No. 24 Baylor dug itself out of an 0-2 hole Friday night and flipped the script on Houston with a 3-2 reverse sweep at the Ferrell Center, winning 21-25, 21-25, 25-16, 25-19, 15-8.
The comeback carried extra weight for Ryan McGuyre. The victory was his 250th at Baylor, making him the first coach in program history to hit that number. The Bears also stretched their winning streak to four matches and extended their run of dominance over the Cougars to 12 straight.
Baylor’s turnaround was built on cleaner offense, heavier blocking and a sharper edge after the first two sets. The Bears hit .315 for the match, held Houston to .158 and controlled the net with a 15-6 block advantage. Twelve of those blocks came in the final three sets, exactly when Baylor needed them most.
Ksenia Rakhmanchik powered the attack with 23 kills on .417 hitting and 25 points. Bailey Warren gave Baylor a lift off the bench with 12 kills on .367 hitting, and she finished the job by putting down the final two Baylor kills of the night. Nadiya Johnson added eight kills and a season-high seven blocks, while Victoria Davis chipped in seven kills and six blocks.
Isabela Haggard posted her fifth double-double of the season with 42 assists, 10 digs and four blocks. Morgan Madison led the back row with 15 digs, while MJ McCurdy delivered three aces in the fourth set and Tehani Ulufatu added two.
Houston came out with the better start, taking five of the first six points and building a 10-5 lead before Baylor settled in. Haggard picked up a kill, and Johnson and Mya Hemmer each had solo blocks during a 5-0 Baylor burst that tied it at 10-10, but the Cougars regained control and closed the set 25-21.
The second set followed a similar pattern. The teams traded points early, then Houston broke a 10-10 tie with four straight and later weathered Baylor’s push back to 19-18 on kills from Rakhmanchik and Davis. The Cougars answered with the next three points and took the frame 25-21 to move ahead 2-0.
From there, Baylor took over. Ulufatu opened the third with back-to-back aces, and after the set was tied 12-12, Rakhmanchik sparked the swing with consecutive kills.
That started a 13-4 run that changed the match, with Davis and Warren also contributing kills. Lacy Tinnell entered the lineup to begin the third, helped Johnson on back-to-back blocks and then finished the set with a kill as Baylor rolled 25-16.
The fourth set never really belonged to Houston. Baylor scored the first four points and stayed in front the entire way.
Rakhmanchik had eight kills in the frame, McCurdy served back-to-back aces to push the Bears ahead 15-10, and Baylor answered Houston’s late four-point run with five of the next seven points. Johnson and Tinnell combined on the final block to seal a 25-19 set win, and the Cougars were held to a .034 hitting percentage in the frame.
The deciding set was more of the same at the net. Three straight Baylor blocks, each involving Davis with Johnson, Haggard or Rakhmanchik, helped the Bears jump out to an 8-3 lead.
Houston got within one, but Baylor shut the door by taking seven of the final eight points. A Rakhmanchik kill and ace, plus two Warren kills, finished the 15-8 clincher and completed the reverse sweep.
McGuyre now owns 250 wins at Baylor and remains the program’s winningest coach.
This was Baylor’s first reverse sweep since March 18, 2021, which also came against Houston in Houston. The Bears are now 1-4 this season when they trail 0-2 and 2-1 in five-set matches.
The 15 blocks were Baylor’s second-most this season, trailing only the 20 it had at Hawaii on Aug. 29.
Rakhmanchik has now produced 23 kills in back-to-back matches, and her total against Houston matched her second-best mark of the year. She has reached double-digit kills in 27 straight matches and is 26 kills shy of 700 for her career.
Johnson’s seven blocks were the most of her career, topping the six she had at Hawaii on Aug. 29. Haggard’s 10 digs pushed her to 400 career digs, and McCurdy’s three aces were her most this season.
Baylor stays home next for No. 17 Kansas on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 2 p.m.
CT at the Ferrell Center. The match will air on ESPN.
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