MUSKOGEE, Okla. --- Kate Trejos was a dominating force in the Wayland Baptist volleyball teams 2-0 start in the Warrior Challenge at Bacone College on Friday. The Pioneers defeated Avila University,25-20, 25-23, and 25-18 in their first match of the day, and then took care of the hosts 25-18, 25-16 and 25-16 in the evening finale.
A senior from Bogota, Colombia, Trejos put down 34 kills in the two matches, many in convincing fashion. She also recorded 20 digs and had four blocks.
Against Avila, the WBU netters led throughout the first set, but trailed until late in the second when two newcomers, freshman Ashley Duff, and sophomore Natasha Giacomazzi combined for five kills to finally put the Pioneers on top.
Trejos, who had six kills on 21 attempts in that second set, really turned on the afterburner in the third, nailing down seven of her 12 attacks. She finished with a total of 19 in the afternoon match.
The Pioneers had a season-high 8.5 blocks in the contest against the Catholic university from Kansas City, Mo., led by Duff with five. Another defensive leader was senior Tatiana Gonzalez who was credited with 19 digs. Giacomazzi added 16.
A transfer from New Mexico State, Giacomazzi averaged 12 assists a set in the two matches with 36 against both Avila and Bacone.
Wayland had a much easier time against Bacone, who often fell victim to their own mistakes. While the Pioneers had a .306 hitting percentage in the match, the Maidens' barely hit for a positive percentage, ending up at .064. In the second set of the match, WBU did not make an error on the attack, netting 19 kills on 36 attempts.
Trejos had seven of those 19 kills. Senior Kimberli Harger nailed down five points on her seven tries during the middle set, and Gonzalez added four more.
Harger was the leader on the attack with a .471 average in the match, getting nine of her 17 total attack attempts down and committing just one error.
Gonzalez once again led the defensive charge with 15 digs. Harger was in on three of the five Pioneer blocks.
The WBU women have one more match to go in the Challenge, scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 3:30 against Bethel College from Kansas.
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