Box Score
They may not have come away with a third straight Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament title, but the Wayland Baptist Pioneers did grab something else on Saturday morning: hope.
"I was very pleased with how we hung with one of the top teams in the nation. That gives us a lot of hope for the next round…the national tournament," Wayland coach
Jim Giacomazzi said after the Pioneers fell to No. 12 Oklahoma City in Hutcherson Center, 26-24, 25-20, 25-19.
Second-seeded Wayland (24-15) secured an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships with a 3-2 win over Texas Wesleyan on Friday night. Qualifiers and opening round matches, to be held at campus sites Nov. 19 before the final 32 teams advance to the final site in Sioux City, Iowa, Nov. 29-Dec. 3, will be announced at 10 a.m. Monday.
The announcement can be watched at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/naia/portal.htm?DB_OEM_ID=27900&eventId=326185&streamType=video .
Wayland has hosted an opening-round match the last three years.
Giacomazzi said Saturday's performance against the Stars (30-3), winners of 22 straight matches, is a good sign for the Pioneers at nationals.
"Losing as closely as we did, if we can play with them, we can probably play with anyone who is across the net from us in this postseason," he said.
The Pioneers also did it a bit short-handed as hitters
Jessica Stohlmann and
Katie Inman did not play due to injuries. Others played banged up.
"We gave some people a much-needed rest," Giacomazzi said. "Now we'll take three days off. Hopefully that amount of rest and time off the court will help us heal.
"On the positive side, some of our reserves got good playing time. They stepped it up. Also, no one got hurt, and that's always a good thing when you get to the post-season.
"Everybody has a positive attitude and understands they're starting to reap the rewards of the hard work they put in and all the nagging from the coaches."
Wayland's
Rossanna Ramos, the SAC Libero of the Year, and
Megan Sharratt were named to the all-tournament team.
"I was happy for those who received post-season awards," Giacomazzi said. "I wish there was another spot on the all-tournament team because Alex (Wood) did a very good job today. Both her and Mallorie (Ellis) had to make quite a few adjustments. We trying to stop the Conference Player of the Year, Mano Soraru, and those girls did a good job slowing her down and blocking her, especially in the first set."
Soraru ended with 12 kills to tie Fia Faa'agi for team-high honors. Shekinah Clarke added 10 kills as OCU ended with 52 and hit .381 compared to Wayland's 35 and .200.
Wood led Wayland with 14 kills while hitting .300. Ellis had nine smashes and Sharratt 7 while hitting .400.
"Looking at our production out of our middles, Megan and Hanna both hit .400. That's pretty good production. I just wish we had a little bit better ball control so we could have a few more attempts. That's probably the lowest output out of our middles in the last 10 or 12 matches."
Ramos got 10 of Wayland's 30 digs. Ellis had nine. Wayland wound up with six blocks, including four assists by Sharratt.
"We had a good day blocking," Giacomazzi said. "We were able to slow the ball and have some good transition back at them."
Elisabeth Piroli provided 27 assists. Four Pioneers had an ace apiece.
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