Pioneers gain full revenge, beat MACU in 5

(This match was later forfeited by WBU).

Two months ago in Hutcherson Center, the Mid-America Christian volleyball team handed Wayland Baptist one of its most stinging defeats in some time. The Pioneers won the first two sets of that Sept. 12 match only to drop the next three.
 
Wayland gained a measure of revenge for that loss when the Pioneers swept the Evangels in Oklahoma City on Oct. 16, but it wasn't until Tuesday night when the teams squared off in the quarterfinals of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament that WBU's full measure of revenge came…in five.
 
In a tight match throughout, Wayland came up with a 25-22, 22-25, 25-19, 22-25, 15-12 victory over MACU, rallying from four points down in the fifth to take it.
 
"It was a hard-fought match…makes a coach lose a couple of years of his life," WBU coach Jim Giacomazzi said. "I knew it was going to be a slugfest. The girls had to make a lot of adjustments."
 
The win earned Wayland, ranked the equivalent of 34th in the NAIA, a spot in the semifinals this weekend at Oklahoma City University. The fourth-seeded Pioneers (22-10) will take on top-seeded Texas Wesleyan (24-5), ranked the equivalent of 29th, at 4 p.m. Friday. The Lady Rams eliminated eighth-seeded Science & Arts of Oklahoma on Tuesday, 25-16, 25-13, 25-13.
 
The WBU-TXWES winner moves on to Saturday's 1 p.m. final at OCU to face either third-seeded Southwestern Assemblies of God (24-8), which defeated sixth-seed Oklahoma-Panhandle State, 25-13, 25-17, 25-14, or seventh-seeded John Brown (15-17), which upset No. 2 seed Oklahoma City, 17-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-19.
 
Against MACU (23-10), Wayland fell back on excellent blocking and digging, recording a season-high 107 digs and a near season-high 24 block-assists. Five Pioneers ended with double-digit digs, led by Ariel Marquez with 24 and Lucie Mahelova with 20. Jayda Nelson added 15, Tevia Bell 12 and Tatijana Markic 11.
 
"There was a lot of digging going on in that match. I was really pleased with what we did there," said Giacomazzi, who watched MACU record 108 digs and, like Wayland, put five players in double-digits.
 
On the blocking front, Alexa Hinojos led the way for the Pioneers with seven assisted blocks plus Wayland's lone solo stuff. Paxton Patterson added six assists and Wendy Cobbah five. "There was great blocking by both teams," Giacomazzi said.
 
The coach felt his team did an admirable job on MACU's top offensive threat, Hannah Foecker, but she still was able to produce 27 kills. "Foecker is a stud. We were able to slow her down a little bit, but she sees the whole court so well and is so experienced."
 
After being forced to a fifth set when MACU scored the last three points of the fourth to win 25-22, Wayland was in trouble trailing 6-2. But the Pioneers came out of a timeout and went on an 8-2 run to turn the tables. The Evangels were victimized by a handful of hitting errors while Wayland got kills from Jayla Schultz, Markic and two by setter Mahelova.
 
MACU rallied to within 12-11, but back-to-back kills by Hinojos and Schultz made it match-point. A kill by Foecker saved one, but then Schultz ended it with a final smash.
 
Wayland got well-rounded hitting with five players logging either 11 (Markic, Patterson, Schultz) or 10 (Hinojos, Cobbah) kills.
 
"We started making fewer errors as the match went on," Giacomazzi said. "The gals did a super job. I can't say enough about how hard they've worked. I'm glad the girls were able to get to experience that win."
 
Mahelova finished with 48 of WBU's 52 assists
 
Looking ahead to the semifinals, Giacomazzi said it's anybody's championship with four capable teams.
 
"Everybody has a chance to win this tournament. There's a lot more parity, for sure," he said.
 
Like Tuesday's match with MACU, Wayland will be playing a rubber match against Texas Wesleyan after each won at home, the Pioneers prevailing Sept. 25 in four, 25-16, 25-13, 14-25, 26-24, and the Rams winning in Fort Worth on Oct. 29 in five, 22-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-17, 16-14.
 
Giacomazzi said he's proud of his team for pulling through adversity.
 
"It's amazing to me to see the improvement they've made (and how they came together after) losing one of our best passers and hitters (Amber Daniel). For people to step up and play better, it's neat to see this taking place."