Waxahachie – The Pioneers struggled around the net on Saturday afternoon in a tough three set loss on the road against the NAIA's 22
nd ranked team in the country, Nelson University.
Wayland Baptist (12-9, 11-6, SAC) opened the match by taking a quick 4-1 lead over the Lions after three Pioneer kills and an ace from junior
Carlee Heidebrecht. Nelson battled back and started to take command of the set after opening up an 11-6 lead to force the Pioneers to use a timeout. The Pioneers dropped the opening set, 25-14, to fall behind 1-0 in the match. The Pioneers had a .188 hitting percentage as a team in the opening set compared to a .433 hitting percentage for the Lions.
The Pioneers fell behind 4-2 to begin the second set, but they would quickly battle back to take a 5-4 lead over the Lions after a kill from senior
Selma Sutaj and two kills from sophomore
Klaudia Brzeczkowska. Nelson regained the lead, 11-8, but the Pioneers would once again fight back to make it a one-point deficit after a kill by freshman
Averi Penner made it 11-10. The Lions held a 12-10 lead midway through the second set, but another Lions onslaught would ensue thanks to a 6-0 scoring run to make it 18-11, Nelson. Wayland Baptist was unable to stop the Lions in the second set as they fall 25-15 to fall behind 2-0 in the match. The Pioneers couldn't get into a rhythm in the second set, finishing the set with a .077 hitting percentage compared to a .312 hitting percentage for Nelson.
Nelson carried their momentum into the fourth set, jumping out to a quick 4-0 lead, but the Pioneers would score the next three points, capped off with a kill by senior
Alyssa Vasquez, to make it 4-3, Lions. Nelson followed that Pioneers scoring run with one of their own, only their run was a 10-0 scoring run to push their lead to 14-3. Nelson dominated the final set, winning 25-9 to win the match 3-0 over Wayland Baptist, giving the Pioneers an 11-6 Sooner Athletic Conference record with five regular season games remaining.
In the final set, the Pioneers had a difficult -.167 hitting percentage compared to a .259 hitting percentage for the Lions. Nelson finished the match with 46 kills, while the Pioneers only scored 19 kills.
Scott tied for the team lead with four kills with a .400 hitting percentage, and a block assist. Brzeczkowska added four kills and three block assists. Sutaj finished with three kills, a .118 hitting percentage, and three total blocks.
The Pioneers will look to get back in the win column on Wednesday, October 30
th when they will play a rescheduled Sooner Athletic Conference match against Oklahoma Panhandle State University in Dumas, Texas at Dumas High School. The match is set to begin at 7:00 PM.
