OKLAHOMA CITY – Less than 24 hours after a miserable match in Bethany, the Wayland Baptist volleyball team played their last match of the regular-season and turned in an inspiring effort against Oklahoma City.
The Pioneers took the Stars, ranked the equivalent of 36
th in the NAIA and co-champions of the Sooner Athletic Conference, to five sets Saturday afternoon in Abe Lemons Arena before falling, 25-22, 21-25, 23-25, 25-16, 15-9.
"It takes a team to play championship-level matches, and we did that for 2½ sets. In those sets we out-fought, out-hustled and out-thought OCU," Wayland coach
Jim Giacomazzi said.
Coming off a 25-22, 27-25, 25-14 loss to Southwestern Christian on Friday night, the Pioneers (11-17, 9-11 SAC) may have snuck up a bit on OCU (27-3, 18-2), which defeated Wayland earlier in the season in Plainview, 25-16, 25-23, 25-14.
"We surprised OCU. We were tied 50 times, we had 25 lead changes," Giacomazzi said. "What we did today I expected to do in September."
Wayland came to play, leading the first set 22-21. But OCU scored four straight points to win it.
In the second, the Pioneers broke out of a 14-14 tie with five straight points then went on to take it, 25-21.
The third was back and forth the entire way. It was tied at 23 when back-to-back kills by
Kellie Kozak and
Amber Daniel won it for WBU.
The Pioneers led in the fourth 7-6 when the Stars ran off seven straight points and went on to prevail, 25-16.
Wayland jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the fifth but lost it when OCU took seven of the next nine points. The Pioneers cut it to 10-8, but the Stars went on a 5-1 run to end the match, dropping Wayland to 0-3 in five-set matches this season.
"We were going toe-to-toe with a top contender. But OCU made some adjustments against Amber and she was blocked four or five times," Giacomazzi said. "We just could not overcome their block. Up to that point we were trading points.
"OCU did a good job trying to wear Amber down. They served at her, hit at her, and really focused on trying to take her out."
Daniel ended with 19 kills and 24 digs, both career-bests, with Kozak getting a career-high 18 kills and
Tatijana Markic 11.
"Our hitting, especially Amber, Kellie and Tatijana, was very good for three sets, and our defense was very good," Giacomazzi said.
Besides Daniel's 24, four other Pioneers wound up with double-digit digs: Sadie Hall a career-best 18,
Jessica Nguyen a career-best 16,
Tevia Bell a personal-best 12 and
Jordan Breding 10.
Wayland ended with one solo and 14 block-assists, led by
Alex Wood's four assists, Kozak's 1 solo and three assists, and Daniel's and Nguyen's three assists. Nguyen provided 51 assists.
Wayland hit .161 as a team; OCU .194.
Senior
Mallorie Ellis again played sparingly.
"She still has tenderness in her back, and because she's been out for two weeks her endurance is questionable. But she is a competitor. She hit .500 with four kills in eight tries," Giacomazzi said.
Next for the Pioneers is the SAC Tournament. Wayland will be the No. 6 seed in the eight-team, single-elimination tourney and face third-seeded Texas Wesleyan (22-9, 17-3) in Fort Worth on Tuesday at a time to be determined.
The Rams have won six straight, including Saturday's 22-25, 25-21, 25-12, 25-22 home win over Mid-America Christian. Wesleyan defeated Wayland in three, 25-18, 25-18, 25-7, in Plainview and, most recently, in four, 25-12, 25-9, 21-25, 25-12, in Fort Worth.
Tuesday's winner moves on to the semifinals and finals to be held at OCU next weekend.
Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament
At Campus Sites
Tuesday's Matches
No. 5 Southwestern Christian (20-7) at No. 4 John Brown (16-14)
No. 6 Wayland Baptist (11-17) at No. 3 Texas Wesleyan (22-9)
No. 7 Mid-America Christian (14-16) at No. 2 Southwestern Assemblies of God (27-3)
No. 8 Panhandle State (9-20) at No. 1 Oklahoma City (27-3), 7:30 p.m.
At Oklahoma City, Abe Lemons Arena
Friday, Nov. 9
JBU-SCU winner vs. OCU-OPSU winner, 4:30 p.m.
MACU-SAGU winner vs. TXWES-WBU winner, 45 minutes following conclusion of first semifinal
Saturday, Nov. 10
Championship
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.
