No. 17 VB Drops Five-Set Heartbreaker at No. 22 BYU

Friday, September 25

Provo, UT

9:00 PM

Baylor

8-3,0-1Big 12

BYU

9-1,1-0Big 12

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Baylor	19	23	25	25	10	2
BYU	25	25	21	22	15	3

Match Book (PDF)

Baylor Volleyball Huddles after a Point Against No. 22 BYU in 2026

No. 17 VB Drops Five-Set Heartbreaker at No. 22 BYU

9/26/2026 12:53:00 AM | Volleyball

Box Score Match Book

Bears break Big 12 mark for attack percentage in five-set match, before succumbing to the Cougars

By: Matt Roberts

PROVO, Utah — No. 17 Baylor volleyball battled back from a two-set deficit but ultimately fell to No. 22 BYU, 3-2 Friday night at Smith Fieldhouse to open Big 12 Conference play.

The Bears (9-2, 0-1 Big 12) put together one of their most efficient offensive performances in program history, hitting a Big 12-record .393 in a five-set match while producing 75 kills and 70 assists. The Big 12's previous record was held by Texas A&M who hit .378 in a five-set affair against Missouri on Nov. 26, 2005.

Ksenia Rakhmanchik led all players with a season-high 26 kills and hit a career-best .478, while Nadiya Johnson established a career high with 20 kills. Bailey Warren added 12 kills, giving Baylor three players with double-digit kills for the first time since Nov. 15, 2025, at Houston.

Isabela Haggard orchestrated the attack with a career-high 57 assists, surpassing her previous mark of 55 set during the NCAA Tournament with Marquette last season. She also tied her career high with five total blocks for the third time this season.

RUNDOWN
BYU controlled the opening set early, building leads of 18-15 and 23-17 before the Cougars closed out the frame, 25-19. Rakhmanchik paced Baylor with five kills in the opening set, while Haggard added three kills and nine assists.

The Cougars carried the momentum into the second, taking a 15-7 advantage. Baylor steadily chipped away at the deficit, using kills from Rakhmanchik, Warren and Johnson to pull within 22-20. The Bears eventually reached 24-23 following another Rakhmanchik kill, but BYU answered with the final point to take a 2-0 lead.

Baylor responded emphatically in the third. The Bears jumped out to a 4-0 start and never trailed, with Johnson and Rakhmanchik leading the charge. Baylor hit a staggering .643 in the frame, recording 19 kills with just one error, and closed the set on a Johnson kill from Haggard to force a fourth.

The Bears continued their offensive surge in the fourth, hitting .390 with 20 kills. Rakhmanchik delivered nine kills in the frame as Baylor battled through a tightly contested set that featured 13 ties. After BYU took a 15-14 lead, Baylor answered with three-straight points to move in front, 17-15, and maintained the advantage to force a decisive fifth set.

After a tightly-contested battle to start the fifth, Baylor took an 8-7 lead on a big Nadiya Johnson swing. From there, though, BYU took control with a 7-0 run to take a 14-8 lead. Baylor refused to go quietly, as Rakhmanchik and Victoria Davis answered with kills to cut the deficit to 14-10. The Cougars, however, closed out the match on the next point to secure the 15-10 victory.

GAME NOTES

Baylor hit .393 for the match, establishing a new program record for a five-set match. The previous mark was .366 against Cal Poly on Aug. 31, 2014.
Baylor's 75 kills were its most since recording 80 against Arkansas State in the opening round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Baylor hit .643 in the third set, tying for the 12th-best single-set attack percentage in program history and marking the Bears' highest single-set percentage since hitting .778 against Samford in September 2024.
Baylor's 70 assists were its most since recording 74 at BYU on Sept. 9, 2017.
Haggard finished with a career-high 57 assists and tied her career high with five total blocks.
Rakhmanchik's 26 kills marked a season high, while her .478 hitting percentage was a career best.
Johnson recorded a career-high 20 kills while hitting .350.
Baylor had multiple players record 20-plus kills for the first time this season and for the first time since Nov. 26, 2025, at TCU.
Warren added 12 kills, giving Baylor three players with double-digit kills for the first time since Nov. 15, 2025, at Houston.

WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears will remain in the Beehive State to take on Utah in a Sunday Matinee at 2 p.m. CT. The match will be available on ESPN+, with stats available all season at BaylorBears.com/Stats.

Season and single-match tickets are on sale now for the 2026 season. You can find them at BaylorBears.com/tickets or by calling the Baylor Athletics Ticket Office at 254-710-1000.

To stay up to date with Baylor Volleyball all year long, follow the program on Instagram, Facebook, X and TikTok: @BaylorVBall. Want to support the team? You can do so by giving to the One Way Club.

—Baylorbears.com—