Pioneer volleyball comes up short in SAC Tournament Championship

(This match was later forfeited by WBU).

OKLAHOMA CITY – Wayland coach Jim Giacomazzi gave credit where credit is due after his Pioneer volleyball team fell to Southwestern Assemblies of God, 25-21, 25-19, 25-23 in the championship match of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament here Saturday afternoon.
 
"The last two times we played SAGU they were the better team. They had a game plan and executed it well," Giacomazzi said.
 
The coach also gave a lot of credit to his Pioneers (23-11), who as the No.4 seed in the tournament – days after losing All-SAC First Teamer Amber Daniel to injury – knocked off top-seeded Texas Wesleyan, ranked the equivalent of 28^th in the NAIA, in the semifinals and gave themselves a legitimate chance at the title.
 
"It didn't end like we wanted today, but for us to make it to the championship match, that's remarkable," Giacomazzi said.

While the win gave SAGU (26-8), ranked the equivalent of 37^th in the NAIA, an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round, joining regular-season champ Texas Wesleyan, the Pioneers must play the waiting game to see if they'll get an at-large bid. That announcement is set to be made at 11 a.m. Monday on the NAIA's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PlayNAIA .

Also hoping for an at-large bid to nationals is Oklahoma City (18-10), which is ranked the equivalent of 33^rd in the NAIA.

A case can be made for Wayland to earn a spot to nationals, which would be the first for the Pioneers since 2016. A better case would have been made before WBU dropped five of its last seven regular-season matches, including conference losses to OPSU, TXWES, SAGU and OCU.

"If we could have beaten OPSU at our place we could have had a better chance. If we do that we're still receiving (Top 25) votes," Giacomazzi said.

Wayland was ranked the equivalent of 28^th in the NAIA and at the top of the conference standings prior to the late-season slump.

"Outside of OPSU, OCU and MACU, all of our other (NAIA) losses are to teams that have already punched their tickets to the national championships," Giacomazzi pointed out.

Even if their season is finished, though, the Pioneers should be proud of what they accomplished. The 23 victories is the most for the program since going 24-16 in 2016, which was also the last time Wayland advanced to the SAC Tourney finals and to nationals.

"It's one of the better records in Wayland's history," Giacomazzi said.

On Saturday against SAGU, which also swept Wayland in Waxahachie Oct. 30, the Pioneers couldn't quite stay up with the Lions.

"We stubbed our toe a couple of times, and when we did they scored three or four points," Giacomazzi said. "At this point in the season a couple points is the difference between winning and losing."

A day after one of their best offensive outings of the season against TXWES, Wayland hit just .155 against SAGU and had seven reception errors and five service errors.

Tatijana Markic and Paxton Patterson led Wayland with 11 kills each, while SAGU's Alexis Mealer, the tournament MVP, had a match-high 19. Jayda Nelson came away with 12 digs for the Pioneers, while Alexa Hinojos and Lucie Mahelova logged four blocks. Mahelova also had 32 assists.

Mahelova and Wendy Cobbah were named to the all-tournament team for WBU.

And while things didn't go their way Saturday, the Pioneers turned in a great season despite some adverse situations.

"The gals made a lot of adjustments in the season. I give a lot of credit to the girls who made those changes in stressful situations and rose to the occasion so many times this year."
 
ALL SOONER ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Riley Burcham, Southwestern Assemblies of God; Wendy Cobbah, Wayland Baptist; Lucie Mahelova, Wayland Baptist; Savanna Riney, John Brown; Veronika Webb, Texas Wesleyan.
Most Valuable Player: Alexis Mealer, Southwestern Assemblies of God.