Reality Check: Number 19 Baylor Downs Arizona Volleyball in Big 12 Opener

Coming in on an 11-match win streak, the Wildcats looked to start conference play with a major upset. It was not meant to be however as Baylor was able to take down the Wildcats 3-1. They say all good things must come to an end, and on Wednesday night that unfortunately happened to be Arizona Volleyball's 11-match win streak.

The number 19 Baylor Bears defeated Arizona 3-1 (25-18, 25-23, 16-15, 25-17). There's no shame in the loss as Baylor provided a blueprint for Arizona to get to the upper echelon of NCAA Volleyball.

Coming in with the 260th ranked strength of schedule, one could wonder if Arizona was smoke and mirrors good, or actually good, and on Wednesday night despite the loss Arizona showed that they are a good, though very young squad.

While Jaelyn Hodge was rolling for the Wildcats, their lack of higher-caliber match experience did them in on Wednesday. Hodge had 22 kills on .354 hitting to lead the Wildcats' efforts on the night.

Although the raw stats may not have shown the best performance, Carlie Cisneros took another big step forward, showing that she will be a big-time problem for Big 12 foes for the next 4 years. On the night Cisneros had 11 kills on .200 hitting, with 2 blocks, and continued her strong backcourt play with 9 digs. Avery Scoggins dished out 39 assists.

As Good of a Loss as Possible

Wednesday night showed a few things to the Wildcats. First and most importantly, it showed they belonged with one of the Big 12's best in Baylor. It also showed the young Wildcats what it takes to get to the levels that they all wish to reach as a ranked team.

Against a very experienced team, you just cannot make the volume of errors they did and come out with a win. While the error numbers were nearly identical, Baylor was able to lean on their more veteran experience to keep them from derailing much momentum, as outside a 10-0 Wildcat run in the third set, they never quite felt in danger in the match.

Up Next

The Arizona Volleyball program moves on to Fort Worth, Texas to take on #22 TCU on Friday at 4:30 MST on ESPN+. TCU comes into Friday's showdown and second-ever meeting with Arizona at 8-3 after being swept Wednesday night by Arizona State. The Horned Frogs are led by Big XII Preseason Player of the Year Melanie Parra. TCU is 6-1 at home.