Siloam Springs – The Pioneers fell short in their Sooner Athletic Conference Opening Round match at John Brown University, 3-1, despite 24 combined kills from
Fade Ogunbade and
Selma Sutaj, and a solid performance off the bench from
Ilgin Ada Cacaron.
The 6-seeded Pioneers fell behind early in the opening set to the 3-seeded Golden Eagles, but junior
Carlee Heidebrecht evened the score at 5-5 after scoring a kill and a service ace. The Golden Eagles pushed ahead 12-7 to gain some early momentum in the match, but Ogunbade and Sutaj would bring the Pioneers back with three total kills to make it 12-10, JBU.
John Brown continued their strong play in the opening set and opened up a 23-18 lead over the Pioneers, but a Sutaj kill, and a Golden Eagle attack error cut the WBU deficit to just three points. The Pioneers were unable to overcome the Golden Eagles in the opening set, losing 25-12, to fall behind 1-0 in the match.
The second set was a back-and-forth battle between the two squads until the Golden Eagles pulled away for a 14-10 lead midway through the set. The Pioneers would get the next two points after kills from Ogunbade and freshman
Ilgin Ada Cacaron to make it 14-12, Golden Eagles.
The Pioneers got two more kills each from Cacaron and Sutaj at the midway point of the second set, but John Brown wouldn't allow the Pioneers to overtake their lead as they went on to win the set, 25-19, to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
John Brown carried their momentum into the start of the third set and jumped out to a 7-3 lead over the Pioneers, but freshman
Emma Scott would provide a spark of energy for Wayland Baptist with two kills followed by two services aces from
Valentina Bozzato to make it 7-6. The Pioneers would continue fighting back and eventually took a 10-9 lead over the Golden Eagles after another kill from Cacaron.
The Pioneers capped off their 6-0 scoring run with an Ogunbade kill to extend their lead over John Brown to 14-9. After the score got to 18-11, the Pioneers would go on their second 6-0 scoring run of the set to grab a 24-11 lead and put the third set on ice.
Wayland Baptist went on to win the third set 25-12 to extend this opening round match against the Golden Eagles to a fourth set.
The fourth set was a roller coaster of emotions, and it started with the Golden Eagles taking an 11-6 lead to quiet the Pioneer momentum. The Pioneers would battle back to make it 11-9 after back-to-back kills from Sutaj brought the Pioneers back in the set. Ogunbade would later tie the set up at 13 a piece after scoring another kill, which then would create a back-and-forth battle between the two squads.
After exchanging points, the Pioneers would grab the 19-17 lead after kills from Ogunbade and Sutaj forced the Golden Eagles to call a timeout. The Golden Eagles would then commit a few attack errors to give the Pioneers a 22-19 lead, but John Brown answered with a 4-0 scoring run to take a 23-22 lead late in the fourth set. Cacaron and Heidebrecht each scored a kill to force the win-by-two scenario, but the Golden Eagles would score both points to win the set, 26-24, and take the match from the Pioneers, 3-1.
"After a rocky start in the first two sets, we settled back in and played really well in the third set, but we just couldn't close that fourth set," said Head Coach
Jim Giacomazzi. "We missed a few blocks at the end, but they did a great job fighting back."
Ogunbade finished with 12 kills, a .267 hitting percentage, and two block assists. Sutaj added 12 kills with a .219 hitting percentage, a service ace, a block assist, and 15 digs. Cacaron scored 10 kills with a .455 hitting percentage, a service ace, a block, assist, and eight digs. Scott finished with seven kills and a .313 hitting percentage, Bozzato dished 28 assists, had two service aces, a block, and 12 digs.
Coach Giacomazzi highlighted his freshmen stepping up tonight saying, "Kudos to Ilgin, because she came off the bench and gave us a spark. Same with Emma. Those girls work extremely hard for their opportunities, and I've got to give them a lot of credit for how they play tonight."
