Friday, September 1
Waco, Texas
7PM
Baylor
1-2,0-0Big 12
3
vs
1
Rice
2-2,0-0AAC
1
2
3
4
F
Rice
13
14
26
23
1
Baylor
25
25
24
25
3
No. 16 VB Pushes Past No. 18 Rice for Home-Opening Win
9/1/2023 11:14:00 PM | Volleyball
Bears collect 15 blocks to overtake Owls
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Ryan McGuyre doesn't expect his middle blockers to carry the same kind of load that first-team All-Big 12 picks Kara McGhee and Mallory Talbert did last year as seniors.
Not yet, anyway.
After combining for just 11 kills and six blocks in last week's losses to Wisconsin and Minnesota, junior college transfer Manuela Bibinbe and redshirt sophomore Alicia Andrew exploded for 18 kills and 12 blocks to help the 16th-ranked Bears knock off No. 18 Rice, 25-13, 25-14, 24-26, 25-23, Friday night before a home-opening crowd of 1,613 at the Ferrell Center.
"That was something probably missing a little bit in the past weekend," said McGuyre, whose team improved to 1-2 with its 10th-straight win over Rice (2-2). "I thought (Andrew) was really intentional on scoring for us there at the end and the big times when we needed it."
The 6-3 Bibinbe, a first-team NJCAA All-American last year, had a match-high seven blocks and hit .471 with 10 kills and two errors on 17 total swings. Andrew was even more efficient, hitting .571 with eight kills and zero errors and adding five block assists and three digs.
"I feel like during our previous games, both of us in the middle, we were not really involved," said Bibinbe, a native of Cameroon who played at Missouri State West Plains last year. "We in the middle, we need to be able to put the ball on the ground, and I feel like our setter did a good job about that. I believe that's why we made a difference when it was needed."
After falling behind early, the Bears responded with a 15-2 run and got six kills and two blocks from Elise McGhee in a dominant 25-13 first set. Every bit as dominant, Baylor closed out a convincing 25-14 win in the second set with three-straight kills by McGhee, Allie Sczech and Andrew.
"I think just the energy of the entire gym was awesome," Andrew said. "When we went out there as a team, we were like, 'This is our game, this is our home, this is us. Nobody's taking that from us.' And I think that really translated on the court."
Rice came out on fire in the third set, scoring the first seven points and going up 22-13 as the errors started piling up for the Bears. But showing that same kind of grit and determination, Baylor scored 11 of the next 13 points and tied it up at 24-24 on a kill by sophomore opposite-side hitter Allie Sczech.
That rally fizzled out, though, as the Owls responded with set-ending kills by USC transfer Emilia Weske and powerful outside hitter Danyle Courtley, who had seven of her match-high 16 kills in the third set.
"(Courtley) was really the only one that was scoring for them," McGuyre said. "That was probably a little bit of the frustration in dropping that set, because when good players heat up . . . we want to be like, 'Hey, let's make somebody else beat us but her.' And I think we lost sight of it."
In a back-and-forth set 4, Bibinbe had three kills in a 6-2 Baylor run that helped the Bears take control late and Andrew closed it out with a kill off an overhit on the fourth match point.
"We tell them, it's the hardest position in our sport," McGuyre said of the middles. "You've got to get up, get off, get up, get off. You've got to go left, go right, go backwards. It's a position about reactions and quick decisions. And you probably get yelled at the most by the coaches because they expect you to be good in so many things."
McGuyre and the players said the lively crowd, particularly the student section, had a "huge impact" on the match.
"Honestly, it was incredible," Andrew said. "I'm not going to lie, I stepped out on the court, and I took a second and did a full turn around. And I was looking at everyone. I was like, 'This is amazing! This is what college volleyball should be like with the atmosphere.' Like Coach Mac said, that made a huge impact on the game. I felt so hyped up. And when (the students) were getting into and doing our cheers with us . . . that made it all that much better."
Elise McGhee and freshman Kyndal Stowers led BU with 13 and 11 kills, respectively, while sophomore setter Averi Carlson had a double-double with 30 assists and 15 digs. The Bears hit .162 as a team while holding the Owls to just .007, but the biggest struggle of the night was 13 service errors.
"We were really good the first two sets," McGuyre said. "I thought a little careless in the third and probably a little too reserved in the fourth. We should see our serves this high over the net (about a foot over). When you look at the errors, we had a lot long, but they were way over the antennae. So, not going one way. And when you play it safe, the ball comes off your hand a little bit more than it should."
Baylor goes back on the road, facing SMU on Wednesday in Dallas and Colorado State, Bowling Green and Pacific in next weekend's Ram Volleyball Classic in Colorado Springs, Colo.
