Staiger turned to the jump serve about a year ago at McGuyre’s behest, and it has developed into a killer weapon.

“It’s come a long way,” she said. “Coach has really been believing in it, pushing it, has gotten me really excited about it. Just with the reps in practice and figuring out the timing, it’s come a long way. … It’s an extremely high toss. You should see when the lights are really bright how that looks.”

After Baylor (14-4 overall, 1-0 in Big 12) claimed the first set, despite giving away a few points with hitting and passing errors at the end, the Bears found themselves in more of a dogfight in the second. The Red Raiders (10-8, 0-3) tightened up their play at the net to turn back some of Baylor’s attacks, and keep the score tight throughout.

In fact, Tech pushed Baylor right up against the edge. The Red Raiders moved to a 24-22 lead, then looked to grab the set win on a block of a Staiger spike. The head referee initially ruled that Tech’s block landed in bounds on the sideline for the winning point, but McGuyre challenged the call, and it was overturned on a television replay review.

Baylor then managed to score the next three points thereafter, winning the set on a successful block of its own.