Thursday, December 4
West Lafayette, Ind.
3:30 pm
Baylor
18-9,12-6Big 12
3
vs
2
Arkansas State
22-9,12-4Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
5
F
Arkansas St.
25
20
28
25
10
2
Baylor
23
25
30
23
15
3
Sixth-Seeded VB Outlasts Arkansas State 3-2 in Five-Set Thriller
12/4/2025 8:58:00 PM | Volleyball
BU improves to 10-0 in opening-round matches under Ryan McGuyre
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Baylor Volleyball delivered a postseason classic Thursday night, beating Arkansas State 3-2 to advance to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 at Holoway Gymnasium.
The victory marks Baylor's 10th-straight first-round win and moves the program to 18-13 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. It was the third time in 11 tries this season, the Bears shook off an early 0-1 deficit to come back and win.
Ksenia Rakhmanchik led the way with 32 kills, but head coach Ryan McGuyre loved the fight from his squad, getting contributions from up and down the roster.
"That's a testament to everyone on the team and how they speak life into each other, and how they lift each other up," he said. "Grace [Carroll] has gone through a broken finger, a concussion — as has Bri [Denney]. We kind of need both of them to be healthy at the same time to use them, so we are glad they are here at the end of the year. Taylor [Crain] came in and had some good serves and good digs to create some separation, so proud of the character they have shown to stay after it."
After trailing most of the first set, BU surged ahead 22-20 before Arkansas State closed on a 5-1 run to steal the opener.
The second saw another point-for-point battle until a late Baylor push created separation, and Grace Carroll hammered one of her nine momentum-shifting kills to even the match at 1-1.
The pivotal third set turned into a marathon. Baylor led by four midway through the frame before ASU rallied with a 3-0 burst to put Bu's back against the wall. With the Red Wolves threatening at 24-23, Ksenia Rakhmanchik and Gabrielle Essix teamed up for a massive block to extend the match to extra points. Victoria Davis came up with a massive block of her own, as Baylor finally secured the 30-28 win to take a 2-1 lead.
Arkansas State refused to fade, edging a tight fourth set 25-23 to push the match to a decisive race to 15.
Tied at 5 in the fifth, Carroll delivered again, giving Baylor a lead it would not surrender. Fittingly, it was Rakhmanchik who finished the job, slamming down her 32nd kill, tying Elisha Polk for the most kills in an NCAA Tournament match in program history.
Rakhmanchik also added 10 digs for her fifth double-double of the season, while Harley Kreck orchestrated the offense brilliantly with 61 assists, the most by a Bear since 2023, paired with 17 digs for her team-leading sixth double-double. Morgan Madison set a Baylor Tournament record for a five-set match with 23 digs, anchoring a BU back row that tallied 85 as a team.
In a season of many big performances from these freshmen, Thursday was just the latest chapter for a couple of future Baylor stars.
"The future for Baylor is really, really bright," he said. "Right now, the future is a match tomorrow, but I can't help but dream about having those players getting to play with each other for a long time. We see them as a big part of the core group that will carry on the legacy that Manu [Bibinbe] and her group are going to leave. Because they absorb what they see from others well, but then they also rise up and are very confident in what they are able to do."
At the net, Essix led the Bears in blocks for the 17th time this season, posting six blocks, while Bibinbe recorded 16 kills, at a .382 clip.
With the win, Baylor advances to the round of 32, where the Bears will face third-seeded Purdue on Friday at 5 p.m. CT. Coverage will be available on ESPN+, with live stats available at BaylorBears.com/Stats. More tournament info can be found at the Tournament Central Page.
Follow @BaylorVball on X, Instagram and Facebook for additional updates.
The victory marks Baylor's 10th-straight first-round win and moves the program to 18-13 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. It was the third time in 11 tries this season, the Bears shook off an early 0-1 deficit to come back and win.
Ksenia Rakhmanchik led the way with 32 kills, but head coach Ryan McGuyre loved the fight from his squad, getting contributions from up and down the roster.
"That's a testament to everyone on the team and how they speak life into each other, and how they lift each other up," he said. "Grace [Carroll] has gone through a broken finger, a concussion — as has Bri [Denney]. We kind of need both of them to be healthy at the same time to use them, so we are glad they are here at the end of the year. Taylor [Crain] came in and had some good serves and good digs to create some separation, so proud of the character they have shown to stay after it."
After trailing most of the first set, BU surged ahead 22-20 before Arkansas State closed on a 5-1 run to steal the opener.
The second saw another point-for-point battle until a late Baylor push created separation, and Grace Carroll hammered one of her nine momentum-shifting kills to even the match at 1-1.
The pivotal third set turned into a marathon. Baylor led by four midway through the frame before ASU rallied with a 3-0 burst to put Bu's back against the wall. With the Red Wolves threatening at 24-23, Ksenia Rakhmanchik and Gabrielle Essix teamed up for a massive block to extend the match to extra points. Victoria Davis came up with a massive block of her own, as Baylor finally secured the 30-28 win to take a 2-1 lead.
Arkansas State refused to fade, edging a tight fourth set 25-23 to push the match to a decisive race to 15.
Tied at 5 in the fifth, Carroll delivered again, giving Baylor a lead it would not surrender. Fittingly, it was Rakhmanchik who finished the job, slamming down her 32nd kill, tying Elisha Polk for the most kills in an NCAA Tournament match in program history.
Rakhmanchik also added 10 digs for her fifth double-double of the season, while Harley Kreck orchestrated the offense brilliantly with 61 assists, the most by a Bear since 2023, paired with 17 digs for her team-leading sixth double-double. Morgan Madison set a Baylor Tournament record for a five-set match with 23 digs, anchoring a BU back row that tallied 85 as a team.
In a season of many big performances from these freshmen, Thursday was just the latest chapter for a couple of future Baylor stars.
"The future for Baylor is really, really bright," he said. "Right now, the future is a match tomorrow, but I can't help but dream about having those players getting to play with each other for a long time. We see them as a big part of the core group that will carry on the legacy that Manu [Bibinbe] and her group are going to leave. Because they absorb what they see from others well, but then they also rise up and are very confident in what they are able to do."
At the net, Essix led the Bears in blocks for the 17th time this season, posting six blocks, while Bibinbe recorded 16 kills, at a .382 clip.
With the win, Baylor advances to the round of 32, where the Bears will face third-seeded Purdue on Friday at 5 p.m. CT. Coverage will be available on ESPN+, with live stats available at BaylorBears.com/Stats. More tournament info can be found at the Tournament Central Page.
Follow @BaylorVball on X, Instagram and Facebook for additional updates.
—Baylorbears.com—
Team Stats
ASU
Baylor
Kills
71
80
Errors
16
21
Attempts
186
186
Hitting %
.296
.317
Points
82.0
97.0
Assists
68
77
Aces
4
6
Blocks
7
11
Game Leaders
Kills
32
Aces
2
Blocks
3
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
9
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OPP
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballWould go to battle with this crew anytime 🫶
Monday, December 08
Hearts stopped. Records fell. Bears won!
Monday, December 08
Elevate ⬆️ and celebrate 🎉
Monday, December 08
💼 Workin' our way to match day
Monday, December 08
