Baylor volleyball got a pair of league nods Tuesday, with Ksenia Rakhmanchik collecting Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors and Isabela Haggard landing on the conference’s Starting Seven.
For Rakhmanchik, the award adds another line to an already busy 2025 resume. It’s her fifth career weekly Big 12 honor, and her second time taking home Offensive Player of the Week after earning Rookie of the Week recognition three times earlier this year.
Her numbers from the Ameritas Challenge explain the decision pretty quickly. Baylor went 2-1 in the event, and Rakhmanchik piled up 54 kills with a .302 hitting percentage while averaging 6.00 kills per set over three matches.
She started with 19 kills and a .333 clip against Georgia Tech, then followed with 18 kills against No. 1 Nebraska and 17 more against New Mexico.
The Nebraska match was the headline performance in a weekend full of production. Rakhmanchik led the Bears with 18 kills on 47 attacks for a .277 hitting percentage, and Baylor became the only team this season to reach 20 points in multiple sets against the top-ranked Huskers.
The Bears pushed Nebraska to 25-20, 25-22 and 26-24 set scores. Over the three matches, she also added 16 digs, three aces and 57.5 points.
That weekend surge moved Rakhmanchik to the top of the Big 12 in kills per set at 4.78, a strong follow-up to her freshman season and a fast start to her sophomore year.
Haggard’s recognition is a different kind of milestone, but no less notable. She was named to the Big 12’s Starting Seven, a new award the league introduced this season to spotlight standout performances across the conference.
It’s the first Big 12 weekly honor of Haggard’s career, though she arrived in Waco with plenty of hardware from her time at Marquette. As a freshman, she was the BIG EAST Co-Freshman of the Year, won BIG EAST Setter of the Week three times and made the BIG EAST Honor Roll three times.
At the Ameritas Challenge, Haggard kept Baylor’s offense moving. She finished with 119 assists and averaged 10.11 assists per set as the Bears hit .264 as a team.
Against Nebraska, she posted 22 assists, three kills, two aces and six digs. She wrapped up the weekend with 32 assists and four kills on seven attacks for a .571 hitting percentage against New Mexico.
Baylor is back in the Ferrell Center this week for a pair of home matches, hosting Incarnate Word at 7 p.m. Wednesday and UTEP at 7 p.m.
Friday night. Both matches are available on ESPN+.
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