Box Score SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Exactly three months ago and some 1,800 miles away in Atherton, Calif.,
Jim Giacomazzi and members of the Wayland Baptist volleyball team made a prediction after taking on The Master's College (Calif.) in just their seventh outing of the season.
"When we shook hands afterwards, we said, 'We'll see you in Sioux City,'" Giacomazzi said. "We meant it."
They sure did.
Giacomazzi's prediction/promise comes true tonight after 19
th-ranked Wayland dispatched No. 15 Dordt (Iowa) on Friday morning in the first round of elimination play at the NAIA Volleyball National Championships, 25-17, 26-24, 20-25, 25-23. The win sets up a rematch with The Master's in the quarterfinals at 5:45 p.m. tonight.
While the Master's Mustangs defeated Wayland on Sept. 6, 25-19, 23-25, 25-19, 11-25, 15-13, it's probably safe to say none of the remaining eight teams wants to face red-hot Wayland (35-6), which after topping No. 9 Vanguard (Calif.), No. 5 Northwestern (Iowa) and No. 23 Spring Hill (Ala.) in pool play continued their incredible run against No. 15 Dordt in the first round of the win-or-go-home portion of the bracket.
"It was a fun match," Giacomazzi said.
At least it was for the Pioneers, who overcame a strong show of fan support for Dordt (25-9), whose supporters made the short drive from Sioux Center to Sioux City.
"This was the scariest team for me just because of the fan base they have here, they're well-coached and they have good talent," Giacomazzi said.
Wayland, though, has had its own loyal supporters in Sioux City all week, and the Pioneers strolled to victory in the first set, flexing their muscles early when kills by
Shahala Hawkins,
Grecia Rivera and
Claire Jacobsma staked the Pioneers to a 4-1 lead. An ace by
Cat Wiechmann made it set-point before a hitting error by the Defenders gave the opener to Wayland, 25-17.
The second set wasn't nearly as easy as the first. In fact, the Pioneers almost dropped it.
Wayland jumped on top 6-1 and was ahead 14-7 following an ace by
Mercades Torres. The Pioneers were up by eight, 19-11, when Dordt came storming back, outscoring Wayland 7-1 to pull to within two at 20-18.
The Defenders went on to take a 24-23 lead, but Wayland dug down and recorded three straight points on back-to-back kills by Hawkins followed by a Dordt hitting error for a 2-0 lead.
The close-to-hometown team was able to deny Wayland a sweep by taking the third set. The score was tied at 14 when the Defenders notched three points in a row to take the lead for good, finally securing it, 25-20.
Dordt seemed determined to force a fifth set, too, overcoming an early Pioneer advantage to lead 14-9 and prompting a Wayland timeout.
Giacomazzi said he encouraged his team to think positively…and to set the middle.
"Every once in a while we start to doubt ourselves," he said. "So I reminded them to just relax and that we needed to work to our strengths. All of a sudden a couple of people got some confidence, and we were able to come back and score a couple of points."
Hawkins broke from the timeout with a vengeance as she recorded five of Wayland's next six points on kills. Then, after kills by Rivera and Driskill and a hitting error by Dordt, the Pioneers had worked their way out of the five-point hole to tie the score at 18.
The teams continued to battle back and forth, with neither willing to throw in the towel. The last tie was at 21-all before a kill by Hawkins and a block assist from Jacobsma and Hawkins put Wayland up by two. Two more kills by Hawkins and it was all over, 25-23.
"The girls showed a lot of character by working so hard," Giacomazzi said.
The coach credited Wiechmann for helping bring the team around during a struggling time.
"Both teams were slugging, and during a timeout Cat said, 'Hey, we're not digging as much.' We had dug well in the first two (sets)," and Wayland eventually got back to that. "Digging made the difference."
Ashlyn Westerman, who had 47 assists after getting a season-high 52 against Spring Hill, led the way with 14 digs. Four other Pioneers reached double-digits:
Emily Welch and Rivera with 12 each,
Natasha Giacomazzi with 11 and Torres with 10.
After recording a season-high (by seven) 25 kills on Thursday night, Hawkins finished with 23 kills and a .408 hitting percentage. Driskill and Rivera added a dozen kills apiece, with Driskill hitting an even .400. The Pioneers hit .279 overall, compared to .202 for Dordt.
Wayland held a 10-6 in blocks with Hawkins getting six assists and Jacobsma five.
It all left Coach Giacomazzi with a warm, fuzzy feeling…despite the single-digit temperatures outdoors.
"These girls," he said, "have turned from a diamond in the rough into a sparkling jewel."
Now it's time for a little sweet revenge.
NOTE: The winner between Wayland and The Master's (23-8) advances to the semifinals at 11 a.m. Saturday to take on either No. 1 Texas-Brownsville (34-0) or Midland (Neb.) (37-4), which eliminated Northwestern (Iowa) in four in the first round. Both The Master's and UT-Brownsville earned byes into the quarterfinals. The championship match is at 7 p.m. Saturday.
