Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – After splitting their two matches Friday, the Wayland Baptist volleyball team did it again Saturday at the Chick-Fil-A College of the Ozarks Tournament. The Pioneers first defeated Johnson & Wales (Colo.), 25-12, 25-11, 25-23, then fell to host College of the Ozarks, ranked the equivalent of 33rd in the NAIA, 25-20, 25-12, 26-24.
On Friday, fell to Lawrence Tech (Mich.), 25-23, 26-24, 25-17, then overwhelmed Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.), 25-11, 25-14, 25-15.
The splits leave Wayland at 11-6 for the season. The Pioneers are 3-2 in the Sooner Athletic Conference, to which they return for their next competitions at home Friday night, Sept. 29 against Southwestern Christian and Saturday morning, Sept. 30 against St. Gregory's.
On Saturday, Wayland dominated Johnson & Wales (2-18), a team the Pioneers also beat in Denver early in the season, 25-10, 25-18, 27-25.
"In the first set we jumped out to a 17-1 lead. That was in part due to six kills by Megan (Sharratt), four each from Mallorie (Ellis) and Amber (Daniel)," Wayland coach Jim Giacomazzi said. "The second set was much the same: four more kills by Megan, three blocks from Mallorie and two from Kara (Foreman).
"The third set Mallorie rested and Sadie (Staton) started in her place. Fallyn (Berry) also started in the middle, replacing Kellie (Kozak). The score was closer but we had the most kills in that set, 19, plus we were able to get some quality court time with several players who needed to see some action."
Sharratt ended with 15 kills and hit .429 while Daniel had 13 and hit .313. Jordan Breding finished with 22 digs, Daniel 16 and Ellis 11, while Sharratt and Ellis had three blocks each. Daniel recorded three of WBU's seven aces, and Elisabeth Piroli recorded 32 assists as WBU hit .259.
The Pioneers finishing the tournament by facing a much-tougher opponent in College of the Ozarks (18-3). The Bobcats on Friday defeated John Brown University, 25-22, 26-24, 21-25, 25-20.
Wayland fell behind in the first set 9-3 but managed to close the gap significantly, getting as close as two at 17-15. Ozarks scored the next five, however, and despite a late 5-1 run, Wayland couldn't catch up and dropped the opener, 25-20.
The Pioneers held a small advantage early in the second set before Ozarks got rolling and took a 21-9 lead. The third set saw WBU go up 5-1 and hold the lead until the Bobcats surged ahead at 12-11.
Wayland hung tough and tied it up at 24-all before a pair of back-to-back attack errors against the Pioneers gave it to CofO, which played only seven players.
Wayland hit .138 as a team, with Ellis getting nine kills and Sharratt and Daniel eight apiece. The Pioneers ended with six blocks and two aces. Breding collected 19 digs and Ellis 16, and Piroli was credited with all of the team's 29 assists.
