Volleyball falls in 5 in regular-season finale

(This match was later forfeited by WBU).

It's not necessarily the way Jim Giacomazzi wanted his team to enter post-season play, but the Wayland Baptist volleyball coach hopes Saturday's loss in the regular-season finale will provide motivation for the upcoming Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament.
 
After a dominating win over next-to-last Southwestern Christian on Friday, Wayland had conference runner-up Oklahoma City University on the ropes Saturday morning inside Hutcherson Center. But the Pioneers couldn't quite finish off the Stars, and OCU rallied for an 11-25, 25-23, 19-25, 26-24, 15-10 win.
 
The loss left Wayland (21-10, 14-6 SAC), ranked the equivalent of 34^th in the NAIA, tied with Mid-America Christian (23-9, 14-6) for fourth place. Those teams split their regular-season matches, but Wayland earns the No. 4 seed by winning the tie-breaker in sets won in head-to-head matches; WBU lost 3-2 vs. MACU at home on Sept. 10 and won 3-0 at MACU on Oct. 16.
 
The higher seed earned Wayland a home match for the first round of the SAC Tournament, and the Pioneers will host MACU at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The winner will join the other three quarterfinal victors at Oklahoma City University for the semfinals and finals next weekend.
 
Against OCU, a team that swept Wayland, 25-18, 25-14, 25-19, in Oklahoma City on Oct. 1, the Pioneers appeared to catch the Stars a bit groggy in the early-going, maybe because the Stars' bus had a flat tire on its way from Goodwell, Okla. – where OCU lost to Oklahoma-Panhandle State on Friday night – to Amarillo, which made for a late night.
 
The Pioneers were in control of the second set as well, leading 16-11. WBU was up 21-16 when OCU went on a 9-2 run to steal the set, 25-23.
 
The Pioneers recovered and won the third, 25-19, then were on their way to closing out the match leading 21-18 in the fourth. But the Stars came out of a timeout and scored the next three points to tie it. Wayland won two in a row, but the Stars against closed strong with a 5-1 run for the 26-24 victory.
 
Seemingly shocked they found themselves playing a fifth, Wayland never got on track in the decisive game, which OCU opened by winning seven straight points. The Pioneers fought back but could never catch up, and the Stars won, 15-10.
 
Four Pioneers finished with double-digit kills: Tatijana Markic with 15 (.375), Wendy Cobbah (.360) and Jayla Schultz (.375) with 13, and Paxton Patterson with 12. Ariel Marquez ended with 16 digs while Lucie Mahelova provided 15 digs, 54 assists, three aces and a pair of blocks.
 
Five Stars reached double-digit kills, led by Kenady Bertling and Olivia Nutter with 14 each. OCU hit .229; WBU .276.
 
 

SOONER ATHLETIC VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
At Campus Sites
Matches Hosted by Higher Seeds
TUESDAY, NOV. 9
Quarterfinals
Game 1	No. 8 Science & Arts at No. 1 Texas Wesleyan	TBD
Game 2	No. 7 John Brown at No. 2 Oklahoma City	7 p.m.
Game 3	No. 6 Panhandle State at No. 3 SW Assemblies of God	TBD
Game 4	No. 5 Mid-America Christian at No. 4 Wayland Baptist	7 p.m.
FRIDAY, NOV. 12
At Abe Lemons Arena, Oklahoma City
Semifinals
Game 5	TBA	4 p.m.
Game 6	TBA	6 p.m.
SATURDAY, NOV. 13
Championship
Game 7	Semifinal winners	1 p.m.