OKLAHOMA CITY – A bit of a lineup shakeup helped Wayland Baptist's volleyball team to its 11
th straight win here Saturday as the Pioneers swept Mid-America Christian, 25-22, 25-19, 26-24.
"(MACU) was probably the strongest team we've played this spring," WBU coach
Jim Giacomazzi said.
Giacomazzi, whose Pioneers improved to 11-3 on the season and 4-0 in the Sooner Athletic Conference, said he changed his lineup against the Evangels (11-11, 1-3) in an effort to spur the defense.
"We shook it up to try to get a little bit more out of our defensive people. Amber (Daniel) played libero and we gave Shykerra (Fanner) a start. Both of them did well."
Daniel led the team in digs with 14, while
Lucie Mahelova ended with 13 and
Elizabeth Wirth nine.
"Our middles did better. Kellie (Kozak) had eight kills, four block-assists and one solo block. That (blocking) has been her nemesis, but she did better. Alexis (Hinojos) is showing a lot more confidence and consistency.
"Tatijana (Markic) did a good job on the outside." Markic produced a team-high 10 kills while hitting .318.
"Our serve-receive was pretty solid, especially in the second set when it was 80 percent. We fired on all four cylinders and played a nice solid set. I would have been a lot happier if we did that throughout the match."
Paxton Patterson provided three aces and Markic two.
"We're improving all the time," Giacomazzi said.
The 11-match win streak is Wayland's best since 2014 when the Pioneers won 14 in a row.
Wayland can get within one of that with two wins this week as the Pioneers return home after a four-match road swing. WBU, whose last home match was Feb. 12, hosts Oklahoma-Panhandle State at 7 p.m. Tuesday then John Brown at 1 p.m. Saturday.
WBU and OPSU (9-1, 4-0) are tied atop the SAC standings with Oklahoma City (4-1, 4-0), while JBU (4-1, 3-1) is just a game behind. The Pioneers defeated Wayland in the fall semester in a non-conference match in Goodwell, Okla., 25-21, 22-25, 25-18, 26-24.
"We'll have a nice test on Tuesday against OPSU, which beat us in the first semester and basically has beaten everybody that we've beaten," Giacomazzi said. "They have two 6-foot-2 players. (Ana) Pimenta had 21 kills against us."
OPSU beat MACU in five Friday before taking out Science & Arts of Oklahoma in three Saturday. Wayland also defeated USAO in three on Friday.
"Then we have John Brown. They've had our number the last couple of years, but hopefully things are changing.
"Those should be good tests for us this coming week."
