Point Lookout – The Pioneer Volleyball season came to an end Tuesday afternoon in Point Lookout, Missouri in the opening round of the NCCAA Central Regional Championship after a tough five set loss to College of the Ozarks.
The match was a back-and-forth battle at the beginning, but senior
Selma Sutaj scored back-to-back kills to put Wayland Baptist ahead, 11-8, in the opening set. The Bobcats cut their deficit to just one point late in the first set, but senior
Alyssa Vasquez scored her second kill of the set to give the Pioneers the 18-16 lead.
The Bobcats fought back and took a 21-20 lead, but a Bobcat service error followed by a kill from junior
Fade Ogunbade put the Pioneers back in front, 22-21. Sutaj would score another kill followed by a Bobcat attack error to give the Pioneers the opening set win, 25-23, to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Pioneers got off to a slow start in the second set as the Bobcats opened up an early 7-2 lead but kills from
Carlee Heidebrecht and
Klaudia Brzeczkowska brought the Pioneers to within three, 7-4. Sutaj later scored two more kills to make it 14-8, but the Bobcats controlled the remainder of the set and went on to win, 25-16, to even up the match at 1-1.
The two teams traded points to begin the third set, but two Bobcat attack errors and a kill from Heidebrecht put the Pioneers ahead, 12-8. Ogunbade would score another kill a few points later to put the Pioneers in complete control of the third set, 15-9.
Freshman
Ilgin Ada Cacaron scored her first kill of the match late in the third set to put the Pioneers ahead, 20-12. The Pioneers got two kills from
Emma Scott and
Emme Wilson for their final two points of the third set to win, 25-16 and take a 2-1 lead over the Bobcats in the match.
The Pioneers fell behind 8-5 to begin the fourth set, but Cacaron would score another kill followed by back-to-back kills from Sutaj to even the score up at 8-8. The Bobcats later jumped back in front, 17-13, but Cacaron continued her strong play off the bench by scoring another kill followed by another kill from Scott to bring the Pioneers to within two points.
Ogunbade would get another kill to keep the Pioneers within two points, but the Bobcats went on a 5-0 scoring run to win the fourth set, 25-18, to even the match up at 2-2 and force a decisive fifth set.
The Pioneers jumped out to a 4-1 lead over the Bobcats to start the final frame after kills from Ogunbade and Cacaron, but Ozarks would score the next seven points to take an 8-4 lead at the midway point of the set. Sutaj got the Pioneers to within four points after scoring a late kill, but the Bobcats went on to win the fifth set, 15-11, to defeat the Pioneers 3-2 in the match.
The Pioneers matched the Bobcats in multiple statistics, but just couldn't seal the deal down the stretch. Wayland Baptist had a team .279 hitting percentage to the Bobcats .253 hitting percentage. The Pioneers also finished with eight more kills, were even in digs, and only trailed the Bobcats by one block for the match.
Sutaj had a team-high 20 kills, a .333 hitting percentage, two service aces, six assists, and 12 digs in her final collegiate game. Ogunbade added 13 kills, a .296 hitting percentage, and four block assists. Cacaron finished with 13 kills, a .333 hitting percentage, 12 digs, and two block assists. Heidebrecht scored 12 kills with a .222 hitting percentage. Wilson finished with 30 assists, a service ace, and a block assist.
"I was proud of their efforts. It was one of our better offensive nights. We needed some momentum and a switch, so we put Emme in and she did a great job coming off the bench cold. Fade really started to connect with Emme and ended with 14 kills and a few blocks. Ilgin came off the bench in the second set and had a really great night," said Head Coach
Jim Giacomazzi highlighting a few standout performers from today's match.
"Selma had a great career here and did a terrific job, and we couldn't be prouder of her. Alyssa did an outstanding job as an undersized outside hitter to put us in a good spot in the postseason. Gabreya has overcome some injuries and has worked really hard this year," said Coach Giacomazzi when talking about his seniors and their final season coming to an end.
