Wednesday, October 23
Houston, TX
7PM
Baylor
at
Houston
No. 23 VB Travels Southeast to Houston for Wednesday Match
10/22/2024 11:06:00 AM | Volleyball
Bears take on Coogs in midweek meetup
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Between a challenging non-conference schedule, a rash of injuries and a three-match road losing streak, the 23rd-ranked Baylor volleyball team has certainly had its share of adversity this season.
But senior libero Lauren Briseño said "it's been a lot of fun to get back into our home gym and be back training, and then to have a little confidence boost, especially against Cincinnati (a 3-0 sweep last Thursday)."
"Just getting to move through all the working pieces, like (Kendal Murphy) being out, working through that and then coming together, people playing new spots, that was fun this week," she said.
As Baylor head coach Ryan McGuyre put it, the team has "embraced" the challenge.
With Murphy sidelined in the win over Cincinnati, "it was good, in a challenging way," as other players like Sophia Keene and Victoria Davis stepped up to fill in. Now, with transfer setter Jackie Barrett Frazier from Auburn listed as "day to day" with a foot injury, sophomore Harley Kreck will have to take on a much bigger role.
"We've had a lot of adversity in our gym," McGuyre said. "Getting back to wanting it to be hard, not wanting it to be easy, but the team has embraced that."
Back on the road for just the fifth time this season and their second trip to Space City, the Bears (11-6, 3-3) will play Houston (8-9, 3-4) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Fertita Center in Houston. Their one previous road win (1-3) was a 3-0 sweep of Rice on Sept. 3.
Like Baylor, the Cougars have struggled on the road, going 2-5 overall and coming off back-to-back losses to Arizona State and Arizona. The returning Big 12 Libero of the Year, Kate Georgiades ranks second in the league with 4.85 digs per set, while grad transfer Angela Grieve from Miami ranks in the top 10 in points per set with 222 kills, 23 aces and 27 blocks.
"They have a lot of depth and a lot of options," McGuyre said. "They have multiple outside hitters, multiple opposites, multiple middles. It may not be as much rotation-specific but more so being alert on the personnel. If we're doing our job right, I think they'll switch things around a little bit. And then, we've got to make sure we're really adjusting within the match."
Elise McGhee and Allie Sczech led the Bears with 13 and 11 kills, respectively, in the 3-0 sweep of Cincinnati, 25-18, 25-16, 25-20. Baylor out blocked the Bearcats, 7-4, with Sczech recording one solo block and assisting on four of the other six blocks.
Even with the three-match losing streak, Baylor is still ranked 23rd in the AVCA poll and 20th in RPI, just outside of a top-16 pick that would put the Bears in position to host the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament.
"We don't want to just hang in there, we want to thrive," McGuyre said. "I think (the ranking) is also testament to our team, like we're not hiding in non-conference. We have some significant wins; we're playing against tough teams. I think the voters understand that. . . . That's how we've always been, we want to battle."
In a quick turnaround, Baylor will host 18th-ranked TCU (14-4, 6-2) at 5 p.m. Friday as part of Homecoming weekend. McGuyre is 1-4 against TCU head coach Jason Williams, who was a Baylor assistant coach through the 2021 season.
"We're kind of making every single match personal in its own way," Briseño said. "Obviously, TCU being TCU, it's always a lot more personal, just the relationships that we have across the net."
HOUSTON, Texas – No. 23 Baylor volleyball faces Houston on the road at the Fertitta Center for a midweek matchup, playing at 7 p.m. CT on Wednesday.
The Bears (11-6, 3-3) and Coogs (8-9, 3-4) have a history dating back to 1978, with BU winning the last seven matches since 2003. Prior to 2003, UH had a 30-1 record against Baylor. The last time the Bears met the Coogs at the Fertitta Center was in March of 2021, BU winning, 3-2.
Baylor is 105-47 in Big 12 matches under head coach Ryan McGuyre and have raked in 231 Big 12 wins overall since 1996.
Leading the way for the Bears through 17 matches are senior outside hitter Elise McGhee (190 kills, 22 aces), senior libero Lauren Briseño (244 digs), graduate transfer setter Jackie Barrett Frazier (467 assists) and senior middle blocker Manuela Bibinbe (49 blocks).
Briseño is just five aces away from joining Baylor's career top-five for rally scoring service aces at 81. In addition, she's 36 digs away from entering the top-10 for career digs at BU, currently registering 1,181 over her four-year career.
The match will be streamed on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. CT, with Matt Pedersen and Natalie Keck on the call. Live stats will be available at BaylorStats.com, with a full recap and final box score uploaded to BaylorBears.com after the conclusion of the match.
To stay up to date all year long on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Between a challenging non-conference schedule, a rash of injuries and a three-match road losing streak, the 23rd-ranked Baylor volleyball team has certainly had its share of adversity this season.
