No. 18 Baylor Volleyball Falls to No. 10 BYU in Provo, 3-0
PROVO, Utah – The 18th-ranked Baylor volleyball team fell on Saturday afternoon to No. 10 BYU, 3-0, in Smith Fieldhouse.
BU (6-5, 0-1) succumbed to the Cougars (13-1, 2-0), 25-17, 25-17, 25-15, to start Big 12 play 0-1.
The Bears were without season kills leader Kyndal Stowers for the match, and saw both Allie Sczech and Elise McGhee get eight kills each to lead the squad. Averi Carlson had 27 assists and two aces, while she and Keene led the team in digs with five each.
THE RUNDOWN
Set 1
The Cougars started the set with an ace and then a kill, but BU got their feet under them and Elise McGhee got Baylor’s first point with a kill at 2-1. An attack error put the Bears back within one, 4-3. BYU went on a run but Sczech had a kill at 5-4 and then Riley Simpson followed at 8-5. Not much doing for the Bears, Averi Carlson got a dump at 13-6, igniting a run for BU. McGhee went on to get three kills in a row, the score now 13-9 in BYU’s favor. The Cougars called timeout and then stopped the run at four, but McGhee picked right up where they left off with another kill. Sczech continued closing the gap with a kill before Alexis Dacosta served up an ace to make it 15-13. Sczech again got a kill to make it 17-14. At 20-15, Sczech and Bibinbe teamed up for the block and called timeout. Out of it, a Cougar had an attack error and then the two teams traded service errors, now 21-17. BYU had four straight kills to end the set, 25-17.
Set 2
Sczech and the Bears kept it close with BYU early in the second frame, with Sczech getting the first kill and then another to tie it at two-all. Bibinbe hopped in on the fun to tie it at 4-4 before BYU earned four points in a row to make it 7-5. Bibinbe got another kill to bring it within one, but a kill was returned. Sczech closed the gap to one once again, 8-9, and sandwiched a kill with an absolute rocket from Alicia Andrew. She and Sczech then got a block to tie it at 10-all. Andrew tied it back up at 11 and Bibinbe at 12. BYU got a kill and then capitalized on three straight BU errors, going up 16-12. Bibinbe had two kills in a row, which along with a Cougar error, made the score 17-14. McGhee got her first kill of the set but then had an error, now 19-15, to have McGuyre call timeout. Out of it, McGhee redeemed herself with a kill, 20-17. BYU had three-straight kills and BU had an error to make it set point. An attack error sealed the second, 25-17.
Set 3
The Bears started the third, 3-0, with a block assist between Andrew and Carlson, then back-to-back aces from Carlson. Simpson broke the block to get a kill, leading 5-3, then got her second at 6-4. Briseño served up the third ace of the set to push BYU into timeout, 7-4. Simpson again put the Bears up by three, 9-6, but BYU went on a 5-0 run, now 11-9 Cougars. Bibinbe got a kill to make it a one-point set once again, 11-10, but BYU went on another run, this time 6-0 with four-straight Baylor errors. It was Andrew to end it with a kill, 17-11. Sczech was the next Bear to score, getting a kill to make it 20-12. She followed it up with a block with Andrew, then BYU had an attack error to make it a 3-0 run, 20-14. Sczech had the kill again at 21-15, but an ace from Erin Livingston, a block and another ace ended the st and match, 25-15.
UP NEXT
The Bears keep the road trip going, facing Iowa State in Ames on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 for their first back-to-back conference series of the season.