(This match was later forfeited by WBU).
Powered by a solid hitting effort, the Wayland Baptist volleyball team – playing its first home game in almost a month – rolled over John Brown University in Sooner Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon at Hutcherson Center, 25-18, 25-12, 25-11.
"They were running on all cylinders. It was refreshing to see," Wayland coach
Jim Giacomazzi said.
With five players hitting above .350, Wayland (20-6, 13-3 SAC) – ranked the equivalent of 28
th in the NAIA – produced its second-highest hitting percentage of the season at .400. That comes in behind only a .467 at Central Christian on Oct. 9.
"We had a lot of good swings tonight. That's a great hitting percentage," Giacomazzi said.
Paxton Patterson led the way, recording 13 kills with just one error in 21 swings for her .571.
Amber Daniel was next with nine kills (.500), followed by
Tatijana Markic with eight kills (.368),
Alexa Hinojos with six (.375) and
Wendy Cobbah with four (.364).
"What a wonderful game of hitting," Giacomazzi said.
Lucie Mahelova provided 31 of the 37 assists.
Ariel Marquez had half of Wayland's six aces.
The Pioneers also were solid on defense with 10 blocks. Hinojos put down a team-high five block-assists. Daniel led Wayland with 13 digs.
John Brown (13-15, 7-9) hit just .085. The Golden Eagles also were swept by Oklahoma-Panhandle State on Friday.
"This isn't the John Brown team we've seen in the past. They're struggling a little bit this year, kind of like we did a couple years ago," Giacomazzi said.
The win followed a loss to Oklahoma-Panhandle State on Tuesday in a contest that ended a seven-match winning streak and a seven-match road swing. Before Saturday, Wayland's lost match in the Hutch was Sept. 25.
The Pioneers are back on the road next week for their final three road matches of the regular-season, starting Monday at Lubbock Christian. Wayland will be trying to avenge a 25-23, 25-16, 25-22 loss to LCU on Sept. 7 in Plainview.
Next weekend, the SAC's second-place Pioneers will be in Fort Worth on Friday to take on league-leading Texas Wesleyan (19-5, 14-2) and in Waxahachie on Saturday to face fourth-place Southwestern Assemblies of God (18-7, 11-4).
"We're in the thick of things right now. We have a good week in front of us," Giacomazzi said.