WACO, Texas – The 16th-ranked Baylor volleyball squad muscled past No. 18 Rice in their home opener on Friday night, 3-1.
BU (1-2) defeated the Owls (2-2) after two clean sets and two hotly contested ones, 25-13, 25-14, 24-26, 25-23.
It was head coach Ryan McGuyre's 100th career win at the Ferrell Center and his squad held Rice to a .007 hitting percentage.
The Bears were led by Elise McGhee and Kyndal Stowers with 13 and 11 kills on the Owls, respectively, but middle-blockers Alicia Andrew and Manuela Bibinbe shone on both sides of the ball.
The last top-20 matchup held in the Ferrell for Baylor volleyball was also against Rice on Dec. 2, 2022 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. BU was ranked 17th while the Owls were 20th.
THE RUNDOWN
Set 1
The Bears won a touch challenge to begin the match 1-0, but had a slower start than expected. Down 6-2, Elise McGhee and Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year, Kyndal Stowers, teamed up to engineer a turnaround involving two 7-point streaks. In the first, McGhee notched a kill to tie the set at 8-8 and a Lola Foord error moved Baylor to 9-8, a lead they would not relinquish. After an attack error gave Rice a point, the Bears rattled off another 7-point streak including two more McGhee kills and an Averi Carlson ace. Stowers, McGhee, and Averi Carlson all recorded kills while trading points back and forth until at match point, 24-13, an attack error by Emilia Weske gave the Bears the set.
Set 2
The Bears brought their momentum into the second set, a kill by Weske the only hiccup in a red-hot 5-1 start. The Bears continued to dominate Set 2, never possessing a lead of less than three throughout. Baylor spread the love, with Allie Sczech, Manuela Bibinbe, Lauren Briseño, McGhee, and Stowers all recording at least one kill during the set. Stowers recorded back-to-back-to-back aces during a five-point run, pushing Baylor to a 19-11 lead and forcing Rice to call two timeouts in as many plays. McGhee, Sczech, and Alicia Andrew chained three kills in a row to claim the second set for the Bears, 25-14. Although the two teams were even at 60 attacks on the night, Baylor showed dominance with 24 kills to Rice's 12 and 10 attack errors to Rice's 15.
Set 3
The third set was troublesome for the Bears, who hadn't trailed Rice since the first set but suddenly found themselves down 7-0. A kill by Andrew stopped the skid, but the Owls responded with a kill of their own, 8-1. Baylor chained together three points to cut the lead to four, but Rice quickly claimed two more points on Baylor errors to make the score a more distant 10-4. An ace by Izzy Rawlings reestablished a 7-point Rice lead at 14-7, and three points later a Weske kill lifted that lead to 8. After a Baylor timeout, the Owls continued to control the set, matching the Bears nearly point for point en route to a 22-14 lead. Here McGhee notched her tenth and eleventh kills of the night to record her second double-digit kill game of the young season during a crowd-roaring 9-1 sequence to challenge Rice at 23-22. After a Rice timeout, an offsetting Baylor block error and Rice service error pushed the already tense set to 24-23 when Sczech's sixth kill of the night tied the match. The Baylor comeback was interrupted by back-to-back Danyle Courtley and Emilia Weske kills, claiming the set for Rice at 26-24.
Set 4
Baylor had a second successful challenge to overturn a touch call, but the teams began the set in an even manner. Swapping kills and errors they found themselves tied at 5-5 before Stowers' ninth kill, a Sahara Maruska attack error, and a Bibinbe kill pushed the Bears to an 8-5 lead. Stowers' found her tenth kill at 9-6 to increase her double-digit kill streak to three out of three. A 7-1 run by Rice saw them establish a 13-10 lead headed into a Baylor timeout that the Bears made good use of, outscoring the Owls 6-2 across the next eight points to reclaim a 16-15 lead. The two teams swapped attack errors until Carlson and Bibinbe pushed Baylor to a 19-17 score and Rice timeout. Bibinbe stayed hot in the set to become the third Bear with 10+ kills on the night, stretching the score to a 22-18 lead and another timeout from Rice. The Owl's Courtley was able to stave off two match points with back-to-back kills and Stowers attack error found the Bears at 24-23, seeking to find their 25th in their fourth opportunity. An Alicia Andrew kill sealed the deal, cementing a 3-1 score for Baylor's first victory of the season.
HIGHLIGHTS
UP NEXT
The Bears' next match is on Sep. 6 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, where they will face unranked SMU coached by former BU associate head Sam Erger. First serve is set for 7 p.m. with the match streamed on ESPN+.
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
Ryan McGuyre doesn't expect his middle blockers to carry the same kind of load that first-team All-Big 12 picks Kara McGhee and Mallory Talbert did last year as seniors.
Not yet, anyway.
