SW Christian hands Pioneers hard-to-swallow loss

Box Score

Needing a victory to secure a home match in the first round of next week's Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament, the Wayland Baptist women's volleyball team instead dropped its final match of the regular-season to Southwestern Christian on Friday afternoon at J.V. Hilliard Field, 3-2.
 
"We dropped the ball tonight," Wayland coach Shiloh Posey said after the hard-to-swallow loss. "I don't know if it was the emotion of senior night, if that caused a lack of focus, or whatever it might be. At the end of the day we played hard, we just didn't capitalize on our opportunities, and they did."
 
The loss leaves Wayland (5-9-2 overall, 5-3-1 SAC) as the No. 5 team in the SAC standings. The top eight clubs qualify for the conference tournament, with the top four teams hosting first-round matches on Friday, Nov. 7.
 
As the fifth seed, Wayland will be on the road to face the No. 4 seed, either Texas Wesleyan (9-4-1, 5-2-1) or John Brown (9-4-3, 5-2-2). If Texas Wesleyan defeats last-place Southwestern Assemblies of God University on Saturday, the Pioneers will head to Siloam Springs, Ark., for a date with John Brown. If Texas Wesleyan is upset, the Pioneers will play the Lady Rams in Fort Worth.
 
Regardless of who Wayland plays, the Pioneers will have a chance to pick up its first win this season over either of those teams. WBU tied John Brown at home on Oct. 18, 0-0 in double overtime, three days before falling to Texas Wesleyan on the road, 1-0.
 
The Pioneers – especially the six players honored before the kickoff – were hoping Friday's match wouldn't be their last of the season at home, but the Lady Eagles (8-9, 3-6), who already had wrapped up the eighth and final playoff spot, had different ideas.
 
"We outshot them 25-5 (including 13 shots on-goal to three), and had 11 corner kicks to their one," Posey pointed out. "But they're one of those teams that if you let them hang around, crazy things can happen."
 
And on this Halloween, they did.
 
The Lady Eagles, who had lost their last five matches, took a 1-0 lead on a goal from senior Sammi Cleveland not quite 21 minutes into the match.
 
Wayland's leading scorer, Jodian Morris, tied it just over a minute later when she rifled in a shot to the bottom right of the net from 15 yards away. It was Morris' seventh goal of the season.
 
Almost exactly six minutes later, the Pioneers struck again when senior Madison Abbott scored her first goal of the season – and last at home – to make it 2-1 Wayland.
 
It stayed that way until 12½ minutes into the second half when Cleveland struck again, notching her eighth goal of the year over Wayland goalkeeper Bailey Stengler into the top right of the goal to knot it at 2.
 
Just two minutes and 15 seconds later, Southwestern Christian was back in the Pioneers' goal, this time on another high shot by Shelby Givler who with her second goal of the year put the Lady Eagles on top, this time to stay.
 
Wayland had a handful of other scoring chances, but couldn't get any of them to go.
 
"They took advantage of their opportunities and played a good, hard game," Posey said of the Lady Eagles.
 
Tori Nimtz got off a team-best seven shots for Wayland, three of which were on-goal. Abbott also had three on-goal out of her five attempts, while Morris took 4-of-5 on-target shots.
 
Knowing there is nothing that can be done about Friday's setback, Posey already was looking ahead to the SAC Tournament.
 
"We have a one-game season now. We're going to have to be really focused and ready to go," he said. "The next week of practice has got to be absolutely on point, and the girls will determine their own destiny.
 
"We're going to get as prepared as we can," the coach added. "We'll give it everything we've got and see what happens."