No. 16 Baylor Volleyball Gears Up for Home Opener with No. 18 Rice
WACO, Texas – The 16th-ranked Baylor volleyball team is set to host No. 18 Rice for its home opener on Friday, with first serve at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.
BU (0-2) hosts the Owls (2-1) in Waco for the 22nd time in program history, the Bears leading the series at 12-9. The series overall is in Baylor’s favor at 24-23. When playing at the Ferrell Center with Ryan McGuyre at the helm of the program, Baylor is 99-23.
The top-20 matchup is the third in a row for the Bears as they faced then-No.2 Wisconsin and then-No. 7 Minnesota in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge.
BU is on a nine-match winning streak against Rice, seeing the Owls last in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 16 when the Bears won in five sets.
Both Baylor and Rice are coming off losses to meet in Waco. The match will be the Owls’ first on the road of the season.
Emilia Weske currently leads Rice in kills for the young season with 35, while Nia McCardell is leading in digs with 53 and Satasha Kostelecky has six blocks.
For the Bears, freshman Kyndal Stowers is leading the squad with 24 kills, while both Averi Carlson and Alicia Andrew have four blocks. Stowers was named to the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge All-Tournament team for leading BU in kills on the weekend.
BU fans are invited to partake in post-match autographs with the student-athletes with the new 2023 schedule posters, and an ice cream giveaway is available while supplies last. There is also an opportunity for face painting and a drawing for a Baylor cooler at the match.
The match will be streamed on ESPN+ with John Morris and Katie Smith on the call. Live stats can be found at BaylorStats.com.
Fans interested in purchasing tickets for the Baylor Volleyball season can do so by visiting BaylorBears.com/Tickets. All seats are general admission for volleyball in the Ferrell Center.
To stay up to date all year long on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.