They lost in three again, but this time the Wayland Baptist volleyball team put up a much stronger fight against ninth-ranked, unbeaten Southwestern Assemblies of God University when the teams staged a rematch Friday night in Hutcherson Center.
"We've improved so much, and this was a game I thought we did a good job," WBU coach
Jim Giacomazzi said after the Lady Lions (21-0, 13-0 Sooner Athletic Conference) made off with a 25-17, 25-21, 25-21 victory over the Pioneers (6-12, 6-7). It came a little more than a month after SAGU dominated WBU in Waxahachie, 25-10, 25-11, 25-11.
"They have a fantastic team," Giacomazzi said. "They have some tall, athletic players. That's what you have to have to be a top-10 team. We have some players who are in the process of becoming like a SAGU, so for us to play as well as we did against them…I'm not disappointed."
The coach noted that Wayland improved its serve-receive against SAGU, committing just two reception errors versus the eight the Pioneers committed against the Lady Lions in the first meeting. WBU, one of the SAC's top blocking teams, held up that end as well with six solo and eight block-assists.
Chante Moore ended with two solos and three block-assists,
Fade Ogunbade had three and one, and
Alexa Hinojos added one and three.
"We did a good job blocking. I think we're the top blocking team in the conference and that was evident today," Giacomazzi said. "(SAGU) had a pretty good blocking night as well."
Led by
Carlee Heidebrecht's six, Wayland ended with just 22 kills compared to 55 for SAGU, which got 17 from Ava Myers and 10 from Emma Tompkins.
"We just have to put the ball down more. They put you in positions where you're not always going to get the best set, but when our outsides get the sets they need to be putting them down," Giacomazzi said. "We did a pretty good job containing Myers, and she still had 17 kills. She's so athletic and talented."
Elizabeth Wirth paced Wayland with 11 digs, and
Samantha Ingram offered all but two of WBU's 21 assists.
Saturday's match won't be much easier for Wayland as the Pioneers host No. 24 Texas Wesleyan (18-3, 12-1) at 1 p.m. The Lady Rams, who took out Oklahoma-Panhandle State on Friday in three, defeated WBU in Fort Worth on Sept. 9, 25-10, 25-9, 25-18.
"We have a tough grind the next couple of days," Giacomazzi said. "But I'm pleased with where they are right now. By the time of the conference tournament gets here hopefully we're able to upset some people."
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