No. 20 Baylor volleyball’s unbeaten start to 2026 came to an end Saturday afternoon, and No. 17 Florida made sure it happened in a hurry.
The Gators rolled to a 3-0 win at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas, taking the match 25-13, 25-23, 25-19 in front of 1,926 fans. It was Baylor’s first sweep at home since Sept. 18, 2024, when No. 8 Texas did the same thing.
Ksenia Rakhmanchik once again carried the Bears’ attack, finishing with 12 kills on 35 swings. Bailey Warren added six kills, a season high, and Victoria Davis chipped in four kills while hitting .429. Harley Greek supplied 12 assists and two blocks, and Mya Hemmer led Baylor with four rejections.
Florida set the tone immediately, racing out to a 4-0 lead before Baylor settled in enough to answer with three of the next four points. Hemmer and Nadiya Johnson teamed up for a block, and Rakhmanchik followed with back-to-back kills to pull the Bears within 6-5.
But the Gators quickly grabbed control again with a 7-2 burst to open a 13-7 cushion. Baylor got a couple more kills from Warren and Rakhmanchik, but Florida finished off the first set comfortably at 25-13.
The second set was Baylor’s best push of the day. The Bears opened with a 4-2 edge and stayed right on Florida through the early exchanges.
Rakhmanchik kept finding answers, helping Baylor hold leads at 7-6 and 9-8, and the Bears erased a three-point deficit to tie things at 16-16. From there, Baylor kept hanging around.
Warren’s block put the Bears in front 20-19, and after Florida reclaimed the lead, Baylor tied it again at 21-21 and 23-23. The Gators had the last word, though, taking the final two points to escape with a 25-23 set win and a two-set lead.
Florida opened the third set with another quick jump, building a 5-2 edge before stretching it to 9-3. Baylor kept fighting behind Rakhmanchik and Davis, and when Florida reached match point, the Bears clawed back with three straight points to trim the margin to 24-19.
That was as close as they got. Florida ended it on the next point to complete the sweep.
Rakhmanchik has now led Baylor in kills in five straight matches. Greek’s 12 assists marked the first time this season she led the Bears in that category. Davis’ four kills pushed her career total to 302, and Baylor dropped the opening set for the first time this season.
The loss left Baylor at 21-9 against ranked teams at home since 2019. The Bears are also now 2-4 all-time against Florida, including 2-2 under the McGuyre era.
Bailey Warren said her return to the rotation has felt good: "It feels really good, honestly, it's really refreshing. The team is really supportive as well, and just having that support system really helps. I just love playing too, so I'm just happy to be back."
Greek said the matchup should help Baylor moving forward: "Florida was definitely the best team we've seen this season, so it was good for us just to see great, talented volleyball. They're also playing their best volleyball right now, which is exactly what we want when we go into matches.
We had some really high highs and some really low lows. It encourages me that the highs look good, and we can build off of that into December.
Now it's about just leveling out when the lows get low. I think that'll just come with time, experience and training.
I have no doubt that we can get there with the highs looking so good."
Baylor heads back on the road for the Ameritas Challenge in Lincoln, Neb. The Bears open the tournament against Georgia Tech on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 4 p.m.
CT, then face No. 1 Nebraska on Friday at 7 p.m. before finishing against New Mexico on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Friday’s match will air on the Big Ten Network, and live stats will be available all season at BaylorBears.com/Stats.
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The Bears defensive plans, though, took a hit with senior safety Jacob Redding sidelined for the year after a torn ACL. His absence leaves a noticeable void in the back end of the defense heading into a game that should demand sharp communication and steady play from the start, especially against an Auburn offense getting its own fresh look under center. [Read more 🡒]