(This match was later forfeited by WBU).
LUBBOCK – Wayland Baptist rolled in set No. 1 but couldn't keep it up as the Pioneer volleyball team fell to former rival Lubbock Christian on Monday evening in the Rip Griffin Center, 18-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-21.
"We played well and got a lot of benefit out of it," Wayland coach
Jim Giacomazzi said of the non-conference match. "Hopefully this got us ready to play some good, tough matches this weekend."
Wayland, ranked the equivalent of 28
th in the NAIA, was hoping to avenge a Sept. 7 sweep by LCU in Plainview, and the Pioneers (20-7) proved they came ready to play by winning the first set in convincing fashion.
"I think we surprised them a little bit because we've improved a lot since the first time we played them. We were running on all cylinders and they were like, 'Oh, shoot,'" Giacomazzi said. "We played really well in the first set. We had an 88 percent sideout percentage, 17 kills and five errors. And there was some good digging going on.
The NCAA Division II Lady Chaps (14-6) turned things around and won the next three to deny Wayland's upset bid.
"LCU has such good athletes they were able to get it done," Giacomazzi said. "We fell off on some of our discipline. They served a little better and hit well, and we didn't side out as fast and they made some good adjustments."
Wayland got a match-high 14 kills from
Paxton Patterson, who hit .325.
Tatijana Markic added a dozen wile
Amber Daniel added 11. LCU got 13 kills from Hannah Froeschl and 11 from Sage Chain. The Lady Chaps hit .262 compared to .18 for WBU.
Ariel Marquez and
Lucie Mahelova led the Pioneers in digs with 22 and 20, respectively, with Mahelova providing 41 assists. Daniel added 11 digs and
Tevia Bell 10.
Alexa Hinojos logged four block-assists as WBU ended with a dozen blocks; LCU got 14.
The match saw the return of
Jayla Schultz, who has been out the past month with an injury. Schultz eased her way back, seeing action in two sets and recording 11 swings.
"Getting Jayla back was a plus," Giacomazzi said.
While Wayland would have liked to have picked up the win, the more important matches come this weekend when the Pioneers, who are tied for second in the Sooner Athletic Conference, take on league-leading Texas Wesleyan (20-5, 15-2) at 6 p.m. Friday in Fort Worth.
Wayland is ranked the equivalent of 28
th in the NAIA while TXWES is the equivalent of 36
th. The Pioneers defeated the Lady Rams when they met in Plainview on Sept. 25, 25-16, 25-13, 14-25, 26-24.
