Point Look, Mo. – The Wayland Baptist volleyball team opened up play in the NCCAA National Volleyball Tournament with a pair of wins that included a thrilling five-set victory over the top-seeded team in the tourney during pool play Wednesday at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo.
In the opening round of the tournament, the Pioneers rallied after falling in the first set to Oakland City to defeat the Mighty Oaks 3-1. Wayland fell in the first set 25-17 but turned things around in the following three sets as they claimed the second set 25-18 and then took the match with a pair of 25-23 wins over the final two sets.
Fade Ogunbade led the Pioneers' offense with 21 kills while
Valentina Bozzato handed out 39 assists in the win.
Brenna Daniel chipped in with 28 digs with Bozzato adding 19 digs to help Wayland to a 1-0 record in pool play.
The Pioneers turned around later in the day to once again rally in the final three sets to upend top-seeded College of the Ozarks 3-2 as it put them in the driver's seat in pool play.
After dropping the first pair of sets 25-21 and 25-12, Wayland claimed the third set 27-25 and then evened the match with a 25-23 win in the fourth set. The final set went back and forth with the Pioneers pulling ahead 14-12 on a kill by Selam Sutaj but College of the Ozarks scored the next two points to once again even things at 14-14. Wayland ended the match on a pair of Sutaj kills to claim the set 16-14 and win the match 3-2.
Ogunbade finished the match with a team-high 19 kills while Bozzato dished out 41 assists in the win. Daniel was a key in the victory with 24 digs.
The Pioneers will wrap up pool play Thursday at 6 p.m. against Clinton College. With a win against Clinton, Wayland will move on to the national semifinals Friday at 3 p.m. against the second-place team in Pool B.
