Down goes No. 1. Texas took down undefeated Baylor volleyball in a dominating three sets, moving to 44-0 all-time at home against Baylor.
What was expected to be a tight match ended up being a total domination. After a tight back-and-forth first set with seven ties, the Longhorns cruised (25-19, 25-10, 25-19).
Baylor, ranked No. 1 for the first time in school history, entered the match at 16-0 with 10 straight sweeps as the nation's last-standing undefeated team.
UNDEFEATED NO MORE: Relive Baylor's 16-0 start | Full scoreboard | Season stats
So how did the Longhorns end that streak? Well, their defense was outstanding, their offense was too, and Baylor was only firing on one cylinder. The Longhorns ultimately outhit the Bears .342 to .084. Texas' front line was dominant, with 12 blocks on the match. The Longhorns also overpowered the Bears on the service line, with nine aces on the match.
Brionne Butler was back from an injury for Texas, and she showed up. She tallied a team-high 12 kills on .500 hitting and eight blocks.
For most of the match, Yossiana Pressley was the only one putting up points for the Bears. She finished with 18 kills but had 11 attacking errors as a result of Texas' strong front line play. No other Bears player put up more than four kills. Setter Hannah Lockin actually ranked second with four.
Ultimately, Baylor was outmatched with too many weapons on the Texas side, and a really loud crowd and environment to back the Longhorns up. Asjia O'Neal had five kills on eight swings, Skylar Fields added five kills as well, and Micaya White tallied seven.
The win marks Baylor's first loss of the season. They have been ranked No. 1 for four consecutive weeks in the AVCA coaches poll.
Check out below for a set-by-set recap of tonight's sweep.
Baylor vs Texas- Score, Live updates
Texas takes down No. 1: 25-19 in the third set to finalize sweep
Texas took the third set with a huge block from Butler. Pressley kept fighting at the end, and Stafford tallied a few kills towards the end, but Texas kept it going, got to match point from a kill from Butler, and then Butler again with a block to finish it off. Texas pulled off the sweep, and became the first team to take down No. 1 Baylor this season.
HOOKED 'EM 🤘
— NCAA Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball)
No. 4 DOMINATES the number one team in the nation, sweeping Baylor (25-19, 25-10, 25-19) and defending the Greg.
Third set: Texas 20 Baylor 16
The Bears didn't give up just yet, so stick around. A kill from Lockin and Stafford, and two Texas errors bring the score within four for the Bears.
Third set: Texas 19 Baylor 12
Baylor went on a much-needed 5-1 run to cut the deficit to three with two kills from Pressley, a service ace from Shanel Bramschreiber, and a kill from Kara Mcghee. But then Texas, again, kept going. The Longhorns just went on a 4-0 run off of three Baylor errors and a kill from Fields. A lot of unforced errors for Baylor, and the Longhorns take a seven-point lead.
Third set: Texas 11 Baylor 4
Baylor is hitting a little better this set, but Texas is still on fire. Their defense is impeccable, and even when Baylor does get some good swings, the Texas block is there. O'Neal had a monster swing from the right side to make it 10-4, and then a huge Texas block on Stafford's swing made it 11 for the Longhorns.
Here's that monster swing from O'Neal. Oh, and it's her birthday!
How you doin', Birthday Girl?!!
— Texas Volleyball (@TexasVolleyball)
Texas dominates second set: 25-10
Texas had complete control of this set. They dominated on the service line with six aces, and defensively as well with eight blocks this match. The Longhorns controlled the momentum, and the crowd was going wild. Butler has eight kills and Eggleston has four. They outhit the Bears .316 to -.080. The Bears offense really struggled in the second set, and it will take some changes to make a comeback in this match.
Second set: Texas 12 Baylor 5
Make that a 10-1 run. The Longhorns have kept rolling, and right now, it looks like it is Pressley vs Texas, as she remains the only player on the team with more than one kill. Texas is currently outhitting Baylor .289 to .065, and it shows that the Bears will need more than just Pressley to come out on top.
Second set: Texas 7 Baylor 4
Butler is ON for Texas. The Longhorns went on 5-0 run with Eggleston serving to take a three-point lead, forcing Baylor to take a timeout. For Baylor, Stafford is struggling offensively, with a -.625 hitting percentage and zero kills. Pressley has kept battling, she now has 10 kills for the Bears.
