Pioneers advance to title tilt & another OBU showdown

Box Score

After on one of their most entertaining matches of the season Friday night, the Wayland Baptist volleyball team hopes to enjoy what would be one of their most satisfying on Saturday.
 
Wayland overcame early-match nerves to dominate Texas Wesleyan, 27-25, 25-15, 25-17, in the semifinals of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament at Hutcherson Center.
 
"I'm very happy," WBU coach Jim Giacomazzi said following the victory, which saw his 20^th-ranked, top-seeded Pioneers win for the 13^th straight time and, more importantly, advance to play No. 2 seed Oklahoma Baptist (24-11) in the championship at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. The winner automatically qualifies for the NAIA National Championship.
 
"We're not high enough in the polls (for an at-large bid to nationals), and OBU's not high enough in the polls, so we're both fighting for that spot," Giacomazzi said.
 
The Lady Bison advanced to the finals with an impressive 25-11, 25-14, 29-27 semifinal win over third-seeded Oklahoma City. Both WBU and OBU had first-round byes in the tournament that started with OCU defeating Southwestern Assemblies of God in three and fifth-seeded Texas Wesleyan knocking off fourth-seeded John Brown in five.
 
"Both teams are anxious and both teams will probably be a little bit nervous," Giacomazzi said of his Pioneers and the Lady Bison as they prepare for Saturday's showdown, which will be the teams' third this season.
 
The Pioneers ended OBU's 53-match SAC winning streak and Wayland's 12-match skid to the Lady Bison with a 22-25, 25-16, 24-26, 26-24, 16-14 win in Shawnee, Okla. WBU had an easier time last Friday in the Hutch, prevailing 25-21, 25-22, 25-17.
 
"The girls have an idea what they need to do," Giacomazzi said. "All of the hard work they've put in, it comes down to this match."
 
The coach was impressed with OBU's play in its semifinal win over OCU.
 
"They looked very determined today," he said.
 
So did the Pioneers, at least in the final 2½ sets.
 
Wayland came out of the blocks a bit uneasy against Texas Wesleyan, the last team to take a set off of the Pioneers eight matches ago.
 
The Pioneers found themselves trailing by as many as five, 17-12, but WBU came out of a timeout and got four quick points on kills by Chelsey Driskill and Shahala Hawkins plus a pair of TWU errors.
 
Wayland managed to take its first lead, at 22-21, since early on only to have the Lady Rams tie it back up, the final time at 25-all. After failing to take advantage of two set points, the Pioneers got the win on back-to-back kills by Hawkins and Cindy Horn.
 
"I think we were scared to death in the first half of that first set," Giacomazzi said. "The girls were nervous. We're at the point in the season where after working so hard for so long it just takes one bad match and the season is over. They felt the pressure in that first set."
 
After getting the first set under their belts, though, the Pioneers seemed to relax and be play like their normal selves, which included some of their best hustle of the season. The Pioneers never quit on a ball and were flying all over the floor, especially Cat Wiechmann, who shined despite a broken finger.
 
"I think Cat had four digs in one rally," Giacomazzi said.
 
Wayland assumed a 6-1 led in set No. 2, with Hawkins' kills accounting for five of those points. With the Pioneers starting to roll, the Lady Rams never stood a chance.
 
The third set was more of the same, with Wayland tallying the first five points while posting a 7-1 lead. Texas Wesleyan managed to keep it a bit closer than in the second set, but not much. A kill by Driskill gave WBU match point at 24-15, and after Texas Wesleyan delayed the inevitable with a couple of points, Hawkins hammered home her final kill for the victory.
 
Hawkins ended with 20 smashes while hitting .341. Driskill added nine kills and hit .364, while as a team the Pioneers hit .173, compared to Texas Wesleyan's .054.
 
Wayland wound up with an impressive 79 digs, led by Ashlyn Westerman with a season-high 19, Wiechmann with 18 and Emily Welch with 16. The Pioneers got 10 blocks, including six block assists by Driskill, five by Cindy Horn and four by Morgan Seaton. Westerman had 32 assists.
 
Wayland's next challenge is OBU…again…in what could be the last time the teams face each other because OBU is moving to NCAA Division II next season.
 
Giacomazzi said the Pioneers are ready.
 
"We just have to continue to work hard and don't doubt yourself, then you can't be disappointed with the outcome. That's what we're asking everybody to do (Saturday). Just go out there and play your best competition of the year.
 
"They're pumped."