By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
 
Last weekend, Baylor volleyball got a monkey off its back with its first back-to-back series sweep since ending the 2021 regular season with three-straight sweeps against TCU, Iowa State and Oklahoma.
 
Playing without freshman outside hitter Kyndal Stowers, the Bears (10-7, 4-3) were able to pull out 3-1 wins over Cincinnati on the road, getting a combined 35 kills from Elise McGhee and 11 blocks from Manuela Bibinbe and serving up 20 aces.
 
"The block came alive a lot more than it had in previous matches," said 6-3 sophomore middle blocker Alicia Andrews, who had a combined six blocks in the two matches. "That made a big impact on the match. And then, our pins went off, which was really good to see. We always say the better team wins the second night, but I was like, 'Hey look, the better team wins both nights.'''
 
Baylor coach Ryan McGuyre said he wants to see the 21^st-ranked Bears build on that momentum and play more consistently in a back-to-back series this weekend at home against No. 24 UCF (16-2, 7-0). Saturday's match will begin at 2 p.m., with the Sunday match starting at 12 p.m.
 
"I think for us this weekend, it's consistency," McGuyre said. "I'd like to solidify it this weekend. We've had matches where the service game was good, but the blocking wasn't there. I think we'll see this weekend if we can be consistent in all those phases. Part of being great and being consistent is just doing it over and over again. I think if we can do that this weekend, it breeds more confidence."
 
Despite coming off a 28-2 season and AAC championship, UCF was picked ninth in the Big 12 coaches' preseason poll. But the Knights have been the biggest surprise as one of the league's four newcomers, tied with Texas atop the conference standings at 7-0, picking up sweeps against Cincinnati and Oklahoma.
 
"They're an aggressive serving team," McGuyre said of UCF, which has won eight straight since a 3-0 road loss at Purdue. "If the teams they're playing are not receiving well, then everything evens out. UCF does a good job from the service line, and then they have five hitters that can all hit and score. So, there are no ghosts on their team to where you can say, 'Hey, let's really key on this player or that player.' All of their hitters have live arms, so they're taking big swings.
 
"If the defense or blocking is not well-formed, then good things happen for teams that are aggressively hitting throughout the match. But (UCF) has picked up where they left off. It will be interesting to see how the second half of conference goes for everyone, because you're playing different teams. This will be a big test this weekend."
 
Saturday's match will be streamed by the Big 12 Network on ESPN+, with Mike Leslie and former Baylor volleyball standout Katie Smith on the call. Sunday's "Dig Pink" match to raise awareness for breast cancer will be broadcast on ESPN, with Paul Sunderland and Jennifer Hoffman paired in the booth.
 
"When we go into matches as the underdog, we play like underdogs and we play with that dog in us," said 6-4 sophomore right-side hitter Allie Sczech, who had 17 kills and a combined eight blocks versus Cincinnati. "When we do that, we're a really hard time to beat. When we all play on, I don't think many teams can beat us. Or really, any at all. But we have to go get every win, No win is going to be handed to us."
 

WACO, Texas – The 21^st-ranked Baylor volleyball squad hosts new Big 12 opponent UCF on Saturday and Sunday at the Ferrell Center for a pair of matinee matches, playing at 2 p.m. and 12 p.m., respectively.
 
BU (10-7, 4-3 Big 12) hasn't faced No. 24 UCF (16-2, 7-0 Big 12) since 2010 but will see a face familiar to the program in Jason Tanaka. The Knights' associate head coach was an assistant for the Bears in the 1998 and 1999 seasons.
 
Baylor is 3-0 against the Knights in program history, winning 3-1 in December of 1993 in the NCAA Tournament, a clean 3-0 sweep at home in 2009 and a 3-1 win in Orlando in 2010.
 
The Bears are coming off their first season sweep of a league opponent, defeating Cincinnati, 3-1, in both matches in the Queen City. Junior Elise McGhee led the team in kills for both matches, totaling 35 kills overall on the weekend.
 
Junior transfer Manuela Bibinbe was dominant on defense, collecting 11 blocks overall, with three of them being solo and averaging 1.35 per set. Lauren Briseño totaled 24 digs, while sophomore Averi Carlson had 97 assists at a hot 12.13 per set.
 
UCF has yet to lose a match in conference play, most recently defeating West Virginia in three sets and taking the match in five against Kansas State. Across the board, the Knights are led by Emily Wilson in kills with 211, Chloe Scheer with 207 digs and Abby Hansen with 58 blocks.
 
When playing on the road, the Knights have an overall record of 4-1. UCF has only faced one other ranked team so far this season, falling in three sets to then-No. 17 Purdue on the road in mid-September.
 
Baylor head coach Ryan McGuyre often says the "better team wins the second night" when it comes to playing back-to-back matches against the same opponent. Since the 2020 season, McGuyre and his Bears are 16-1 on the second night in back-to-back matches.
 
Saturday's match will be the Cub Club Match, where all Baylor Cub Club members are invited to the match and special promotions will be catered to them. Sunday's match will be the "Dig Pink" match to raise awareness for breast cancer, with pink "Sic 'Em" sunglasses available while supplies last. Fans are encouraged to wear pink as well.
 
The match will be streamed by the Big 12 Network on ESPN+, with Mike Leslie and Katie Smith on the call. Sunday's match will be broadcast on ESPN with Paul Sunderland and Jennifer Hoffman at the mics. Links to watch the matches and to view live stats can be found at linktr.ee/baylorvball.
 
To stay up to date all year long on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.