After combining for just 11 kills and six blocks in last week's losses to Wisconsin and Minnesota, junior college transfer Manuela Bibinbe and redshirt sophomore Alicia Andrew exploded for 18 kills and 12 blocks to help the 16th-ranked Bears knock off No. 18 Rice, 25-13, 25-14, 24-26, 25-23, Friday night before a home-opening crowd of 1,613 at the Ferrell Center.
"That was something probably missing a little bit in the past weekend," said McGuyre, whose team improved to 1-2 with its 10th-straight win over Rice (2-2). "I thought (Andrew) was really intentional on scoring for us there at the end and the big times when we needed it."
The 6-3 Bibinbe, a first-team NJCAA All-American last year, had a match-high seven blocks and hit .471 with 10 kills and two errors on 17 total swings. Andrew was even more efficient, hitting .571 with eight kills and zero errors and adding five block assists and three digs.
"I feel like during our previous games, both of us in the middle, we were not really involved," said Bibinbe, a native of Cameroon who played at Missouri State West Plains last year. "We in the middle, we need to be able to put the ball on the ground, and I feel like our setter did a good job about that. I believe that's why we made a difference when it was needed."
After falling behind early, the Bears responded with a 15-2 run and got six kills and two blocks from Elise McGhee in a dominant 25-13 first set. Every bit as dominant, Baylor closed out a convincing 25-14 win in the second set with three-straight kills by McGhee, Allie Sczech and Andrew.
"I think just the energy of the entire gym was awesome," Andrew said. "When we went out there as a team, we were like, 'This is our game, this is our home, this is us. Nobody's taking that from us.' And I think that really translated on the court."
Rice came out on fire in the third set, scoring the first seven points and going up 22-13 as the errors started piling up for the Bears. But showing that same kind of grit and determination, Baylor scored 11 of the next 13 points and tied it up at 24-24 on a kill by sophomore opposite-side hitter Allie Sczech.
That rally fizzled out, though, as the Owls responded with set-ending kills by USC transfer Emilia Weske and powerful outside hitter Danyle Courtley, who had seven of her match-high 16 kills in the third set.
"(Courtley) was really the only one that was scoring for them," McGuyre said. "That was probably a little bit of the frustration in dropping that set, because when good players heat up . . . we want to be like, 'Hey, let's make somebody else beat us but her.' And I think we lost sight of it."
In a back-and-forth set 4, Bibinbe had three kills in a 6-2 Baylor run that helped the Bears take control late and Andrew closed it out with a kill off an overhit on the fourth match point.
"We tell them, it's the hardest position in our sport," McGuyre said of the middles. "You've got to get up, get off, get up, get off. You've got to go left, go right, go backwards. It's a position about reactions and quick decisions. And you probably get yelled at the most by the coaches because they expect you to be good in so many things."
McGuyre and the players said the lively crowd, particularly the student section, had a "huge impact" on the match.
"Honestly, it was incredible," Andrew said. "I'm not going to lie, I stepped out on the court, and I took a second and did a full turn around. And I was looking at everyone. I was like, 'This is amazing! This is what college volleyball should be like with the atmosphere.' Like Coach Mac said, that made a huge impact on the game. I felt so hyped up. And when (the students) were getting into and doing our cheers with us . . . that made it all that much better."
Elise McGhee and freshman Kyndal Stowers led BU with 13 and 11 kills, respectively, while sophomore setter Averi Carlson had a double-double with 30 assists and 15 digs. The Bears hit .162 as a team while holding the Owls to just .007, but the biggest struggle of the night was 13 service errors.
"We were really good the first two sets," McGuyre said. "I thought a little careless in the third and probably a little too reserved in the fourth. We should see our serves this high over the net (about a foot over). When you look at the errors, we had a lot long, but they were way over the antennae. So, not going one way. And when you play it safe, the ball comes off your hand a little bit more than it should."
Baylor goes back on the road, facing SMU on Wednesday in Dallas and Colorado State, Bowling Green and Pacific in next weekend's Ram Volleyball Classic in Colorado Springs, Colo.
WACO, Texas – The 16th-ranked Baylor volleyball squad muscled past No. 18 Rice in their home opener on Friday night, 3-1.
BU (1-2) defeated the Owls (2-2) after two clean sets and two hotly contested ones, 25-13, 25-14, 24-26, 25-23.
It was head coach Ryan McGuyre's 100th career win at the Ferrell Center and his squad held Rice to a .007 hitting percentage.
The Bears were led by Elise McGhee and Kyndal Stowers with 13 and 11 kills on the Owls, respectively, but middle-blockers Alicia Andrew and Manuela Bibinbe shone on both sides of the ball.
The last top-20 matchup held in the Ferrell for Baylor volleyball was also against Rice on Dec. 2, 2022 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. BU was ranked 17th while the Owls were 20th.
