No. 22 Baylor Volleyball Dominates Cincinnati

WACO, Texas - The No. 22 Baylor volleyball team secured the 3-0 victory over Cincinnati on Thursday night at the Ferrell Center.

The Bears ended their three-game losing streak with a dominating performance against the Bearcats, adding a Big 12 victory to their win column. This is the sixth time this season the Bears have secured the win in three sets.

BU (11-6, 3-3) defeated the Bearcats (11-6, 2-4) by securing the first set 25-18, the second 25-16, and 25-20 in the third to conclude the match in three.

THE RUNDOWN

Set One

The Bears started the match off strong with kills from Grace Carroll, Elise McGhee and Alicia Andrew, giving BU a 4-1 lead. Jackie Barrett Frazier extended the lead to 6-1 with back-to-back aces. After losing a few points due to service errors, Manuela Bibinbe and McGhee continued the Bears kill streak, maintaining the lead 11-9. Going into the media timeout, Baylor held onto its lead 15-10. Allie Sczech and Andrew continued the Bears’ momentum out of the timeout with three kills in a row, the score now 18-11. The Bears continued to dominate at 21-13 with another kill from Sczech assisted by Barrett Frazier. Baylor brought in Harley Kreck and Grace Carroll who quickly connected with an assist and kill, extending the lead to 23-14. The Bearcats attempted to battle back with a few kills, but Carroll put a stop to that with another kill, 24-18. To conclude set one, Kreck assisted a kill by McGhee for set point, BU winning set one 25-18.

Set Two

The Bears started off set two down 4-0 for the first time this match, but Carroll ended the Bearcats fiery start with back-to-back kills. The Bears took back the lead, 5-4, after a lifting call on Cincinnati. Both teams fighting to maintain the lead, McGhee took back the set for the Bears with back-to-back kills, Baylor leading 8-6. After a battle back from the Bearcats, Sczech reclaimed the lead with a kill assisted by Barrett Frazier, the score now 11-10 Bears. The set continued to be back and forth, Kreck tried to help extend Baylor’s lead with back-to-back aces, giving the Bears a 14-12 lead. The Bears held onto a 15-13 lead going into the media timeout. McGhee brought the Bears some momentum with a big kill out of the timeout. The Bears subbed in Sczech who immediately caused a spark with a kill, extending the Bears lead 19-15, causing the Bearcats to call a timeout. Andrew and Sczech continued the Bears momentum out of the timeout with kills, Bears strengthening their lead 21-16. With a block then kill, Sczech gave the Bears a 23-16 lead. To bring set two to an end, Sczech continued her impactful game with a block alongside Andrew to win set two for the Bears, 25-16, on a five-point run.

Set Three

Baylor started set three off with kills from McGhee and Andrew, giving the Bears a quick 2-0 lead. Andrew continued to extend Baylor’s lead with two more kills after a few points fell to the Bearcats. BU maintained a 6-4, two-point lead with a kill by Victoria Davis. In a constant back and forth battle, Carroll tied the set up 8-8 with an assist from Harley Kreck. In an attempt to maintain a lead Tehani Ulufatu tied the set 11-11 with an ace. After falling 13-11 to the Bearcats, the Bears called a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Bears started to battle back with a kill by Bibinbe, and back-to-back blocks by Davis and Sczech. Sczech gained the Bears the 16-14 lead with a kill then an ace, forcing the Bearcats into a timeout. Out of the timeout, Sczech continued to dominate with a kill, Bears lead 18-15. The Bearcats reclaimed the lead 19-18 after a few kills, causing a Baylor timeout. Fresh out the timeout, McGhee regained the lead for BU 21-19, forcing Cincinnati into another timeout. Bibinbe delivered back-to-back BU aces out of the timeout, extending the Bears lead 23-19. Lauren Briseño subs in to bring home a Baylor victory with a set point ace, Bears win the third and final set 25-20.

Highlights:

The Bears had three sets of back-to-back aces across the three sets, coming from Bibinbe, Kreck and Barrett Frazier.

It was Cincinnati’s first time playing at the Ferrell Center.

Four players each had two aces – the aforementioned along with Briseño.

The Bears had 10 service aces for the first time since 11/4/23 at Texas Tech.

Up Next

The Bears play on the road at Houston against the Cougars on Wednesday, October 23.