No. 22 VB Dominates Cincinnati

Thursday, October 17

Waco, Texas

7PM

Baylor

11-6,3-3Big 12

Cincinnati

11-6,2-4Big 12

Cincinnati

Baylor

No. 22 VB Dominates Cincinnati

10/17/2024 9:12:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Bears win in three against the Bearcats

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

WACO, Texas – Going with a revamped lineup that included three first-time starters, 22^nd-ranked Baylor volleyball hit .446 in the first two sets and dominated the Cincinnati Bearcats, 25-18, 25-16, 25-20, Thursday night at the Ferrell Center to snap a three-match losing streak.

"It's like a batter in baseball, if you keep seeing the same pitch over and over again, you're going to finally catch up to that," said Baylor coach Ryan McGuyre, whose team improved to 11-6 overall and 3-3 in the Big 12. "So, good that we didn't go four sets, so that they could up to some of the things we were doing, especially with a lineup that they probably haven't seen to scout."

Freshman Grace Carroll, making her first start, finished one off her career high with nine kills and hit .312 with two blocks and a pair of digs. Rotating with Auburn transfer Jackie Barrett Frazier, sophomore Harley Kreck had a season-high 17 assists to go with seven digs and two service aces.

"Challenging both of them to make sure we're making good decisions," McGuyre said of Kreck and Barrett Frazier, who added 21 assists, seven digs and two aces in her first match coming off the bench.

The three-match road losing streak "just taught us how to lose, honestly," Barrett Frazier said.

"We lost, and that's the point," she said. "But also, it taught us how to be teammates through that, through those losses. I wish it wasn't that way, but you know what, I think it helped change the mindset in the gym."

Barrett Frazier had back-to-back aces in helping the Bears get out to a 6-1 start in first set where they led from start to finish. Allie Sczech had a kill to push the lead to 20-12, and then Elise McGhee finished it off, 25-18, with the fifth of her match-high 13 kills.

"We prepare for every match the same way," said Sczech, who had 11 kills and a match-high five blocks. "We always come into the gym ready to work and ready to grind. I really think what helped us tonight was our (devotional) this morning. We just had this mentality of going in and being champions, regardless of who we're playing. And I think it resonated with a lot of people on the team. I think that's what you saw out there."

In more of a back-and-forth second set, Cincinnati (11-6, 2-4) jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but the Bearcats had back-to-back attack errors in a 5-0 run that swung momentum back the other way. Sczech recorded two kills and had a pair of combo blocks with Alicia Andrew in a closing 5-0 run that put Baylor up 2-0 with a 25-18 second-set win.

"Growing up, my dad always told me, 'Regardless of how you're doing that, always be the closer. Always be the one that they can go to at the end,''' Sczech said. "I think that's something that we, obviously, had to work through as a team. And I had the opportunity to take it tonight. I think I was, 'Okay, lock in, take this as serious as possible, and be that (closer), regardless of who's on the other side of the net. Like, how can I find a way to score?"

Baylor hit just .132 in the pivotal third set, collecting 14 kills with nine hitting errors. But the Bears also served up five aces, ending it on a Lauren Briseño ace to take the third set, 25-20.

"I know she's poured a lot into this program," Barrett Frazier said. "Seeing that side of her and seeing that energetic side of her is just really fun and out there."

Up next for Baylor is a matchup against Houston (8-8, 3-3) at 7 p.m. CT Sunday at the Ferrell Center.

WACO, Texas - The No. 22 Baylor volleyball team secured the 3-0 victory over Cincinnati on Thursday night at the Ferrell Center.

The Bears ended their three-game losing streak with a dominating performance against the Bearcats, adding a Big 12 victory to their win column. This is the sixth time this season the Bears have secured the win in three sets.

BU (11-6, 3-3) defeated the Bearcats (11-6, 2-4) by securing the first set 25-18, the second 25-16, and 25-20 in the third to conclude the match in three.

THE RUNDOWN
Set One
The Bears started the match off strong with kills from Grace Carroll, Elise McGhee and Alicia Andrew, giving BU a 4-1 lead. Jackie Barrett Frazier extended the lead to 6-1 with back-to-back aces. After losing a few points due to service errors, Manuela Bibinbe and McGhee continued the Bears kill streak, maintaining the lead 11-9. Going into the media timeout, Baylor held onto its lead 15-10. Allie Sczech and Andrew continued the Bears' momentum out of the timeout with three kills in a row, the score now 18-11. The Bears continued to dominate at 21-13 with another kill from Sczech assisted by Barrett Frazier. Baylor brought in Harley Kreck and Grace Carroll who quickly connected with an assist and kill, extending the lead to 23-14. The Bearcats attempted to battle back with a few kills, but Carroll put a stop to that with another kill, 24-18. To conclude set one, Kreck assisted a kill by McGhee for set point, BU winning set one 25-18.

Set Two
The Bears started off set two down 4-0 for the first time this match, but Carroll ended the Bearcats fiery start with back-to-back kills. The Bears took back the lead, 5-4, after a lifting call on Cincinnati. Both teams fighting to maintain the lead, McGhee took back the set for the Bears with back-to-back kills, Baylor leading 8-6. After a battle back from the Bearcats, Sczech reclaimed the lead with a kill assisted by Barrett Frazier, the score now 11-10 Bears. The set continued to be back and forth, Kreck tried to help extend Baylor's lead with back-to-back aces, giving the Bears a 14-12 lead. The Bears held onto a 15-13 lead going into the media timeout. McGhee brought the Bears some momentum with a big kill out of the timeout. The Bears subbed in Sczech who immediately caused a spark with a kill, extending the Bears lead 19-15, causing the Bearcats to call a timeout. Andrew and Sczech continued the Bears momentum out of the timeout with kills, Bears strengthening their lead 21-16. With a block then kill, Sczech gave the Bears a 23-16 lead. To bring set two to an end, Sczech continued her impactful game with a block alongside Andrew to win set two for the Bears, 25-16, on a five-point run.

Set Three
Baylor started set three off with kills from McGhee and Andrew, giving the Bears a quick 2-0 lead. Andrew continued to extend Baylor's lead with two more kills after a few points fell to the Bearcats. BU maintained a 6-4, two-point lead with a kill by Victoria Davis. In a constant back and forth battle, Carroll tied the set up 8-8 with an assist from Harley Kreck. In an attempt to maintain a lead Tehani Ulufatu tied the set 11-11 with an ace. After falling 13-11 to the Bearcats, the Bears called a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Bears started to battle back with a kill by Bibinbe, and back-to-back blocks by Davis and Sczech. Sczech gained the Bears the 16-14 lead with a kill then an ace, forcing the Bearcats into a timeout. Out of the timeout, Sczech continued to dominate with a kill, Bears lead 18-15. The Bearcats reclaimed the lead 19-18 after a few kills, causing a Baylor timeout. Fresh out the timeout, McGhee regained the lead for BU 21-19, forcing Cincinnati into another timeout. Bibinbe delivered back-to-back BU aces out of the timeout, extending the Bears lead 23-19. Lauren Briseño subs in to bring home a Baylor victory with a set point ace, Bears win the third and final set 25-20.

Highlights:

The Bears had three sets of back-to-back aces across the three sets, coming from Bibinbe, Kreck and Barrett Frazier.
It was Cincinnati's first time playing at the Ferrell Center.
Both Grace Carroll and Harley Kreck made their first career starts.
Four players each had two aces – the aforementioned along with Briseño.
The Bears had 10 service aces for the first time since 11/4/23 at Texas Tech.

Up Next
The Bears play on the road at Houston against the Cougars on Wednesday, October 23.

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

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