WACO, Texas – Baylor volleyball continued its winning ways with a 3-0 sweep of Rice on Sunday afternoon at the Ferrell Center, moving to 5-1 on the season and staying unbeaten at home.
 
The Bears' front line and back row both delivered standout performances. Manuela Bibinbe paced the attack with a team-high 12 kills, while Victoria Davis added 10 kills on a blistering .714 hitting percentage and chipped in a block. Gabrielle Essix filled up the box score with 11 kills and 3.5 blocks, finishing with a match-high 14.5 points.
 
Setter Harley Kreck directed the offense with a team-best 20 assists and added a career-high four service aces. Defensively, libero Morgan Madison was everywhere, recording a match-high 18 digs — the most by a Bear in a three-set match since Lauren Briseno's 20 on Nov. 4, 2023.
 
Baylor stormed out with a .394 hitting percentage in the opening set and built on that momentum with a .344 clip in the second. The Bears closed the match in a tight third frame, sealing the sweep in front of 883 fans inside the Ferrell Center. Hitting .301 for the match, the Bears are now 88-2 in the Ryan McGuyre era when hitting over .300 in a match.
 
With the win, Baylor has won five of its first six matches to open the 2025 season. McGuyre is proud to see his young team continually make strides as they work towards December.
 
"I think we reflect on each match on how we can be better, and it's good to see things that you're working on be implemented," he said. "Rice is a great, well-coached program that is a tournament-level team every year. We felt like they were an aggressive and good-serving team, but that's something we've been focused on all year. To have Tehani go back there and start us with a 7-0 run was great, and it set the tone for us at the service line. This team is so young, we'll be so much better in November and December than where we are now. But the speed of learning we get with this group gives us a competitive advantage."
 
Next up, Baylor will return to the road next week for a Sunday showdown with No. 12 Florida. The match will begin at noon, with live coverage on ESPN2.
 
Single-game and season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at Baylorbears.com. Follow @BaylorVball on X, Instagram and Facebook for additional updates.