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Box Score 2 COLUMBIA, Mo. – Wayland Baptist dropped matches to the No. 1 and No. 3 ranked teams here Saturday as the No. 19 Pioneers prepare to play their home-opener next week.
At the Hampton Inn Classic hosted by Columbia College, Wayland fell to third-ranked Missouri Baptist, 25-17, 25-19, 25-20, before losing to defending national champion and top-ranked Park, Mo., 25-17, 25-20, 25-18. Those results came after Wayland split matches Friday, defeating Lindenwood-Belleville, Ill., 25-15, 18-25, 25-23, 25-16 but succumbing to No. 10 Columbia, 25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 25-20.
"We had a pretty good weekend," WBU coach
Jim Giacomazzi said. "Because we're so inexperienced we are two or three months away from being equal to these guys, while some of them are not too far away from peaking.
"We have a lot of hope."
The Pioneers (9-3), after a week in which most of the team was sick, weren't even sure if they would have enough healthy bodies to take the court this weekend. Despite not being at full strength, Wayland proved it can hold its own against the top teams in the country.
Against Park, which after going 40-0 last season lost two of its first four matches to No. 7 Lindsey Wilson, Ken., and No. 4 Viterbo, Wis., Wayland hit just .114 compared to .261 for the Pirates.
Shahala Hawkins led the Pioneers with 13 kills and hit .250, while
Chelsey Driskill and
Cindy Horn put up six and five kills, respectively.
Rossanna Ramos and Horn had nine digs apiece, while
Emily Welch recorded 15 assists.
"The disappointing part was some of the defense. We had a lot of touched balls that didn't convert into digs," Giacomazzi said. "We had a lot of ball-handling errors. That's going to happen a little bit more than I want it to happen."
"We just didn't execute, that was the bottom line. We just don't have the experience they do."
The coach said the some Pioneers are still getting comfortable playing in new positions.
"Our block is a work in progress, but it will be solid," he said. "Our serving is getting better. We're hitting our spots a lot more now and causing a little discomfort for the serve-receive team."
Against No. 3 Missouri Baptist, Wayland got stronger each set, putting up 17 points, then 19, and finally 20.
"They are a very good team," Giacomazzi said, adding that Missouri Baptist probably will be the No. 1 team by the end of the season. "They have a lot of guns, and their libero is amazing.
"A quality team like that reveals flaws we have in a big way."
The Spartans (9-0) concentrated their defensive efforts on Wayland's big hitters,
Shahala Hawkins and
Chelsey Driskill.
"They had a triple-block on both Shahala and Chelsey most of the time," Giacomazzi said. "They did a great job."
Hawkins was held to nine kills (.421) and Driskill four, while
Cindy Horn put up eight kills.
Rossanna Ramos ended with 17 digs and
Emily Welch 10 assists. Wayland hit .130 compared to Missouri Baptist's .321.
"We made some adjustments. Mallorie (Ellis) began using the quick serve, and that lit a fire under us," Giacomazzi said.
"We're still searching for the right attitude and intensity. We're still a baby on that and figuring that out. We have to keep our chin high and chest out in between points.
"We're not where we want to be mentally, which will allow us to get to the next plateau. With experience we're going to get better."
After playing their first 12 matches of the season at tournaments in Waxahachie, New Orleans and Columbia, the Pioneers play their home-opener, and Sooner Athletic Conference debut, at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Southwestern Christian. The match was rescheduled from later in the season due to a change in the SAC Tournament format.
"That will be comforting," Giacomazzi said of playing in Hutcherson Center and hopefully getting injured setter
Tyler Gasaloga back in the line-up. "We're looking forward to it."