But senior libero Lauren Briseño said "it's been a lot of fun to get back into our home gym and be back training, and then to have a little confidence boost, especially against Cincinnati (a 3-0 sweep last Thursday)."
"Just getting to move through all the working pieces, like (Kendal Murphy) being out, working through that and then coming together, people playing new spots, that was fun this week," she said.
As Baylor head coach Ryan McGuyre put it, the team has "embraced" the challenge.
With Murphy sidelined in the win over Cincinnati, "it was good, in a challenging way," as other players like Sophia Keene and Victoria Davis stepped up to fill in. Now, with transfer setter Jackie Barrett Frazier from Auburn listed as "day to day" with a foot injury, sophomore Harley Kreck will have to take on a much bigger role.
"We've had a lot of adversity in our gym," McGuyre said. "Getting back to wanting it to be hard, not wanting it to be easy, but the team has embraced that."
Back on the road for just the fifth time this season and their second trip to Space City, the Bears (11-6, 3-3) will play Houston (8-9, 3-4) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Fertita Center in Houston. Their one previous road win (1-3) was a 3-0 sweep of Rice on Sept. 3.
Like Baylor, the Cougars have struggled on the road, going 2-5 overall and coming off back-to-back losses to Arizona State and Arizona. The returning Big 12 Libero of the Year, Kate Georgiades ranks second in the league with 4.85 digs per set, while grad transfer Angela Grieve from Miami ranks in the top 10 in points per set with 222 kills, 23 aces and 27 blocks.
"They have a lot of depth and a lot of options," McGuyre said. "They have multiple outside hitters, multiple opposites, multiple middles. It may not be as much rotation-specific but more so being alert on the personnel. If we're doing our job right, I think they'll switch things around a little bit. And then, we've got to make sure we're really adjusting within the match."
Elise McGhee and Allie Sczech led the Bears with 13 and 11 kills, respectively, in the 3-0 sweep of Cincinnati, 25-18, 25-16, 25-20. Baylor out blocked the Bearcats, 7-4, with Sczech recording one solo block and assisting on four of the other six blocks.
Even with the three-match losing streak, Baylor is still ranked 23rd in the AVCA poll and 20th in RPI, just outside of a top-16 pick that would put the Bears in position to host the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament.
"We don't want to just hang in there, we want to thrive," McGuyre said. "I think (the ranking) is also testament to our team, like we're not hiding in non-conference. We have some significant wins; we're playing against tough teams. I think the voters understand that. . . . That's how we've always been, we want to battle."
In a quick turnaround, Baylor will host 18th-ranked TCU (14-4, 6-2) at 5 p.m. Friday as part of Homecoming weekend. McGuyre is 1-4 against TCU head coach Jason Williams, who was a Baylor assistant coach through the 2021 season.
"We're kind of making every single match personal in its own way," Briseño said. "Obviously, TCU being TCU, it's always a lot more personal, just the relationships that we have across the net."
HOUSTON, Texas – No. 23 Baylor volleyball faces Houston on the road at the Fertitta Center for a midweek matchup, playing at 7 p.m. CT on Wednesday.
The Bears (11-6, 3-3) and Coogs (8-9, 3-4) have a history dating back to 1978, with BU winning the last seven matches since 2003. Prior to 2003, UH had a 30-1 record against Baylor. The last time the Bears met the Coogs at the Fertitta Center was in March of 2021, BU winning, 3-2.
Baylor is 105-47 in Big 12 matches under head coach Ryan McGuyre and have raked in 231 Big 12 wins overall since 1996.
Leading the way for the Bears through 17 matches are senior outside hitter Elise McGhee (190 kills, 22 aces), senior libero Lauren Briseño (244 digs), graduate transfer setter Jackie Barrett Frazier (467 assists) and senior middle blocker Manuela Bibinbe (49 blocks).
Briseño is just five aces away from joining Baylor's career top-five for rally scoring service aces at 81. In addition, she's 36 digs away from entering the top-10 for career digs at BU, currently registering 1,181 over her four-year career.
The match will be streamed on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. CT, with Matt Pedersen and Natalie Keck on the call. Live stats will be available at BaylorStats.com, with a full recap and final box score uploaded to BaylorBears.com after the conclusion of the match.
To stay up to date all year long on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.
- BaylorBears.com -
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/ Volleyball🐻's on the PROWL 🏜️
Friday, October 10
Baylor Volleyball: Highlights vs Arizona State | October 8, 2025
Thursday, October 09
Manuela Bibinbe lead the team in kills and recorded her 2️⃣ 0️⃣ 0️⃣ th career block against ASU!
Thursday, October 09
Waco ➡️ Tempe 🧳
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