No. 23 VB Upsets Seventh-Seeded JMU

Thursday, November 30

Lexington, Ky.

3:30PM

Baylor

17-12,10-8Big 12

James Madison

21-10,12-4Sun Belt

Baylor

James Madison

Elise McGhee serves against JMU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament

No. 23 VB Upsets Seventh-Seeded JMU

11/30/2023 6:40:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Bears sweep Dukes to advance to second round

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The 23rd-ranked Baylor volleyball team secured the upset of seventh-seeded James Madison on Thursday afternoon in Rupp Arena, 3-0, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to advance.

BU (17-12, 10-8 Big 12) hit .422 and made quick work of JMU (21-10, 12-4 Sun Belt), getting the sweep to begin their eighth-straight tournament. The first set sizzled for the Bears with a .577 hit percentage for the win, 25-15. The Dukes seemed to get more comfortable but BU took set two, 25-19. The third set finished off a match that felt like a clinic for Baylor with a 25-19 win.

The Bears were led by Elise McGhee with 16 kills and five aces, while Manuela Bibinbe, Alicia Andrew and Allie Sczech each had four blocks. Averi Carlson had 31 assists and Sophia Keene led the team with seven digs. McGhee, Bibinbe and Sczech each hit over .500 against the Dukes.

It was the sixth time in program history that Baylor has started the NCAA Tournament with a sweep. The Bears are now 16-11 in the NCAA postseason, including a 13-7 record under McGuyre. In three-set matches during the tournament, BU improved to 8-6.

THE RUNDOWN
Set 1
The Bears saw the Dukes go up 3-1 to start the match, but got right back in it when Sczech and Bibinbe got a block at 3-3. Bibinbe got a kill to tie it at 4, with McGhee and then Murphy getting kills to go up 7-5 on JMU. McGhee served up her first ace of the match, then Bibinbe had another kill to follow. The run continued and went all the way to 8-1 with a James Madison timeout right before the eighth point, a block from Andrew and Carlson at 13-6. Murphy had another kill at 14-8 followed by another from Sczech. The "Allies" teamed up for the block at 16-8. The Dukes got two points but was stopped with a kill from McGhee, 18-12. Sczech had a kill and McGhee got the Bears' 20^th point with on e of her own. Down the stretch was all Bears, Bibinbe getting a solo block for the 21^st point. JMU called another timeout after their setter had a ball handling error, but Bibinbe got the kill out of it. McGhee brought it to set point it was staved off by one, Bibinbe finishing the set at 25-15. In that first frame alone, both McGhee and Bibinbe recorded five kills.

Set 2
The set started with an attack error from JMU, followed by a kill from Sczech. Bibinbe continued having a night at the net, going up for the block with Carlson. McGhee kept swinging away and had a kill, with Bibinbe getting next. McGhee servedup her second ace of the night and Bibinbe caused JMU to call time with another kill, the Bears up 8-2. Carlson served up her first ace and Sczech made the score 13-8 with an explosive kill. McGhee continued to try and put dents in the floor with a kill, up by four. Bibinbe got a kill and Briseño charted an ace, now up 16-10 to force the Dukes to call for a pause. JMU had an attack error but cleaned it up with two kills. Bibinbe kept adding tallies to her sheet, up 19-13. Murphy recorded another kill for the Bears' 20^th of the set. Attack errors plagued both teams after McGhee got a kill, but the Dukes added a few of their own to the board. Despite the sudden spark from James Madison, it was a kill from McGhee that ended the set, 25-19.

Set 3
Two sets under their belt, the Bears came out swinging. McGhee hammered down back-to-back kills and then got the block with Andrew to make it 3-0, Bears. A JMU kill interrupted the run but McGhee extended the lead to 4-1. Sczech got her first kill of the set at 5-2, and McGhee kept in step with another at 6-3. Carlson dumped the ball over the net for a kill, the Dukes responding with a timeout. McGhee served an ace, then Bibinbe and Carlson got a block, followed by two more aces from No. 21. Bibinbe made it a six-point run with a kill, JMU calling timeout once again at 12-3. Two points went the Dukes' way but McGhee got two kills to get them back. Andrew got a solo block at 16-6 on an over pass, and Sczech got the next Baylor kill. Sczech kept rolling with kills to make it 19-10. The Dukes served up two aces but the final stretch was nigh for the Bears. Errors put BU at their 23^rd point, the lead solidified. Andrew got the 23^rd point, JMU got two points in a row, then Simpson recorded match point. The final point came from McGhee once again, finishing the match 25-19.

HIGHLIGHTS

McGhee, Bibinbe and Sczech each hit over .500 for the match
McGhee served up five aces, including three within a four-point stretch
Sixth time in program history the Bears have started the tournament with a sweep
BU is 8-6 in three set matches during the NCAA Tournament
Baylor improves to 16-11 overall in the NCAA postseason, including 13-7 under McGuyre
The Bears didn't use a single timeout
BU hit .422 overall with a sideout percentage of 73% in the first set

QUOTABLE
HEAD COACH RYAN McGUYRE
"I thought Elise (McGhee) did a phenomenal job from the service line to open up some points, kind of gave us some of those runs. And then you get to play with a cushion, it's a little bit different. I know they have a lot of servers that can serve a lot of aces, and they got dialed in late. Glad we were able to get out of there in three. … I thought our front row did a great job putting down the over-passes. And those things are not as easy as Manuela and Allie Andrew made them look at times. That's something we worked on. I think we got all but one of them."

JUNIOR OH ELISE McGHEE
"(What was working for you from the service line?) I think just being in rhythm, especially being a top-spin server, you've got to be able to get a good toss and swing hard. I feel like going for it every single time, but also managing those over-tosses. It is definitely based off of rhythm, but it's also mindset going in. Coach Mac always talks about having a mental reset and getting dialed in for this next point."

UP NEXT
The Bears face either No. 8, second-seeded Kentucky (19-7) or Wofford (23-7) in the second round of the Tournament at 6 p.m. CT on Friday night at Rupp Arena.

To stay up to date all year long on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.

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