No. 23 VB Rides Career Day from Rakhmanchik in 3-0 Sweep over Utah

Sunday, November 9

Waco, Texas

3PM

Baylor

14-8,9-5Big 12

Utah

11-13,3-10Big 12

Utah

Baylor

No. 23 VB Rides Career Day from Rakhmanchik in 3-0 Sweep over Utah

11/9/2025 6:33:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Match Book

BU completes back-to-back sweeps in Big 12 Play for the first time this season

By: Matt Roberts

WACO, Texas. – No. 23 Baylor volleyball delivered one of its most complete performances of the season Sunday afternoon, sweeping Utah 3-0 on "Luau Day" at the Ferrell Center.

The Bears (14-8, 9-5 Big 12) extended their home dominance to 10-1 on the year behind another huge performance from freshman Ksenia Rakhmanchik, who turned in one of the most impressive single-match efforts by a rookie in program history. Rakhmanchik finished with 18 kills and seven service aces, the most aces ever by a Baylor freshman in a three-set match. Her 18 kills were the most by a Bear in a three-set contest this season and the most by a Baylor freshman in three sets since 2023.

Head coach Ryan McGuyre was impressed with his team's effort from the service line, spearheaded by his freshmen Rakhmanchik and Morgan Madison.

"It was huge," he said. "We said start of the year, we think we can be a remarkable serving team, so, yeah, 10 aces with only one missed serve, at 98%, that's a high number. That will be hard to repeat. This was probably one of the best serving performances we've had from the team. Individually, Susha had a great run. The top-spin jump-serve is a higher-level of difficulty serve as well, so it tends to be a little bit more high-error across the board. For her to have a clean night from the service line with the seven aces is really good. Our serving really changed the first set."

Baylor set the tone in the opening set, behind six kills and three aces from Rakhmanchik. Utah erased an early Baylor lead to go up 11-6, only to see Baylor close the gap again with a 4-1 run of its own. Tied at 16, the Bears hit the gas, closing on a 9-3 run to seal the first set 25-19. The Bears have now won all 11 opening sets at the Ferrell Center this season.

BU hit its stride in the second set, hitting .652 as a squad, led with four kills apiece from Rakhmanchik and MJ McCurdy, who started her second-straight match. As the Utes tried to keep pace early in the set, they pulled within a pair at 12-10. A 7-2 run pushed the Bear lead to 19-12, forcing the Utes to take a timeout. It did not help the visitors, however, as BU went 6-0 to close out the set and take command of the match, 25-12.

Much like Friday against West Virginia, Utah came out swinging in the third set in an effort to extend the match. Baylor led by as many as four before the Utes tied things at 15. A quick 4-1 spurt would give BU some breathing room, though, and would close out the match 25-22 for back-to-back sweeps on the weekend.

As a team, Baylor hit .337, its highest mark in Big 12 play this season, while its 10 aces tied for the second most this year and marked the most since tallying 10 against Houston last month. McCurdy added nine kills and six digs, while middle blocker Victoria Davis led the way with four blocks. Setter Harley Kreck orchestrated the efficient offense with 31 assists and tied for a team-high 11 digs. In her first action since early September, Anastasiia Nikolnikova recorded her first block of the season giving her 100 for her career.

With the win, Baylor improved to 14-8 overall and 9-5 in Big 12 play, securing its 10th home victory of the season. They will now look to snap a four-match losing streak as they head out for matches at Kansas State on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., followed by a Saturday matinee in Houston at 1 p.m. on Nov. 15.

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—