Box Score SHAWNEE, Okla. – After a couple of outings when they haven't played up to their normal standards, the Wayland Baptist volleyball team began returning to their usual lofty levels here Saturday afternoon, ending the regular-season with a dominating 25-18, 28-13, 25-15 Sooner Athletic Conference victory over St. Gregory's University.
"I feel like we got some of the kinks out that we've had the last couple of weeks," WBU coach
Jim Giacomazzi said of his 15
th-ranked Pioneers. "I feel like they're ready to get into the post-season."
That starts next weekend in Shawnee, Okla., where the Pioneers (29-5, 14-2 SAC) will be the No. 2 seed in the SAC Tournament. Wayland gets a first-round bye in the single-elimination, six-team event, as does top-seeded host and seventh-ranked Oklahoma Baptist. Wayland will play Friday evening against the winner of a morning match between third-seeded Texas Wesleyan and sixth-seeded Southwestern Assemblies of God, while OBU gets either fourth-seeded Oklahoma City University or fifth-seeded John Brown University.
The winners of Friday evening's matches advance to the championship, tentatively set for 1 p.m. Saturday. The tournament champion automatically advances to the NAIA National Championships. Both Wayland and OBU should move on due to a number of at-large berths awarded to non-conference tournament winners.
Against St. Gregory's (6-23, 3-13), Wayland posted its 22
nd 3-0 victory of the season. Of the Pioneers' 14 SAC wins, all but one have been sweeps.
"We looked better," Giacomazzi said. "We started connecting better with our middles. We averaged 20 digs per set, so we dug a lot of balls up, and our blocking was better than the previous day when it was a little disappointing. That's something you have to focus on and continually work on to maintain a high level."
While St. Greg's didn't provide the greatest challenge, Giacomazzi said the Pioneers did a good job of "maintaining a high level of play on our side of the net."
The Pioneers struggled a bit with errors in the first set when 11 of the Lady Cavaliers' 18 points resulted from WBU miscues.
"We talked about that and did much better the rest of the match," Giacomazzi said.
The Pioneers jumped out to a 5-0 lead in set No. 2, prompting St. Greg's to call a timeout.
"We stayed focused after the timeout and added to the lead, which was good to see," Giacomazzi said.
Wayland hit .267 as a team, compared to .048 for the Lady Cavs.
Shahala Hawkins ended with a dozen kills and just one error to hit .611, her third-highest percentage of the season.
Grecia Rivera also had 12 kills and 13 digs, one behind team-leader
Mercades Torres.
The Pioneers had 12 blocks, led by
Claire Jacobsma with one solo and three assists. Hawkins also had three assists.
Ashlyn Westerman ended with 37 assists and 13 digs.
"We made some quality swings and had good passing and good sets," Giacomazzi said. "Our rallies were not long because we were putting the ball down."
The Pioneers will take a couple of days off before beginning preparations for the postseason.
"We still need to fine tune some things, but for the most part we're ready," Giacomazzi said.
