Baylor Volleyball Sees Season End in Sweet 16 Loss to Minnesota
MADISON, Wisconsin — The No. 5 overall seed Baylor Women’s Volleyball (22-6) lost to No. 12 seed Minnesota (23-8) in five sets during the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament. The Bears won the first and third sets 28-26 and 25-22 respectively. Minnesota took the second, fourth and fifth sets 25-22, 25-20, and 15-10.
The Bears and Gophers got off to a tight start in the first set before Baylor created a little distance. Right when it started looking like the Bears could break things open, the Gophers went on a 5-0 run to make it 16-14.
The set stayed tight from there, seeing the teams tied at 23 late. Minnesota earned the first set point opportunities at 24-23 and 25-24, but kills from Lauren Harrison and Yossiana Pressley kept Baylor in it.
Presley then took over, with three kills and an ace to help the Bears snag victory in the set 28-26.
Minnesota came out with a vengeance in set two. They blazed Baylor to a 3-0 start that grew to a 6-2 lead that they would not surrender. The Bears made multiple errors early on but kept fighting.
While the deficit balanced around 4 or 5 points for most of the set, Baylor made a push late to narrow it to 24-22. However, the Bears could not hold on any longer. Pressley sent a spike into the net and they dropped the set 25-22.
In set three, Baylor turned the tables on the Gophers, jumping out to a 6-1 lead. Minnesota fought back to get within one pint at 14-13, but a Lauren Harrison kill started a Baylor run to get the lead back to four.
Another Harrison kill gave Baylor a set point at 24-20 and they did not squander it, taking set three 25-20.
Set four again saw Baylor make a push early on for a 10-6 lead after the Bears won a crazy, long rally. Minnesota fought back and tied thees set at 16 all before continuing on to a 6-0 run and a 19-16 lead. A pair of Marieke van der Mark kills kept things close, but Minnesota pulled out a 25-23 victory to send the match to a decisive fifth set.
In the shortened final frame, Baylor again jumped out to a nice little lead at 6-2 thanks to a couple of kills from Presley. The Gophers didn’t give up though and Baylor made a couple of mistakes like a net violation and a service error. Those late mistakes sealed Baylor’s fate, and Minnesota advances to the Elite 8 with a 15-10 set five victory for the 3-2 win.
Minnesota will go on to face either regional host and No. 4 seed Wisconsin or No. 13 seed UCLA.
Baylor ends the year with a 22-6 record and a third straight Sweet 16 appearance to show for it.