The Pioneer volleyball team split its first two matches of the season on the opening day of the annual Coca-Cola Classic at air-conditioned challenged Hutcherson Center. Wayland won its opener in four sets (25-16, 25-27, 25-20, 25-22) over Our Lady of the Lake University, but lost a hotly-contested match to Texas Wesleyan, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 25-21 in the nightcap.
Although WBU coach Jim Giacomazzi was disappointed in the outcome of the clash against TWU, he was encouraged by some of the things that he saw.
"Our veterans made some youthful mistakes, and there were timing issues due to the new personnel. As time goes on and we get more experience, the team will mesh better. We struggled in our passing game against Our Lady of the Lake, but vastly improved in that category against Texas Wesleyan, and spent time on the court getting valuable experience."
Senior Kate Trejos posted a double-double against OLLU with 16 kills and 20 digs. Kimberli Harger, also a senior, put down 13 kills, and sophomore Natasha Giacomazzi recorded 33 assists and had 11 digs.
The Saints were led by senior Amanda Bonds who had 11 kills, 12 digs and 2 blocks.
Trejos and Tatiana Gonzalez had 11 and 10 kills respectively against TWU, and Gonzalez added 15 digs. Harger also hit the double figure mark in digs with a team-high 16.
The Pioneers struggled on the serve all day with a combined 24 service errors in the two matches, and their attack percentage against the Lady Rams was a paltry .057.
Texas Wesleyan got the victory on the block, knocking down 15 Wayland attack attempts. Sophomore Katherine Rosenbusch, a 6'0 middle, had seven of those blocks and added 13 kills. Bailey Bunting, a 6'1 freshman, contributed a team-high 17 kills with just three errors in 36 attempts, and was in on six blocks.
The Pioneers return to action on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 when they face the University of the Southwest. The Lady Mustangs, in their first season of competition after a lay-off of several years, fell in both their matches on Friday, 25-17, 25-20, 25-15, to Lubbock Christian, and 25-17, 25-10, 25-16 to TWU.
