Baylor Volleyball Sweeps SFA, Advances to Round of 32

WACO, Texas — The No. 4 seed Baylor Bears (24-6) topped Stephen F. Austin in straight sets, 25-13, 25-18, 25-15, to move on to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Elise McGhee led the offense for the Bears with 13 kills while Allie Sczech had a good all-around night with seven kills and seven blocks.

“I really thought our blocking set the tone for us tonight,” said Baylor head coach Ryan McGuyre after the game. 

He went on to single out Sczech, noting that she specifically helped set the tone and offered that he hasn’t had a freshman blocker like Sczech since now senior Kara McGhee was a freshman.

In set one, the Bears jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead with all-around solid play. Another 5-0 run built the lead to 20-8, and a service error from SFA sealed the set 25-13. 

The second set was the closest of the night, with the Lumberjacks hanging around at 21-18. However, Elise McGhee had five kills in the set and a 4-0 run from the Bears at the very end made it 25-18 and 2-0 Baylor.

Set three was more control and composure from the green and gold. The home team played together and spread out the attack, by the end of the night Kara McGhee and Lauren Harrison both had seven kill, while Mallory Talbert was close behind with six. 

Considering the Bears only needed 41 kills to finish the Lumberjacks off in three sets, those are some solid numbers for a diverse offense when added to Elise McGhee and Allie Sczech’s stat-lines.

Up next, the Bears will face Rice in the round of 32 tomorrow night at 7 PM in the Ferrell Center. The Owls fell to Baylor 3-0 earlier this year in one of the green and gold’s better non-conference performances.