On Senior Night, Pioneers stretch SAGU to 5

Box Score Wayland Baptist took Southwestern Assemblies of God University to the limit Friday night in Hutcherson Center before the Pioneers fell to the Sooner Athletic Conference's second-place team in five, 25-18, 23-25, 25-15, 19-25, 15-10.
 
"I can't fault them for a lack of effort. I'm really proud of them for that," Wayland coach Jim Giacomazzi said of the Pioneers. "(SAGU) is a good team. They have a lot of experienced juniors and seniors. If we made a mistake, they capitalized on it."
 
Elisabeth Piroli, Lindsey Schwab, Megan Sharratt and Jade Jones were honored before the match on Senior Night, and SAGU (22-5, 12-5 SAC) came out wanting to spoil the party.
 
After a lackluster first set, Wayland (16-10, 8-6) came back strong to win game two, 25-23, only to fall handily again in the third set, 25-15. The Pioneers got it back together and rallied in the fourth set, which saw WBU trailing 19-18 before winning the final seven points. Kills by Jones and Kellie Kozak were followed by a pair of SAGU hitting errors, then back-to-back kills by Mallorie Ellis secured it and forced a fifth set, just Wayland's fourth of the season.
 
Sharratt and Schwab teamed for a block, then Jordan Breding's ace gave Wayland a 2-0 lead. But SAGU rattled off seven straight points, getting three kills and four Pioneer hitting errors. After that, WBU just couldn't catch up.
 
"We got momentum, then we laid eggs. We got momentum again, then we laid eggs," Giacomazzi said of his team's flow. "But they fought all the way to the end.
 
"We went four with them at their place (Sept. 16.) This is the best in our conference, so the girls shouldn't hold their heads down."
 
Wayland hit just .053 compared to .145 for SAGU.
 
"We played them better than what the statistics show," Giacomazzi said.
 
Ellis, a junior, ended with a career-high 18 kills while Daniel, a freshman, got 17, one off her best. Kali Shaw recorded 15 kills to lead SAGU, while Paulyae Dawkins added 13 and Jessica Sodich 12.
 
The Pioneers ended with 70 digs, including 17 from Daniel, 16 from Breding and 11 from Ellis.
 
WBU matched its season-high with 10 blocks (12 assists, four solo), with Sharratt getting 1 and 5 and Daniel 2 and 3.
 
"We've worked hard the last two weeks on our blocking, and it's a lot better," Giacomazzi said. "We still have a lot of holes, though, and that raises havoc with our back-row defense."
 
Wayland tallied 10 aces, one off a season-best, for the second straight outing.
 
"That was awesome. We did a good job serving," Giacomazzi said. "A lot of plusses came out of it tonight. Our decision-making, by most everybody, is a lot better."
Wayland next takes on another top team in Texas Wesleyan (20-3, 9-3), which is one spot ahead of Wayland in the SAC standings in fourth place. The Pioneers fell to the Rams in Fort Worth on Sept. 15, 25-16, 25-15, 25-18.
 
"We don't have time to lick our wounds," Giacomazzi said. "We have to turn around and play a team that, for us, is a little more challenging.
 
"The good thing is we're starting an hour later."
 
Saturday's match in Hutcherson Center begins at noon instead of the regular 11 a.m.

(NOTE: Due to health concerns, Giacomazzi played a limited coaching role in the match as wife Trish and daughter Natasha handled many of the duties.)