THE RUNDOWN
Set 1
The Bears won a touch challenge to begin the match 1-0, but had a slower start than expected. Down 6-2, Elise McGhee and Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year, Kyndal Stowers, teamed up to engineer a turnaround involving two 7-point streaks. In the first, McGhee notched a kill to tie the set at 8-8 and a Lola Foord error moved Baylor to 9-8, a lead they would not relinquish. After an attack error gave Rice a point, the Bears rattled off another 7-point streak including two more McGhee kills and an Averi Carlson ace. Stowers, McGhee, and Averi Carlson all recorded kills while trading points back and forth until at match point, 24-13, an attack error by Emilia Weske gave the Bears the set.
Set 2
The Bears brought their momentum into the second set, a kill by Weske the only hiccup in a red-hot 5-1 start. The Bears continued to dominate Set 2, never possessing a lead of less than three throughout. Baylor spread the love, with Allie Sczech, Manuela Bibinbe, Lauren Briseño, McGhee, and Stowers all recording at least one kill during the set. Stowers recorded back-to-back-to-back aces during a five-point run, pushing Baylor to a 19-11 lead and forcing Rice to call two timeouts in as many plays. McGhee, Sczech, and Alicia Andrew chained three kills in a row to claim the second set for the Bears, 25-14. Although the two teams were even at 60 attacks on the night, Baylor showed dominance with 24 kills to Rice's 12 and 10 attack errors to Rice's 15.
Set 3
The third set was troublesome for the Bears, who hadn't trailed Rice since the first set but suddenly found themselves down 7-0. A kill by Andrew stopped the skid, but the Owls responded with a kill of their own, 8-1. Baylor chained together three points to cut the lead to four, but Rice quickly claimed two more points on Baylor errors to make the score a more distant 10-4. An ace by Izzy Rawlings reestablished a 7-point Rice lead at 14-7, and three points later a Weske kill lifted that lead to 8. After a Baylor timeout, the Owls continued to control the set, matching the Bears nearly point for point en route to a 22-14 lead. Here McGhee notched her tenth and eleventh kills of the night to record her second double-digit kill game of the young season during a crowd-roaring 9-1 sequence to challenge Rice at 23-22. After a Rice timeout, an offsetting Baylor block error and Rice service error pushed the already tense set to 24-23 when Sczech's sixth kill of the night tied the match. The Baylor comeback was interrupted by back-to-back Danyle Courtley and Emilia Weske kills, claiming the set for Rice at 26-24.
Set 4
Baylor had a second successful challenge to overturn a touch call, but the teams began the set in an even manner. Swapping kills and errors they found themselves tied at 5-5 before Stowers' ninth kill, a Sahara Maruska attack error, and a Bibinbe kill pushed the Bears to an 8-5 lead. Stowers' found her tenth kill at 9-6 to increase her double-digit kill streak to three out of three. A 7-1 run by Rice saw them establish a 13-10 lead headed into a Baylor timeout that the Bears made good use of, outscoring the Owls 6-2 across the next eight points to reclaim a 16-15 lead. The two teams swapped attack errors until Carlson and Bibinbe pushed Baylor to a 19-17 score and Rice timeout. Bibinbe stayed hot in the set to become the third Bear with 10+ kills on the night, stretching the score to a 22-18 lead and another timeout from Rice. The Owl's Courtley was able to stave off two match points with back-to-back kills and Stowers attack error found the Bears at 24-23, seeking to find their 25th in their fourth opportunity. An Alicia Andrew kill sealed the deal, cementing a 3-1 score for Baylor's first victory of the season.
HIGHLIGHTS
- It was Ryan McGuyre's 100th win at the Ferrell Center
- The Bears held Rice to a .007 hitting percentage
- Alicia Andrew kept a clean sheet with no errors on offense and had five blocks
- Manuela Bibinbe recorded an impressive four solo blocks and three assisted
- Kyndal Stowers has recorded double digit kills in each game this season (14, 10, 11 tonight)
- Elise McGhee led the team in kills (13), a season-high
- Averi Carlson led in assists (30) and digs (15), a career high in digs
UP NEXT
The Bears' next match is on Sep. 6 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, where they will face unranked SMU coached by former BU associate head Sam Erger. First serve is set for 7 p.m. with the match streamed on ESPN+.
To stay up to date all year long on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.
- BaylorBears.com -
Team Stats
Rice
Baylor
Kills
33
52
Errors
32
27
Attempts
147
154
Hitting %
.007
.162
Points
46.0
73.0
Assists
31
39
Aces
2
6
Blocks
11
15
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
11
Aces
3
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
MB
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OPP
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballFlyin' High to 4️⃣-0️⃣ in Big 12 Conference play!
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