No. 18 Baylor kept rolling through the Baylor Classic on Friday night, finishing off UTEP in straight sets at the Ferrell Center, 25-20, 25-21, 25-22.
The Bears leaned on a balanced attack and a late surge to secure their fifth sweep of the season and move to 8-2. Ksenia Rakhmanchik paced Baylor with 15 kills and 15.5 points, while Bailey Warren added 11 kills. Isabela Haggard ran the offense with a season-high 45 assists as Baylor put together 50 kills, 46 assists and 41 digs in the win.
Baylor also turned in its best attack performance of the season, hitting .336. That marked the program’s highest clip since a .337 showing against Utah in Nov. of 2025. The Bears have now won 95 of 97 matches in the Ryan McGyre era when hitting .300 or better.
The night’s defining stretch came in the third set. Baylor trailed 18-11 before ripping off an 11-2 run to erase the deficit and close out the match. It was the Bears’ season-best comeback, and it came after a set that had slipped away early.
UTEP had the upper hand for much of the third, but Baylor found its spark when MJ McCurdy entered late in the frame and delivered a pair of big kills. That helped swing momentum back toward the Bears, and Rakhmanchik and Nadiya Johnson followed with back-to-back kills to give Baylor a 21-20 lead. From there, Victoria Davis added a block and Rakhmanchik finished the job with two more kills to seal the sweep.
Baylor opened the match with energy from Mya Hemmer, who had three kills in the team’s first five points. The Bears and Miners traded runs early, but Baylor took a 15-12 edge at the media timeout and held on from there. Up 22-19 in the first, Warren put away three straight kills to close out the set, finishing with six kills in the opening frame.
The second set followed a different script, but the same result. Baylor erased a 17-15 deficit and moved ahead 20-18 behind a Victoria Davis kill, an Isabela Haggard ace, and late swings from Nadiya Johnson and Rakhmanchik. UTEP pulled within one at 21-20, but Baylor answered by taking four of the last five points, aided by consecutive Miner attack errors during Tehani Ulufatu’s service run.
Rakhmanchik extended her streak to 19 straight matches with double-digit kills. Hemmer matched her season high with six kills and posted a new season-best .556 attack percentage, while Warren’s six kills in the first set were her most in a single set this season.
Afterward, Haggard pointed to the comeback as a sign of the group’s identity.
"I hear it all the time; let's play Baylor volleyball. I don't think I truly felt that until tonight in the Ferrell.
There were a lot of people out there, and it was so much fun. I just think that's a testament to who we are.
Down 18-11, I don't think we truly played Baylor volleyball until that point. Down 18-11, that's not who we are, and I think we knew that.
We were not going to a fourth set; I just love that fight in us, that was Baylor volleyball."
Ryan McGuyre also praised the atmosphere in the building and the play that helped fuel the Bears late.
"The Ferrell Center is fun. It's high energy.
There's great athleticism. How many wild moments were there chasing balls down, and Bella playing soccer with a kick save, getting it over?
The dive moves, laying out- it's better than any entertainment I see on TV. It's camaraderie; it's teams working together.
It's kind of the ups and downs of life; you get it all compacted in a match, but our fans are great. They were great tonight, and this is a fun place to be."
He also singled out McCurdy’s impact in the third set.
"Oh, that was huge. That's the highlight for me tonight, for sure, just because it's hard.
As a coach, you're proud of them and what they're doing, but when they can do the hard things well, you're really excited. We're here to be in strict training for life and doing that.
MJ and Grace, when she comes in-no matter what's thrown at them beyond this -we know they can handle it. But tonight, MJ did an exceptional job."
Baylor now turns to Big 12 play, opening conference action at BYU on Friday, Sept. 25 at 9 p.m. on FS1.
In Other News...
Texas Tech Exposed A Baylor Problem That Could Decide Two Games
Texas Techs latest look at Houston offered Baylor a useful scouting lesson, because the Red Raiders showed how much damage can be done when an offense spreads the field with players who can hurt you in more than one spot. For the Bears, the concern is not just one matchup problem, but the way that kind of versatility can stress a defense snap after snap, especially when those two Big XII opponents are waiting later on the schedule in both Waco and on the road.
Baylor will have to sort out how to handle Texas Techs multi-position threats without losing shape elsewhere, and the challenge shifts quickly when Houston comes into view. Conner Weigman gives the Cougars a different kind of test, since the Bears will need constant pressure on the quarterback to keep the game from settling into a rhythm, and the way Baylor answers those two problems may go a long way toward deciding how those conference games unfold. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Faces A Bigger Test Than Expected Without DJ Lagway
Baylor is heading into its home game against Louisiana Tech with a different look at quarterback than it expected a week ago, and the timing makes the matchup a little more interesting than it first appeared. DJ Lagway, the offseason addition who was supposed to give the Bears a fresh jolt, is sidelined with an ankle injury from Week 1 against Auburn, so Nate Bennett is set to take over while the staff sorts through the next stretch of the schedule.
The change does not just affect Baylors offense, it also shifts the tone of a game that already carries a few built-in wrinkles, since Louisiana Tech is dealing with its own quarterback absence after a hand fracture. Baylor should still have chances to lean on its defense and get production from players like Gavin Freeman, Dawson Pendergrass and Caden Knighten, but the bigger question is how smoothly the Bears can manage the position without Lagway while waiting for his return. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Heads Into Saturday Facing Pressure In All The Wrong Spots
Baylor is spending this week managing injuries and patching together key spots on both sides of the ball, with backup players stepping into expanded roles as the Bears get ready for Saturday at McLane Stadium. Nate Bennett is set to start at quarterback, while Traevon Michell and Braylen Jackson are among the players taking on bigger responsibilities at defensive tackle, giving Dave Arandas staff a chance to see how the next men up handle real game pressure.
The bigger concerns, though, still sit in areas that have followed Baylor for stretches of the season: the running game and the penalty count. Aranda has addressed both as part of the teams effort to clean up its play and get more consistent in the basics, and the Bears are also trying to create a stronger home-field look by asking fans to wear gold shirts for the matchup. With injuries forcing changes and execution still in focus, Saturday carries a little extra weight for a team trying to steady itself in the right places. [Read more 🡒]