Friday, November 10
Waco, Texas
7PM
Baylor
vs
TCU
No. 20 VB Hosts TCU for Pair of Matches
11/9/2023 12:51:00 PM | Volleyball
Bears to play last conference series of season against Horned Frogs
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Facing one of his former assistant coaches for the second time this season, a lot more will be on the line when Ryan McGuyre and the 20th-ranked Baylor volleyball team (14-9, 8-5) host TCU (13-12, 6-8) in back-to-back matches at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Ferrell Center.
Now in his second year leading the TCU program, Jason Williams spent seven years as McGuyre's right-hand man at Baylor, helping the Bears reach a Final Four and average 22 wins per year. McGuyre picked up his 500th career win as a women's volleyball head coach last season when BU knocked off the Frogs in four.
"I feel like I can separate or compartmentalize, and be excited for my team," McGuyre said. "That's the job, that's what I get paid for, that's what we're trying to do, but I still want to encourage him, (SMU coach Sam Erger) . . . . I want to beat all of them, but I know what it's like to lose a rivalry game, too. There's not added joy in it.
"Maybe when we're all done and we're retired and we're all sitting around the campfire, then you want to have more bragging rights. It's only challenging because I think they know us a little bit better than other teams do."
McGuyre split a pair of matches against Williams and the Horned Frogs last year, each team winning on their home floor, while Baylor lost to Erger's SMU team in a five-setter earlier this year in Dallas.
"I think there will always be a little sense of competitive spirit with Jason," said junior outside hitter Elise McGhee, who ranks ninth in the Big 12 with 3.48 kills per set, "but obviously, it's still Baylor versus TCU."
The Baylor connection doesn't end there, though. Williams' daughter (Callie Williams), wife (Cory Sivertson Williams) and sister-in-law (Sarah Sivertson Kreck) were all setters for the Bears, while his niece, Harley Kreck, is a freshman setter for this year's BU team.
"I never got the opportunity to really play for him," said sophomore right-side hitter Allie Sczech, "but I got recruited by him, loved him. He's an awesome guy. It's super fun to see him on the other side. He's still pretty close to us. But I feel like we're still trying to be really intentional about scouting report, what we're going to put together and what we're going to do out there to beat them."
While TCU has battled some injury issues of its own in losing six of its last eight, Baylor has won seven of its last nine despite playing the last eight games without freshman outside hitter Kyndal Stowers (3.84 kills per set). McGhee has stepped up to average 3.97 kills per set over the last nine matches.
"When they're all healthy, they're like a Sweet 16-caliber team," McGuyre said of TCU. "To be good in this game, you've got to have firepower, and they've got firepower at all three pins. . . . . I think we're going to see a healthy TCU team, which they haven't been at full force for a while. They've got to win of their last five to get into the tournament."
At 25th in the latest RPI rankings, Baylor will likely need to sweep its last five matches to potentially earn a top-16 national seed and host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
"We've said all year, I feel like our best volleyball is still ahead of us," McGuyre said. "I still believe that's true. But we're in November, so we need to continue to stack days. . . . At the end of the day, we've got to win out and let the committee do their job.
"Strength of schedule, I think we're still top-5. And we've been doing it down a player. If we get her back, great. And if not, we've at least got enough time under our belts to be able to be highly competitive and make a good run."
Friday will be Baylor's "Salute to Service" match, honoring service men and women and giving away green and gold flag T-shirts to all fans while supplies last. The match will be streamed by the Big 12 Network on ESPN+. With Pete Sousa and Katie Smith calling the action.
WACO, Texas – The 20th-ranked Baylor volleyball team hosts TCU on Friday and Saturday for the last back-to-back conference series of the season, both at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.
BU (14-9, 8-5 Big 12) is set to take on the Horned Frogs (13-12, 6-8 Big 12) in a match of many connections. Former Baylor associate head coach Jason Williams is in his second season at the helm of the TCU program after climbing the ranks as a Bear over seven seasons in Waco.
