Baylor volleyball is back in the Ferrell Center on Thursday night, and the Bears are bringing a little early-season buzz with them.
No. 20 Baylor opens a 13-match home slate against North Texas at 7 p.m., marking the program’s first home match of 2026.
The matchup is the 31st all-time between the teams, and Baylor has taken control of the series in a big way, owning a 22-8 edge. The Bears have won seven straight against the Mean Green and 23 of the last 24 meetings after North Texas opened the rivalry with seven consecutive wins.
The Bears arrive home after a clean 3-0 run at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic, where Ksenia Rakhmanchik earned tournament Most Valuable Player honors after piling up 51 kills. Tori Davis and Morgan Madison also landed on the All-Tournament Team, while Isabela Haggard ran the offense with 89 assists and chipped in 41 digs. Haggard logged two double-doubles during the trip.
Now ranked No. 20 in the AVCA poll, Baylor is trying to keep building instead of getting comfortable. Haggard said the Bears are focused on the next step rather than the number next to their name.
"We just want to take it one game at a time," the Marquette transfer said. "I think that we have a really strong schedule ahead of us, which will help us to get to where we want to be, but we started at 21, now we're at 20, and that's great, but I don't think we're settled.
I don't think we'll stop striving for the next one until we're at the top. I think we will just keep working."
Baylor has also been steady against in-state competition under Ryan McGuyre, going 71-35 against Texas teams since he took over the program.
John Morris and Katie Smith will handle the ESPN+ broadcast. Season and single-match tickets are available now through BaylorBears.com/tickets or by calling the Baylor Athletics Ticket Office at 254-710-1000.
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