Evangel stands in Wayland's way of return to Sioux City

Jim Giacomazzi admits to being a bit selfish when it comes to his Wayland Baptist volleyball team.
 
Not only does he want the cake, "I want the cake, the icing, the presents, and everything else that comes with it."
 
Giacomazzi used that reference to explain his desire for the Pioneers as the NAIA Volleyball National Championships tip off with 20^th-ranked Wayland (23-9) hosting No. 25 Evangel University, Mo., (25-11) in an opening-round match at 7 p.m. Saturday in Hutcherson Center. Tickets are $5 for adults and $4 for students, although Wayland students will be admitted at no charge with student ID; WBU will subsidize the NAIA for their admission.
 
"We don't just want to be in the tournament. We want to win matches in the tournament," Giacomazzi said.
 
The Pioneers did a pretty good job of that last year in their first-ever national tournament appearance, not only winning their opening-round match but winning their first five matches at the final site in Sioux City, Iowa, before falling to eventual champion Texas-Brownsville in the semifinals.
 
A year later, Giacomazzi said the 2014 Pioneer team has traveled a largely different road to get to this point of the season.
 
"Things have been more challenging this year," he said.
 
The Pioneers were ranked No. 4 in the NAIA Top 25 Preseason Poll, a ranking Giacomazzi knew at the time to be too optimistic. Wayland struggled to find its identity early, standing just 9-9 after a loss to West Texas A&M on Sept. 30.
 
Things have gone much better since. In fact, the Pioneers haven't lost since that time almost two months ago, reeling off 14 consecutive victories and their first-ever Sooner Athletic Conference title, followed up by a SAC Tournament championship that secured Wayland's spot in the 36-team national tournament field.
 
Now the time has come to see if the Pioneers can discover the same magic they did last season during the national tournament, and it all starts against the Evangel Crusaders – the champions of the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament – on Saturday night.
 
Giacomazzi said the thing that stands out most about Evangel is its defense.
 
"They are a solid defensive team, so we're anticipating them to really pick things up," the coach said of the Crusaders, who are ranked second in the NAIA in digs per game at 20.5. Junior defensive specialist Morgan Smith, the HAAC Libero of the Year, leads Evangel and ranks 19^th in the NAIA in total digs while averaging 5.3 a set.
 
Giacomazzi also said Evangel's offense can be impressive.
 
"They have a couple of players who have the ability to send the ball back with good pace," he said.

Four Crusaders average more than 2.0 digs, led by 5-foot-11 outside hitter Micah Cribbs-Guiot at 2.52. Cribbs-Guiot was named an NAIA honorable mention All-American a year ago.

Giacomazzi also bragged on 6-2 right-side Morgan Kensinger, a first-team all-conference player last year as a freshman who gets 2.14 kills per set and ranks 15^th in the NAIA in total blocks, averaging just over one a set.

"She's a very solid player," he said. "They are predominantly an outside attacking team and we're more of a middle attacking team."
Giacomazzi went on to say that he is impressed with Evangel's serve receive.

"They are able to pass the ball well, so they're able to run their offense, but if they get out of system offense they're still very capable."
Interestingly, Evangel's 13-player roster consists of all sophomores and juniors.

"They don't have a freshman in their program (WBU has six), so they all are experienced players who have earned the right to get to the national championship," Giacomazzi said. "We have to give them a lot of respect there. We anticipate, like any team playing in a situation like this, for them to give their best and never give up."

Wayland and Evangel have played several common opponents, but the only one offering different results is Hastings, Neb. While the Pioneers lost to Hastings in five, Evangel won its match with Hastings in three.

Giacomazzi said he's not sure what those results, or other numbers in attempting to compare the Pioneers and Crusaders, actually mean.
 
"In breaking down the tapes you see numbers like 6-foot-2 and see hitting percentages that are comparable to ours, but then you wonder if their conference is tougher top to bottom than ours and other things like that," he said. "Really, numbers don't mean a whole lot right now.
 
"What we want to do is plan for the worst and hope for the best, so we're working really hard in hopes that practice will be challenging and the match will be easier. That's kind of how we've worked the whole year, trying to flush out mediocrity so that what's left is nothing but pure, raw volleyball talent."

Both schools are making their second trips to the national tournament. Evangel's first was in 2009, while Wayland's initial entry came last year. Giacomazzi feels that gives the Pioneers an edge.
 
"I think there's a definite advantage in that we possess  the knowledge of what you're going to be thinking and feeling, and what you will experience playing the very best you can knowing this could be your very last match, so I think last year's experience helps us with that," he said.
 
The coach also believes playing at home will be to Wayland's advantage.

"Evangel is traveling 616 miles," Giacomazzi pointed out. "We get to sleep in our own beds, eat familiar food, have normal practices. That's comforting knowing that we don't have that road weariness and can get another day of fine tuning our game in preparation for the match."

The other part of playing at home is the home-court advantage when it comes to fan support. Last year when Wayland hosted Ottawa, Kan., in the school's first-ever NAIA national championship host experience, some 500 fans dramatically tilted the court in the Pioneers' favor.

"The crowd we had last year for this event was electrifying; it was magical," Giacomazzi said. "We're glad that we have another chance to be able to share that with the students, the Wayland faculty and staff, and the community.

"I hope we can get another electric atmosphere in here."

The winner of Saturday's match – one of 12 opening-round matches being played at team host sites – advances to the national tournament final site in Sioux City, Iowa. The 12 opening-round winners will join the top 11 seeds, which received first-round byes, and host team Briar Cliff (Iowa), in Sioux City beginning Dec. 2.