Baylor volleyball headed to Sweet 16 for third straight season

As the nation’s No. 5 national seed, Baylor volleyball has high expectations for this year’s NCAA tournament — and so far, they’re off to a winning start.

Head coach Ryan McGuyre’s Bears took care of business in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament last weekend at the Ferrell Center, sweeping through six winning sets to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third straight season. The Bears defeated both Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and No. 22 Washington State to extend their Sweet 16 streak.

Next up: an NCAA Regional in Madison, Wisc., where they face a rematch with No. 12-ranked Minnesota. Baylor defeated the Gophers back in August — coincidentally in Madison, as part of the Big Ten-Big 12 Challenge. Baylor and Minnesota square off Thursday (2 p.m., ESPNU), with the winner advancing to face the winner of the match between No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 13 UCLA in the Elite Eight (Friday, 7 p.m., ESPNU). If the Bears could win both games, they would move on to the Final Four for the second time in three years.

Sic ’em, Baylor volleyball!