Pioneers 'play well,' but fall in 5

Jim Giacomazzi was disappointed.

"Darn," the Wayland Baptist volleyball coach said after watching his Pioneers fall to Texas Wesleyan in a hard-fought Sooner Athletic Conference match Friday night at Hutcherson Center, 25-22, 20-25, 25-21, 17-25, 15-7. The Lady Rams finished it with a flurry, running off the last six points of the match – including big back-to-back blocks – to effectively salt it away.

While Giacomazzi was disappointed in the result of the match between teams knotted for fourth place in the conference standings, all was not lost as the Pioneers (9-10, 4-5 SAC) look down the road.

"We played well, so I'm pleased with that part," he said. "We found a little bit more offense and we showed a lot of improvement with our defense."

The coach credited Texas Wesleyan (9-6, 5-3 SAC) for coming up big when the Lady Rams needed it.

"I can't say enough for Texas Wesleyan. They've been going through some injuries, too, and their coach (Jessica Ransom) and I are both are saying the same things to our teams and hoping we get some other people healthy."

It was just Wayland's third five-set match of the season, and first loss. In their only other five-setters, the Pioneers defeated Presentation College (S.D) and Friends (Kan.) back-to-back on Aug. 30 at a tournament in Denver.

The offense Giacomazzi said his team found came in the form of Lucie Mahelova, who went into the match with 107 attack attempts but got 46 Friday, resulting in 12 kills.

"That means we can start moving things around more, which makes it easier for (setter) Renzelle (Horner) to find a solution to the other team's defense," the coach said.

Mahelova was one of four Pioneers with double-digit kills, joined by Tatijana Markic with a match-high 18, Amber Daniel with 17 and Kellie Kozak with 13.
 
 
"Tatijana, Amber and Kellie are doing better. We're bringing our error numbers down and having higher hitting percentages for the most part, which is really good. Amber mixed things up by adding some tips to her repertoire, and that helps a lot. It keeps the other team off balance."

Meanwhile, much of Wayland's improvement on defense centered around libero Jordan Breding, Giacomazzi said.

"I'm amazed at the strength of mind she has because she's still hurting and not 100 percent (healthy) but had 24 digs. Renzelle had 15 digs, which is huge for her. (She also recorded 49 assists). We had a lot of girls dig some hard-hit balls. That was kind of exciting."

Kozak finished with two solo blocks and a block-assist as Wayland finished with five team blocks, three fewer than Texas Wesleyan. The Pioneers also had five more service errors than the Lady Rams, which Giacomazzi said cost them dearly.

All-in-all, though, the result was a positive…despite the loss.

"I hope we keep moving forward on a positive note," Giacomazzi said.

They'll try beginning at noon Saturday in the Hutch against Southwestern Assemblies of God University in a matchup of teams tied for fifth place in the SAC. Ranked the equivalent of 34^th in the NAIA, the Lady Lions (10-6, 5-3) are coming off a 25-16, 24-26, 25-22, 25-15 road win over Oklahoma-Panhandle State on Friday. That snapped SAGU's three-match slide to John Brown in five, to Texas Wesleyan in three and to No. 24 Oklahoma City in four.