Williams' daughter, Callie, is a BU letterwinner and graduate, while his wife, Cory Sivertson Williams, is a Baylor Hall of Famer. Both were setters for the Bears and wore the No. 1 jersey. Sivertson's sister, Sarah Sivertson, also donned the Green & Gold as a setter, wearing No. 1, as her daughter, freshman setter Harley Kreck, does now.
TCU's libero, Cecily Bramschreiber, is the younger sister of Baylor graduate and Big 12 Libero of the Year, Shanel Bramschreiber.
The Bears are coming off a sweep of Texas Tech, where they were led by Allie Sczech in kills with 13, had four players with two blocks each, and Lauren Briseño had her first 20-dig match of the season. Setter Averi Carlson had a double-double with 31 assists and 11 digs, but also served up a career-high six aces for BU. Baylor served up 13 aces overall, the most in a three-set match since 2008, when the Bears had 16 against Prairie View A&M. BU handed the Red Raiders their 11th-straight conference loss of the season while head coach Ryan McGuyre picked up his 100th Big 12 Conference win.
Baylor is led by Elise McGhee with 292 kills, Carlson dishing out 922 assists at an average of 10.36 per set. McGhee has had double-digit kills in 15 of the Bears' 23 matches. The Bears are led by Manuela Bibinbe and Alicia Andrew on the block with 78 and 76, respectively. Briseño continues to lead in digs with 289 and Carlson has served up 30 aces so far.
The Horned Frogs come to Waco after falling to Iowa State in a pair of matches, losing in five in the first match and in three for the second. TCU is led by Melanie Parra in kills, with setters Riley Buckley and Lily Nicholson dishing out assists. Bramschreiber leads the team in digs, with Sarah Sylvester putting up the most blocks.
The Friday night contest will be Baylor's "Salute to Service" match, honoring service men and women and giving away green and gold flag T-shirts to all fans while supplies last.
The match will be streamed by the Big 12 Network on ESPN+, with Pete Sousa and Katie Smith on the call. Links to watch the match, as well as view the 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.
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Facing one of his former assistant coaches for the second time this season, a lot more will be on the line when Ryan McGuyre and the 20th-ranked Baylor volleyball team (14-9, 8-5) host TCU (13-12, 6-8) in back-to-back matches at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Ferrell Center.
Now in his second year leading the TCU program, Jason Williams spent seven years as McGuyre's right-hand man at Baylor, helping the Bears reach a Final Four and average 22 wins per year. McGuyre picked up his 500th career win as a women's volleyball head coach last season when BU knocked off the Frogs in four.
"I feel like I can separate or compartmentalize, and be excited for my team," McGuyre said. "That's the job, that's what I get paid for, that's what we're trying to do, but I still want to encourage him, (SMU coach Sam Erger) . . . . I want to beat all of them, but I know what it's like to lose a rivalry game, too. There's not added joy in it.
"Maybe when we're all done and we're retired and we're all sitting around the campfire, then you want to have more bragging rights. It's only challenging because I think they know us a little bit better than other teams do."
McGuyre split a pair of matches against Williams and the Horned Frogs last year, each team winning on their home floor, while Baylor lost to Erger's SMU team in a five-setter earlier this year in Dallas.
"I think there will always be a little sense of competitive spirit with Jason," said junior outside hitter Elise McGhee, who ranks ninth in the Big 12 with 3.48 kills per set, "but obviously, it's still Baylor versus TCU."
The Baylor connection doesn't end there, though. Williams' daughter (Callie Williams), wife (Cory Sivertson Williams) and sister-in-law (Sarah Sivertson Kreck) were all setters for the Bears, while his niece, Harley Kreck, is a freshman setter for this year's BU team.
"I never got the opportunity to really play for him," said sophomore right-side hitter Allie Sczech, "but I got recruited by him, loved him. He's an awesome guy. It's super fun to see him on the other side. He's still pretty close to us. But I feel like we're still trying to be really intentional about scouting report, what we're going to put together and what we're going to do out there to beat them."
