Gallery: (8-26-2022) Volleyball at OUAZ Invite
SURPRISE, Ariz. – Against a team ranked the equivalent of 29
th in the NAIA, the Wayland Baptist volleyball team took Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) to the brink here Saturday morning before falling in five, 25-21, 19-25, 25-19, 18-25, 15-10.
It was the fourth and final match of the season-opening Ottawa Invitational for Wayland (0-4).
"It was a good trip. We got to see a lot of things," Wayland coach
Jim Giacomazzi said. "We know what we need to work on, and as we get more experience we're going to be a pretty good team."
Against Embry-Riddle (1-2), after the teams split the first four sets, Wayland went ahead on two occasions, 6-5 and 7-6. The Eagles then took control, winning nine of the final 12 points as Embry-Riddle recorded a series of kills and took advantage of a handful of Pioneer errors.
WBU hit .018 and ended with 34 kills, 15 fewer than Embry-Riddle, which hit .066.
Chante Moore contributed 13 kills and hit .226.
"Chante hits hard and is finding a lot of open spots on the court," Giacomazzi said.
Brenna Daniel and
Elizabeth Wirth were good for 25 and 23 digs, respectively, with Wirth adding 13 assists and
Samantha Ingram 16. WBU logged one solo block and 16 block assists, with
Alexa Hinojos contributing five and
Maria Eduarda Motta four. Hinojos had half of WBU's six aces; the Pioneers were hurt by a dozen service errors.
"As the setters get more experience and make better choices, we'll be a better team," Giacomazzi said.
The Pioneers make their home debut at 6 p.m. Tuesday against Eastern New Mexico (1-2), which defeated University of the Southwest in three on its season-opener before falling in four to Texas-Permian Basin and in five to Augustana. ENMU faced Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday.
