Box Score Faced with a long weekend as part of the Coca-Cola Classic, the Wayland Baptist Pioneers didn't want to stay on the court any longer than they had to during their home-opener Thursday night against Mid-America Christian. The 11
th-ranked Pioneers did a good job of turning the lights out early as they defeated the Lady Evangels in their Sooner Athletic Conference opener in Hutcherson Center, 25-8, 25-9, 25-18.
"This was a great warm-up match for us for the tournament," WBU coach
Jim Giacomazzi said. "We were able to get a lot of people playing time. Some people got their first taste of college volleyball tonight."
Shahala Hawkins recorded 16 kills while
Chelsey Driskill and
Cindy Horn had nine apiece for Wayland (5-4 overall, 1-0 SAC). The Pioneers hit .302 as a team, with Horn leading the way at .444.
Cat Wiechmann and
Mercades Torres dug a team-best eight balls apiece while
Ashlyn Westerman was credited with all but one of Wayland's 32 assists. The Pioneers ended with seven blocks, including one solo and six assists by Hawkins. Westerman had three block assists.
MACU (2-6, 0-1) hit -.120, getting just 15 kills with 25 errors in 83 attempts.
While Wayland cruised in the first two sets, the Pioneers let the Lady Evangels hang around a bit in the third.
"Our setting was not good the third set. The ball wasn't set high enough for our hitters," Giacomazzi said. "When we make that adjustment that will eliminate about five of those hitting errors we had in the third set."
The coach said a lot of the Pioneers' setting issues had to do with players still learning each other's nuances and tendencies.
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"We're still learning different people at different positions. That and you have to recognize who you're setting. You have to get the ball to the right person at the right height at the right tempo. All of those are split-second decisions that make the setting position so challenging."
Wayland returns to the Hutch at 2:30 p.m. Friday against Our Lady of the Lake University as part of the Coca-Cola Classic.
"Our Lady of the Lake will be stronger (than MACU)," Giacomazzi said of the Saints (1-1), who hosted St. Mary's University in San Antonio on Thursday night. OLLU lost its season-opener to Concordia (Texas) on Sept. 6 in five before knocking off St. Mary's on Wednesday, also in five.
Giacomazzi said OLLU will be a stronger test than MACU, and the University of Texas at Brownsville – the defending NAIA national champions whom Wayland faces at 7:30 p.m. Friday – might be the strongest test the Pioneers take all season. That will be rematch of last year's national semifinals when the Ocelots defeated the Pioneers in four.
On Saturday, the Pioneers play at 10:30 a.m. against Huston-Tillotson and at 3 p.m. against No. 7 Columbia, Mo., in another showdown match.
"Hopefully we'll be able to get some of our players healthy again," Giacomazzi said, adding that the Pioneers are battling a few allergies and colds with one player out with a back issue.
Admission to the Coca-Cola Classic is free.
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