This gym is LOUD.
Baylor takes first set: 25-19
The Longhorns just broke Baylor's 31-set winning streak.
Texas' front looks really strong, with five blocks. They are also currently out-hitting Baylor .333 to .147. The Longhorns have a balanced attack, with multiple kills from White, Butler and Eggleston. For Baylor, Pressley is the only one on the team with more than one kill.
Baylor lost a challenge on a ball called in-bounds, and then Texas went on a 9-3 run to close it out.
First set: Baylor 16 Texas 16
White currently owns a perfect hitting percentage with four kills on four swings. Brionne Butler also has three kills for the Longhorn, and Asjia O'Neal's first kill gave the Longhorns a two-point lead 15-13. Pressley answered for Baylor, a few times, and now has eight kills on the night.
Check out this Jhenna Gabriel block for the Longhorns.
All 5'8" of Jhenna Gabriel gets 🆙 for the roof!!! |
— NCAA Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball)
First set: Baylor 10 Texas 10
A great start for No. 1 Baylor. The Bears took an early 5-1 lead, including three kills by Pressley. But the Longhorns didn't let it slip away. First, two errors by Baylor stopped their run, and then Fields hammered one down for the Longhorns. White tied it at six for the Longhorns, and then the match stayed point for point after that.
The match is underway
It is a sold out crowd in Gregory gym. Here are the starting lineups for tonight:
Pregame: 7:30 p.m. ET
No. 1 Baylor is in Austin to take on Texas in a huge top five matchup. Baylor has yet to lose this season, in fact, they've swept the last 10 opponents and won the last 31-straight sets. But, they haven't beaten Texas in years either. So, an interesting matchup to say the least.
Baylor coach Ryan McGuyre will be going for his 100th career victory tonight in a showdown against Texas. Texas is 12-2, they dropped five-setters earlier in the season at Rice and then-No. 1 Stanford, but since then, they've won seven in a row and have only lost one set in Big 12 play.
Players to watch
Baylor:
Yossiana Pressley
Shelly Stafford
Hannah Lockin
Texas:
Micaya White
Logan Eggleston
Skylar Fields
This is incredible. The line for the #1 Baylor at #4 Texas Volleyball match is insane!!!!! Let’s GO! Watch on ESPN App, Direct TV 7 pm CT
— Holly Rowe (@sportsiren)
No.1 Baylor vs No. 4 Texas: Preview
In the Bears' most recent match, Pressley had 12 kills and Shelly Stafford put up 10 kills on .529 hitting. Kara McGhee put up a season-best nine blocks, allowing the team to reach double-digit blocks for the fourth time this season.
With a win this Wednesday, not only would they remain the only undefeated team in the country and gain a lot of credibility with a high-profile win, but it would also be coach Ryan McGuyre's 100th career victory at Baylor.
VOLLEYBALL GLOSSARY: Everything you need to know in college volleyball
Texas is 12-2 this season, with wins over Minnesota, BYU and USC. It lost to Stanford, but pushed the Cardinal to five sets.
The Longhorns have a few offensive threats. Micaya White leads the team with four kills per set, Logan Eggleston contributes 3.82 and Skylar Fields has 2.84 kills per set. Those three are also pretty accurate and consistent, considering all three of them are currently hitting at .300 or above.
How they match up, statistically:
It will be interesting to see how these teams match up considering both have strong offenses. Baylor is hitting .310 percent on the year and Texas is hitting .328. They are pretty comparable in a lot of other statistical categories as well, with Baylor up by a little over one dig per set defensively.
They are Nos. 1-2 in three statistical categories in the Big 12.
 |
tale of the table | .svg) |
|---|---|---|
| ATTACK | ||
| 0.31 | Percentage | 0.328 |
| 14.9 | Kills/set | 14.3 |
| SET | ||
| 13.8 | Assists/set | 13.5 |
| SERVE | ||
| 1 | Aces/set | 1.5 |
| 108 | Errors | 152 |
| RECEPTIONS | ||
| 0.8 | Errors/set | 1 |
| DEFENSE | ||
| 14.6 | Digs/set | 13.2 |
| BLOCKING | ||
| 2.8 | Blocks/set | 2.3 |
