Thursday, October 23
Waco, Texas
7PM
Baylor
12-6,7-3Big 12
3
vs
2
BYU
16-4,4-4Big 12
1
2
3
4
5
F
BYU
15
25
25
16
8
2
Baylor
25
22
21
25
15
3
Freshmen Phenoms Flash, Lifting No. 19 VB Past No. 17 BYU in Five-Set Thriller
10/23/2025 11:02:00 PM | Volleyball
WACO, Texas – Behind a dominant defensive showing against the top offensive team in the conference, No. 19 Baylor volleyball battled past No. 17 BYU 3-2 on Thursday night inside the Ferrell Center.
The Bears (12–6, 7–3 Big 12) improved to 8–1 at home while evening the all-time series with the Cougars (16–4, 4–4 Big 12) at two matches apiece.
Baylor's defense proved to be the difference, recording 10.0 team blocks and holding BYU to a .214 hitting percentage, including just .115 in the decisive fifth set. On the other side of the net, Baylor hit .279, marking the program's eighth match this season above .250, improving to 8-0 in those contests.
Head coach Ryan McGuyre was proud of the team effort it took to slow down one of the best-hitting teams in the Big 12 Conference.
"Defense is two things, it's about attitude and fast hands," he said. "Morgan made exceptional plays, Harley was great on defense, leading us in digs with 24. Tactically, we made some defensive adjustments; Tahani dug some deep line or off blockers, and we were able to pick up tips. Those are things we let fall a couple of times in the second and third sets, and then the blocking came around, so we had some good blocks. But defense also — for us — starts with our serves, and so I thought our servers were able to hit the zones."
The Bears set the tone early, storming to a 25-15 win in the opening frame behind a .400 team hitting percentage and five kills from Ksenia Rakhmanchik. The freshman combined with Manuela Bibinbe for five of Baylor's seven kills as part of a 10-1 run that put the Bears in control at 16-6.
BYU bounced back to claim the next two sets, taking advantage of timely serving and strong net play to edge Baylor 25-22 and 25-21, respectively.
Baylor came alive again in the fourth, using a 10-4 surge to take command. Bailey Warren and Victoria Davis combined for 11 kills in the set, while Rakhmanchik added four more on .333 hitting. The Bears limited BYU to .158 while posting a .350 mark of their own to force a decisive fifth.
In the final frame, Baylor raced out to a 6–3 lead behind two kills apiece from Warren and Davis and never looked back, closing out the night with a 15–8 victory on Harley Kreck's quick-set kill.
Warren's 27 kills were the most by a Baylor player this season and the most by a freshman since Kyndal Stowers had 29 at SMU in September of 2023. McGuyre was thrilled with the way another one of his young freshmen stepped up in a huge match.
"Bailey was phenomenal tonight," he said. "I probably challenged her early because their outside hitter [Suli Davis] — who had a good match, just not as good as Bailey's — was the preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year. In the recruiting process with Bailey, she was like, "Hey, that's who I want to be. That's what I want." So I think we kind of challenged three of our freshmen, and she rose the highest. But this was a spectacular performance."
Kreck recorded another all-around performance with 44 assists and a career-high 24 digs, while distributing to four hitters with double-digit kills. Bibinbe finished with 10 kills on the night, surpassing 500 for her career, teaming up with Victoria Davis to lead the team with four blocks apiece. Rakhmanchik notched hear team-leading fourth double-double of the season with 16 kills and 12 digs.
Baylor will now be off until next Wednesday when they travel to Ames, Iowa, to take on the Iowa State Cyclones, with first serve set for 6:30 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum.
Single-game tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at Baylorbears.com. Follow @BaylorVball on X, Instagram and Facebook for additional updates.
The Bears (12–6, 7–3 Big 12) improved to 8–1 at home while evening the all-time series with the Cougars (16–4, 4–4 Big 12) at two matches apiece.
Baylor's defense proved to be the difference, recording 10.0 team blocks and holding BYU to a .214 hitting percentage, including just .115 in the decisive fifth set. On the other side of the net, Baylor hit .279, marking the program's eighth match this season above .250, improving to 8-0 in those contests.
Head coach Ryan McGuyre was proud of the team effort it took to slow down one of the best-hitting teams in the Big 12 Conference.
"Defense is two things, it's about attitude and fast hands," he said. "Morgan made exceptional plays, Harley was great on defense, leading us in digs with 24. Tactically, we made some defensive adjustments; Tahani dug some deep line or off blockers, and we were able to pick up tips. Those are things we let fall a couple of times in the second and third sets, and then the blocking came around, so we had some good blocks. But defense also — for us — starts with our serves, and so I thought our servers were able to hit the zones."
The Bears set the tone early, storming to a 25-15 win in the opening frame behind a .400 team hitting percentage and five kills from Ksenia Rakhmanchik. The freshman combined with Manuela Bibinbe for five of Baylor's seven kills as part of a 10-1 run that put the Bears in control at 16-6.
BYU bounced back to claim the next two sets, taking advantage of timely serving and strong net play to edge Baylor 25-22 and 25-21, respectively.
Baylor came alive again in the fourth, using a 10-4 surge to take command. Bailey Warren and Victoria Davis combined for 11 kills in the set, while Rakhmanchik added four more on .333 hitting. The Bears limited BYU to .158 while posting a .350 mark of their own to force a decisive fifth.
In the final frame, Baylor raced out to a 6–3 lead behind two kills apiece from Warren and Davis and never looked back, closing out the night with a 15–8 victory on Harley Kreck's quick-set kill.
Warren's 27 kills were the most by a Baylor player this season and the most by a freshman since Kyndal Stowers had 29 at SMU in September of 2023. McGuyre was thrilled with the way another one of his young freshmen stepped up in a huge match.
"Bailey was phenomenal tonight," he said. "I probably challenged her early because their outside hitter [Suli Davis] — who had a good match, just not as good as Bailey's — was the preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year. In the recruiting process with Bailey, she was like, "Hey, that's who I want to be. That's what I want." So I think we kind of challenged three of our freshmen, and she rose the highest. But this was a spectacular performance."
Kreck recorded another all-around performance with 44 assists and a career-high 24 digs, while distributing to four hitters with double-digit kills. Bibinbe finished with 10 kills on the night, surpassing 500 for her career, teaming up with Victoria Davis to lead the team with four blocks apiece. Rakhmanchik notched hear team-leading fourth double-double of the season with 16 kills and 12 digs.
Baylor will now be off until next Wednesday when they travel to Ames, Iowa, to take on the Iowa State Cyclones, with first serve set for 6:30 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum.
Single-game tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at Baylorbears.com. Follow @BaylorVball on X, Instagram and Facebook for additional updates.
—Baylorbears.com—
Team Stats
BYU
Baylor
Kills
55
70
Errors
19
22
Attempts
168
172
Hitting %
.214
.279
Points
66.0
86.0
Assists
50
62
Aces
3
6
Blocks
8
10
Game Leaders
Kills
27
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
16
Aces
2
Blocks
0
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
MB
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballBaylor Volleyball: Highlights vs BYU | October 23, 2025
Friday, October 24
You 🐻s are some BALLERS!
Wednesday, October 22
Took care of business on Friday 💼
Monday, October 20
Absolute art at the net from Harley Kreck!
Saturday, October 18
