Box Score
'Twas the night before Christmas . . . At least that's what Wayland Baptist volleyball coach
Jim Giacomazzi called it.
Fifteen hours before their much-anticipated showdown against 12
th-ranked Oklahoma Baptist, the No. 22 Wayland Baptist Pioneer volleyball team rolled over Southwestern Christian University (Bethany, Okla.) on Friday night in Hutcherson Center, 25-13, 25-15, 25-15.
"We anticipated another night when everybody would get to play," Giacomazzi said after the Pioneers (16-2 overall, 3-0 Sooner Athletic Conference) rolled to their ninth straight win and extended the best start to a season ever. "It was a good night just to get everybody on the floor, although we have to get everybody working as one unit."
Wayland's nine straight wins is the second-longest streak in program history, behind only a 27-match string during the 1996 season when Wayland went 30-2.
To keep the current streak alive, the Pioneers will have to get past Oklahoma Baptist (13-4, 3-0), the two-time defending SAC champion that's won 33 conference matches in a row dating back to 2010.
Giacomazzi believes the Pioneers are ready for Saturday morning's match, which has been designated a "Blue-Out" with all WBU fans asked to wear blue. Free breakfast burritos will be given to the first 300 Wayland students with valid ID.
"The girls have the right mentality, the right focus," Giacomazzi said. "They're excited about it. It's the night before Christmas and everybody is anxious to get it going."
When OBU restarted its volleyball program in 2008, the Pioneers beat the Lady Bison the first four times they played. But OBU has taken the last eight from Wayland, including three last season. The last of those came in the SAC championship in Shawnee.
"This is why they've been working so hard," Giacomazzi said of his team. "This is one of the joys of playing sports, having neat rivalries like this. It's fun to play against good teams."
The last time Wayland beat OBU was 2009.
"They've been the benchmark the last couple of years," Giacomazzi said of the Lady Bison. "It's been a couple of years since we've beaten them."
He said he greatly respects OBU and its coach, Anna Howle.
"She's done a super job starting that program," Giacomazzi said. "We work hard because they work hard. Hopefully, our hard-working, talented girls are better than their hard-working, talented girls."
The Pioneers were definitely better than SAC newcomer Southwestern Christian's girls on Friday. Giacomazzi began substituting near the end of the first set then continued to sub freely the remainder of the match. All 14 Pioneers played, including
Natasha Giacomazzi, who saw her first action of the season after being out with a groin injury.
Coach Giacomazzi said he found out Thursday that his daughter, who figured to miss the entire season, was well enough to give it a go. Natasha led the Pioneers in assists and digs last season when she was voted First-Team All-SAC and all-region.
Friday's match was a good tune-up for Natasha as Wayland took the court against Southwestern Christian (4-15, 1-4) for the first time ever. The Lady Eagles were coming off a win over Mid-America Christian on Tuesday that ended an eight-match losing skid.
Sophomore
Chelsey Driskill led the Pioneers with 11 kills and hit .429 while reigning SAC Player of the Week
Shahala Hawkins added 10 kills in just 14 swings, hitting .714.
"Our middles were very proficient tonight," Giacomazzi said. "And Mackenzie (Clark) on the other side did a great job (7 kills). Cindy (Horn) is coming back from an (injury) and she looked pretty good. We'll get her back in the swing of things.
"We had a great hitting night. Every set was over .320, which I don't think we've done that this year. We reduced our hitting errors (11 in 91 swings; .341 as a team), although I still want to get more digs."
Grecia Rivera, who had seven kills, picked up a team-high 11 of Wayland's 41 digs. Hawkins ended with three solo and three block assists along with a pair of aces, and
Ashlyn Westerman had all but three of Wayland's 40 assists.
"As long as we're having a lot of blocks (12 total), that's a good thing, but we still have balls hitting the floor that should be picked up," Giacomazzi said. "And too many service errors (8). There's no excuse to have that many in a match like today. Just put the ball in play and let them make the mistake."
The Lady Eagles hit just .035 as a team and had one block and one ace.
