No. 17 Baylor Volleyball Falls in Three to No. 12 Kansas

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The 17th-ranked Baylor volleyball team fell in three sets to No. 12 Kansas on Saturday afternoon in Horejsi Family Arena, 3-0.

The Bears (18-7, 10-4) fell to the Jayhawks (22-3, 13-3) in three sets despite a battle. KU took the three at 25-22, 26-24 and 25-17.

Leading for the Bears were Elise McGhee (11 kills), Jackie Barrett Frazier (23 assists), and Lauren Briseño (15 digs).

THE RUNDOWN

Set 1

BU came out hot with a kill from Elise McGhee and followed it with one from Alicia Andrew. The Jayhawks matched the Bears’ two points, but Andrew put the Bears ahead once more along with two KU errors, now 5-2. Andrew continued to attack, and Baylor went up 8-4 with a Kendal Murphy kill. Then the Jayhawks caught their footing and lessened the lead to 8-7. BU got the next point by a block from Jackie Barrett Frazier and Victoria Davis, but KU captured the next two to tie it at 9-all. It was then Baylor who lost its footing, going down 14-11 with mostly errors causing the plague. A big block from Andrew and Allie Sczech brought the Bears within one, 14-13. A ball was called out to give the Jayhawks the point, but BU challenged and there was in fact a touch, reversing the call and giving Andrew the kill, Baylor still down one at 15-14. Davis got a solo block (16-15) and the next ball, setter Barrett Frazier dumped into no-man’s-land to tie it up. McGhee and Davis blocked a ball at 20-18, then the Bears pushed against KU with the score 23-21. A kill from Sczech came with a touch on the other side of the net to stave off set point, 24-22, but the Jayhawks delivered a kill to finish the set, 25-22.

Set 2

Set two began with a Jayhawk service error but they erased their issue with a kill. McGhee delivered the first BU kill at 3-1, then 4-2. Sczech threw down to tie it at 5-5, then after a KU kill, a Baylor attack was called out. It was then overturned and BU got the point, 6-6, with Davis and Sczech on the block. Sczech got another kill to give BU the lead, then Tehani Ulufatu served an ace to go up 9-6. Murphy delivered the next blow. The Jayhawks clawed back to 11-9 before Baylor had three-straight blocks from three different combinations of players, 14-9, with KU calling timeout after the second. Kansas made a comeback, 16-15, but Andrew got a kill to keep BU moving. KU crept up but Baylor would take another step forward. The Jayhawks tied it at 19-19 and Baylor called for a timeout. Out of it, Davis delivered the kill to go up once more before KU tied it again. McGhee pushed ahead, then Kansas followed through with two points to take the lead. It was McGhee again who swung and tied it, 22-all, but after a kill from Jayhawk Ayah Elnady, BU called timeout. Andrew tied it out of the timeout but an error on BU put KU ahead by one. Sczech evened the score once more, but a Kansas kill and attack error on the Bears finished the set, 26-24.

Set 3

BU captured the first two points, the second being a block from McGhee and Andrew. Kansas tied it up quickly and turned it into a three-point run, ended by McGhee and then Sczech to tie it at 4-4. KU had some service errors, Baylor had some attack errors, and the Jayhawks got ahead, but only by one as McGhee had a kill, 9-8. McGhee tooled a block for BU’s next kill but the Bears didn’t catch another break until 13-10 with a service error on the other side of the net. BU was perturbed and Murphy broke through the block at 14-11 but KU delivered a deadly kill going into the media timeout. Murphy kept the Bears moving with another kill but the Jayhawks were relentless and went on another 3-point run, Baylor calling timeout down 18-12. The Bears made some subs after errors from both teams. Down 20-14, BU got back-to-back blocks from Andrew and Jennifer Bolden. Three-straight kills came from KU and so Baylor called time again at 23-16. Despite a Bolden kill, the match was won by a Jayhawk kill, 24-17.

HIGHLIGHTS

• There have been 19 sets where BU has won/lost by the required two points, the last coming in set two where the Bears went down 26-24.
• Jackie Barrett Frazier had her 15th double-double of the season.
• The loss snapped an eight-match winning streak and 13-set win streak.
• McGhee has led the team in kills for nine matches in a row.

UP NEXT

The Bears return to Waco to play in the Ferrell Center on Nov. 20 against Texas Tech with a start time of 7 p.m.