While TCU has battled some injury issues of its own in losing six of its last eight, Baylor has won seven of its last nine despite playing the last eight games without freshman outside hitter Kyndal Stowers (3.84 kills per set). McGhee has stepped up to average 3.97 kills per set over the last nine matches.
"When they're all healthy, they're like a Sweet 16-caliber team," McGuyre said of TCU. "To be good in this game, you've got to have firepower, and they've got firepower at all three pins. . . . . I think we're going to see a healthy TCU team, which they haven't been at full force for a while. They've got to win of their last five to get into the tournament."
At 25th in the latest RPI rankings, Baylor will likely need to sweep its last five matches to potentially earn a top-16 national seed and host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
"We've said all year, I feel like our best volleyball is still ahead of us," McGuyre said. "I still believe that's true. But we're in November, so we need to continue to stack days. . . . At the end of the day, we've got to win out and let the committee do their job.
"Strength of schedule, I think we're still top-5. And we've been doing it down a player. If we get her back, great. And if not, we've at least got enough time under our belts to be able to be highly competitive and make a good run."
Friday will be Baylor's "Salute to Service" match, honoring service men and women and giving away green and gold flag T-shirts to all fans while supplies last. The match will be streamed by the Big 12 Network on ESPN+. With Pete Sousa and Katie Smith calling the action.
WACO, Texas – The 20th-ranked Baylor volleyball team hosts TCU on Friday and Saturday for the last back-to-back conference series of the season, both at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.
BU (14-9, 8-5 Big 12) is set to take on the Horned Frogs (13-12, 6-8 Big 12) in a match of many connections. Former Baylor associate head coach Jason Williams is in his second season at the helm of the TCU program after climbing the ranks as a Bear over seven seasons in Waco.
Williams' daughter, Callie, is a BU letterwinner and graduate, while his wife, Cory Sivertson Williams, is a Baylor Hall of Famer. Both were setters for the Bears and wore the No. 1 jersey. Sivertson's sister, Sarah Sivertson, also donned the Green & Gold as a setter, wearing No. 1, as her daughter, freshman setter Harley Kreck, does now.
TCU's libero, Cecily Bramschreiber, is the younger sister of Baylor graduate and Big 12 Libero of the Year, Shanel Bramschreiber.
The Bears are coming off a sweep of Texas Tech, where they were led by Allie Sczech in kills with 13, had four players with two blocks each, and Lauren Briseño had her first 20-dig match of the season. Setter Averi Carlson had a double-double with 31 assists and 11 digs, but also served up a career-high six aces for BU. Baylor served up 13 aces overall, the most in a three-set match since 2008, when the Bears had 16 against Prairie View A&M. BU handed the Red Raiders their 11th-straight conference loss of the season while head coach Ryan McGuyre picked up his 100th Big 12 Conference win.
Baylor is led by Elise McGhee with 292 kills, Carlson dishing out 922 assists at an average of 10.36 per set. McGhee has had double-digit kills in 15 of the Bears' 23 matches. The Bears are led by Manuela Bibinbe and Alicia Andrew on the block with 78 and 76, respectively. Briseño continues to lead in digs with 289 and Carlson has served up 30 aces so far.
The Horned Frogs come to Waco after falling to Iowa State in a pair of matches, losing in five in the first match and in three for the second. TCU is led by Melanie Parra in kills, with setters Riley Buckley and Lily Nicholson dishing out assists. Bramschreiber leads the team in digs, with Sarah Sylvester putting up the most blocks.
The Friday night contest will be Baylor's "Salute to Service" match, honoring service men and women and giving away green and gold flag T-shirts to all fans while supplies last.
The match will be streamed by the Big 12 Network on ESPN+, with Pete Sousa and Katie Smith on the call. Links to watch the match, as well as view the 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.
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/ VolleyballWould go to battle with this crew anytime 🫶
Monday, December 08
Hearts stopped. Records fell. Bears won!
Monday, December 08
Elevate ⬆️ and celebrate 🎉
Monday, December 08
💼 Workin' our way to match day
Monday, December 08
