Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY – Wayland Baptist's nine-match win streak ended here Friday night as the Pioneers fell to No. 13 Oklahoma City University in a Sooner Athletic Conference showdown for first place, 25-22, 25-22, 25-22.
"We didn't play that badly, just made a mistake or two in the middle of each set that cost us," Wayland coach Jim Giacomazzi said. "We're better because of this match."
The win puts the Stars (19-3, 10-0 SAC) in the driver's seat as the first half of conference play ends. Wayland (15-8, 8-1), ranked the equivalent of 37th, slips into second place.
Facing a crowd of 600 drawn by free pizza, the Pioneers led in all three sets, but OCU was able to make extended runs to take control.
"We didn't finish. That's one of the things we need to do better," Giacomazzi said, alluding to "communication issues" hampering the Pioneers. "We'll work on that."
In the opening set, Wayland was up by as many as three, 13-10, and led it as late as 22-20 before the Stars recorded five straight points to end it. The run saw three kills by OCU, including two from Fia Faa'agi, along with a pair of costly WBU hitting errors.
The Pioneers also were up by as many as three in the second set, the last time at 9-6. But OCU again went on a run, this time seven straight points, to seize control. It was 16-14 when OCU put up five in a row and took command, 21-14.
Wayland then went on its own run, beginning with a kill by Mega Sharratt. With Mallorie Ellis serving, the Pioneers posted five straight points to cut the deficit to two, 22-20. But that's as close as Wayland could get as OCU was able to close it out.
Of the Stars' making numerous runs, Giaomazzi said, "They did a good job with that, and the problem is some of those were on our strongest rotations. We need to get tougher mentally. That's something we'll have to work through.
In the third, yet another run by the Stars put Wayland on its heels. WBU was up 8-7 when OCU went on a 6-0 push. The Stars maintained that spread and appeared to be running away, up 23-14, when the Pioneers dug deep.
After a service error put the ball in the serving hands of Sharratt, Wayland was able to notch six straight points and pull to within 23-21.
"I was pleased with Megan's performance. She did a fantastic job with her serving and got us back in the game," Giacomazzi said.
But OCU again rose to the occasion and didn't allow the Pioneers to get any closer.
"They had a good play at the end, but they had to beat us; we didn't give it to them," Giacomazzi said.
OCU has now won 11 in a row.
Wayland hit .148 with 37 kills and 19 errors compared to OCU's .264 with 48 smashes and 15 errors.
"We made some mistakes with our hitting and they had a great hitting percentage," Giacomazzi said. "The mistakes we made on our swings was the difference."
Sharratt (.211) and Alex Wood (.114) ended with nine kills each, while Katie Inman (.294) had eight. Mallorie Ellis (.042), slowed by a foot injury that limited her playing time, contributed five.
"Mallorie's feet were very, very tender and it was difficult for her to be out there," Giacomazzi said.
Rossanna Ramos posted 15 digs while Jordan Breding got nine. Elisabeth Piroli and Riyana Rakrouki led in assists with 19 and 12, respectively. Sharratt had three aces.
"We served pretty well most of the time. Our passing was pretty good; theirs was excellent," Giacomazzi said.
OCU got double-digit kills from Marijana Bjelobrk (13, .385), Faa'agi (12, .458), and Stefani Nell (11, .281).
"It wasn't anything they did to beat us. The mistakes we made on our side of the net did that," Giacomazzi said. "We're a work in progress.
"I was pleased with how hard they worked," the coach said of his team. "There were times when we were a little bit tentative, but I'm pleased with where we are right now.
"We need to get healthy. We're still waiting for Krista (Epley) to get healthy, and now Mallorie."
Wayland is back on the court against Southwestern Christian (13-7, 3-6) at 11 a.m. Saturday in Bethany, Okla. The Eagles had lost six of their last seven but won their most recent match over USAO on Tuesday in three.
Wayland beat Southwestern Christian when the teams met two weeks ago in Plainview, 25-17, 25-21, 25-19.
