept by UCF on the Knights' home court, falling in four sets in the first match before losing in three in the second match. The Bearcats are home for the first time in three matches against the Bears.
Baylor redshirt sophomore Riley Simpson has been on a hot streak for Baylor, coming in clutch and swinging momentum against the Wildcats of KSU. The Colorado native had 10 kills in the first match and had a hitting percentage of .529 in the second after going 9-0-17.
Junior Elise McGhee has also been heating up for BU, with her jump serve stunning Kansas State in the second match to serve two-straight aces to finish the match. She had three aces in that match alone.
The matches at Cincinnati will be streamed by the Big 12 Network on ESPN+, with Anthony Mazzini on the call both nights. Stephanie Niemer and Melissa Luckey will serve as analysts on Thursday and Friday, respectively. Links to watch the matches and to view live stats can be found at linktr.ee/baylorvball.
To stay up to date all year long on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.
Baylor Bear Insider
After losing the first game in splitting back-to-back series against Iowa State and Kansas State, the 20th-ranked Baylor volleyball team (8-7, 2-3) will try to buck that trend when the Bears face the Big 12 newcomer Cincinnati (9-6, 2-3) at 5 p.m. CT Thursday and Friday at Fifth Third Arena.
Continuing a pattern that started in 2020, when the Big 12 implemented back-to-back matches because of the COVID pandemic, Baylor is 15-1 in the second game of back-to-back series while struggling on the first night.
"We've got to start better,' Baylor coach Ryan McGuyre said. "Even when we've won them in the past, we're winning in four or five sets and the next night we're winning in three. . . . It's definitely about hungrier, better, stronger, in rhythm. You learn from (the loss), but can we play like we've already lost or have that sting a little bit? As we're maturing as a young team, that's been building, but needs to be stronger."
While junior outside hitter Elise McGhee was the closer in last Friday's 3-1 win over Kansas State, serving up two aces in a closing 6-0 run, "we need a player to just step up from the start," McGuyre said.
"I think we're just slow to identify or have that person be like, 'Hey, I'm going to carry us through the first 15 points,''' he said. "And now, great, we can distribute to wherever we need to be and get our kills. Through the first two sets, I think we're still waiting for that."
McGhee, who's second on the team with 3.1 kills per set, said the "bitterness of losing may be the spark" for game two.
"I don't know if we've figured it out yet, but we definitely have the mentality of, 'We're going to go in and prove why we should beat this team going forward,''' she said.
Redshirt sophomore Riley Simpson provided a spark against Kansas State, recording a season-high 10 kills in the first game and then hitting .529 with nine kills and no errors on 17 swings in the game two win.
"I think we learn a lot of things about the team in the first match, and then we really try to apply that," Simpson said. "Where I think we can be one degree better is learning that and making adjustments early and winning the first night. Obviously, we all want that. And then, we can also win the second night without having to wait and learn."
Cincinnati is coming off a split with TCU on the road, winning the first one 3-2 and dropping the next one in straight sets. In their first year in the Big 12, the Bearcats also won in four sets at Kansas State and dropped two at home to UCF.
Strongest at middle blocker, the Bearkats have gotten 2.89 kills per set with a .317 hitting percentage from Zeta Washington in conference play, while Ligia Williams ranks seventh in the league in conference-only matches with 1.26 blocks per set and had eight in the four-set win at K-State.
"They're heavy in the middle and good on the pins," McGuyre said, "but definitely a lot of middle attack. So, we'll need to defend that well. It's hard on film to tell what the atmosphere is like in the gym there. But I think our girls enjoy playing on the sports courts that different programs have, and they feel fresher and ready to go."
While this is the two programs' first conference matchup, Baylor is 1-1 all-time against the Bearcats. In a pair of pre-rally scoring matches, Cincinnati won a four-setter in the Auburn tournament in 1988 and the Bears swept the Bearcats at home in 1992.
McGuyre and his wife, Jennifer, went up separately in a truck and trailer for the 18-hour drive to Cincinnati to pick up something for a "project that's been on my mind for a while."
"It's not for my family. My family will enjoy it, but it's for other families," Ryan said. "It's for families with small children like the (Joshua) Walker family, for Braya (Hunt) and for Jana (Brusek) Goyette and her little kids. I'm trying to do something for former players and their families when they come out and can just have some family fun. . . . I'll invite you out to Adventure Ranch whenever it's done."
The Baylor-Cincinnati matches will be streamed by the Big 12 Network on ESPN+, with Anthony Mazzini calling the action on both nights with analysts Stephanie Niemer and Melissa Luckey on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
WACO, Texas – The 20th-ranked Baylor volleyball squad heads northeast to face the second of four new league opponents in Cincinnati, playing the Bearcats on Thursday and Friday at Fifth Third Arena with start times of 5 p.m. CT for each match.
BU (8-7, 2-3 Big 12) hasn't faced UC (9-6, 2-3 Big 12) since 1992, and owns a 1-1 record against the Bearcats dating back to 1988. This will also be Ryan McGuyre's first time facing Cincinnati as a head coach.
The Bears are coming off a 1-1 series with Kansas State at home at the Ferrell Center to hit the road again, KSU taking the first match in five sets and BU winning in four sets on the second night. McGuyre is known to say the "better team wins the second night" when it comes to back-to-back matches with the same opponent. Since the 2020-21 season when the Big 12 Conference implemented the back-to-back matches, the Bears' boast a 15-1 record on the second night. It has happened four times that Baylor has lost the first night and come back to win the second, happening twice this season against Iowa State and K-State.
The Bearcats host BU after splitting the series with TCU on the road in Fort Worth. UC won in five sets the first night against the Horned Frogs before falling in three sets on night two. In the first Big 12 series of the season for Cincinnati, it was swept by UCF on the Knights' home court, falling in four sets in the first match before losing in three in the second match. The Bearcats are home for the first time in three matches against the Bears.
Baylor redshirt sophomore Riley Simpson has been on a hot streak for Baylor, coming in clutch and swinging momentum against the Wildcats of KSU. The Colorado native had 10 kills in the first match and had a hitting percentage of .529 in the second after going 9-0-17.
Junior Elise McGhee has also been heating up for BU, with her jump serve stunning Kansas State in the second match to serve two-straight aces to finish the match. She had three aces in that match alone.
The matches at Cincinnati will be streamed by the Big 12 Network on ESPN+, with Anthony Mazzini on the call both nights. Stephanie Niemer and Melissa Luckey will serve as analysts on Thursday and Friday, respectively. Links to watch the matches and to view live stats can be found at linktr.ee/baylorvball.
To stay up to date all year long on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.
- BaylorBears.com -
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ VolleyballFlyin' High to 4️⃣-0️⃣ in Big 12 Conference play!
Sunday, October 05
The finishing touches 🎨 on 🔟 straight against the Coogs!
Sunday, October 05
Baylor Volleyball: Highlights vs. Kansas | October 3, 2025
Saturday, October 04
Baylor Volleyball: Highlights vs. Houston | October 1, 2025
Thursday, October 02
