Pioneers rally from 2 down for 3rd straight win

It had been more than five years since Wayland Baptist rallied from a two-game deficit to win a volleyball match. The Pioneers did just that Friday night in Hutcherson Center, gutting out a 24-26, 22-25, 25-10, 25-17, 15-12 Sooner Athletic Conference victory over Southwestern Christian.

"It's not how you start it's how you end," Wayland coach Jim Giacomazzi said after his team's third straight victory moved the Pioneers to 4-10 overall, 4-5 in the SAC. The Lady Eagles fell to 6-11, 1-7.

After SCU took the first two games, the teams retired to the locker rooms for a seven-minute halftime. The Pioneers came back out a different team.

"I didn't say much in the locker room. I just told them, 'Defensively, this is what you need to do," said Giacomazzi, who credited setter Samantha Ingram for taking control of the team and verbally rallying the troops.

When the teams stepped back on the floor, it was all Wayland in the third as the Pioneers won 11 of the first 13 points en route to matching their most dominant game win of the season, 25-10.

The fourth was a bit tighter. WBU was up just 13-12 before winning six straight points that put the Pioneers in control. A kill by Chante Moore ended it at 25-17.  

In the fifth, Wayland kept the momentum going and led 5-2. The teams mostly traded points after that until the Lady Eagles scored three unanswered points to pull within 13-12. But a huge service error by the Lady Eagles was followed by a match-ending double-block by Fade Ogunbade and Moore, igniting a joyous celebration by the Pioneers.

"This is a team we typically beat badly. I don't think we've gone four with them, much less five," Giacomazzi said. "But this is a new year, new people. They're learning how to play with adversity, which you can't do in practice. If they're smart and get through it, they get better."

Alexa Hinojos shined for Wayland, logging a season-high 19 kills while hitting .356 to go with a season-best seven block-assists. Ogunbade ended with 13 kills and hit .290 while Moore had 10 smashes and hit .296.

WBU dug 77 balls, 20 by Dayana Critchi, 11 by Elizabeth Wirth and 10 by Carlee Heidebrecht, who also had eight kills and four block-assists.

The Pioneers produced two solo and a season-best matching 24 block-assists, with Ogunbade and Ingram following up on Hinojosa's seven stuffs with five each. Ogunbade also had a solo stuff.

"Our outsides were hitting negatively the first few sets, but we got everybody back to positive numbers," Giacomazzi said.

Wayland improved to 2-2 in five-set matches in 2022, winning its last two.

It was the Pioneers' first victory after being down 2-0 since Aug. 23, 2017, in Hobbs when Wayland came back to beat University of the Southwest, 17-25, 17-25, 27-25, 25-21, 15-9.

"They learned a lot of things today and saw some improvement," Giacomazzi said. "It's a little frustrating sometimes, especially the timing between the middles. But they're getting better every day."

Wayland will shoot for its fourth straight win at 5 p.m. Saturday against Oklahoma City University (8-8, 6-3), which after back-to-back losses to SAC-leading Texas Wesleyan and Southwestern Assemblies of God University wept Oklahoma-Panhandle State on Friday in Goodwell, 25-22, 26-24, 25-23.