LUBBOCK, Texas – No. 20 Baylor volleyball moved to 2-0 in Big 12 Conference play with a 3-1 win over Texas Tech on Wednesday night at the United Supermarkets Arena.
The win improved BU to 7-3 on the season, and continued the Bears' dominance over the Red Raiders with a 14th-straight win in Lubbock and seven in a row overall.
The Bears opened the night with a statement, hitting .371 in the first set while controlling the net with five team blocks to cruise to a 25-17 win.
Gabrielle Essix sparked the surge early with a team-high 5 kills and 3 blocks to set the tone.
Texas Tech responded with its best stretch of the night in the second. The Red Raiders erased several Baylor leads including 7-1 and 11-5, forcing the Bears into extra points before finally taking the set, 28-26, and evening the match at one apiece.
From there, Baylor slammed the door, exploding offensively in the third, hitting a blistering .545, led by eight kills from
Manuela Bibinbe on the way to a dominant 25-15 victory.
The fourth set was all green and gold. Baylor's block overwhelmed Tech, forcing the Red Raiders into a .000 hitting percentage while Essix continued to patrol the net with four more rejections. The Bears held off a spirited effort from the Red Raiders enduring six ties and three lead changes, prevailing with a 25-16 win to seal the match.
Essix tallied her second-career double-double with 12 kills and 10 blocks, while Bibinbe led the team in kills (15) for the sixth time this season. Setter
Harley Kreck energized the Bears with three more aces to extend her team lead to 18 and chipped in a career-best 11 digs, with freshman libero
Morgan Madison leading the way with a team-high 15 digs, the most by a Bear in a four-set match this season.
As a unit, Baylor hit .315, its second-highest mark of the year and best in Big 12 play since November 2024. The Bears are now 89-2 under head coach
Ryan McGuyre when hitting over .300.
Completing its four-match road swing the Bears will return home on Saturday for its Go Gold Match against No. 9 TCU. Saturday's Match will also be Baylor's Alumni game, with players as far back as the 1970's returning to the Ferrell Center for the match. ESPN+ will have live coverage, with stats available at
BaylorBears.com/stats.
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—