No. 14 Baylor Volley Sweeps Friday Double-Header in Six Sets

WACO, Texas — The No. 14 Baylor Volleyball team topped Sam Houston State and McNeese State both 3-0 to finish this week’s Baylor Classic 3-0. The Bears' unbeaten streak now extends to nine wins, eight sweeps, and 25 sets.

SHSU fell to the green and gold in the noon game 25-22, 25-11, 25-21. Kara McGhee led the way for the Bears with 13 kills, eight total blocks, and 17 points in all. Avery Carlson was back on the court for Baylor dishing out 31 assists and setting up Mallory Tablet and Allie Sczech for six kills each.

The Bears were a bit flat in the first set against the Bearkats, but they got rolling in the second set and never looked back.

It was a similar story against McNeese State in the evening game, but the Cowgirls hung a little tougher but never quite as close. The sets went Baylor’s way 25-18, 25-18, 25-17.

Freshman outside hitter Riley Simpson led the Bears in this one with 13 kills on 28 total attacks as well as making 7 digs.

“Riley's coming on, and again, double digits [kills] and just learning how to manage swings and to hit with accuracy and hit with power,” said Coach McGuyre after the game. “It was probably the first night where we were kinda like, ‘Hey, use middles as decoys and get the pins open’ and it worked that our pins were being pretty productive.”

As coach said, the pins — plural — were productive against the Cowgirls. Freshman Allie Szcech was close behind Simpson with 10 kills on 20 attacks.

But with all the success this young team is having, they are focused on what’s ahead and not getting complacent. The team has been playing a lot of games lately and that has thrown them out of their normal practice schedule.

“I feel like just getting back in the gym, getting back to our routine again, just having that week to kind of recover… we're just super excited, I think, to get out there and start conference,” said Szcech.

“We've gotta work really hard in practice,” said Simpson on complacency and conference play looming, ”If we can be the best against each other and we can really fine-tune the things that we need to work on, then I think that kind of just eliminates complacency.”

But with all the success coming to this relatively young team, there are still moments to sit back and think of what they can grow to be by the end of this year and the end of their college careers.

“Fun to dream big that way, you know, just you see what kinda year Kara’s having in year four. How so many other athletes have, have grown… It's also that they get to do it together,” said McGuyre to the dreams and ambitions.

But they truly are focused on next Wednesday and the Big 12 opener at home versus TCU.

As Ashley Hodge would probably say, you can’t go undefeated in conference without going 1-0.