Bethany – The Pioneers found their groove in a dominant 3-0 bounce back win on the road against Sooner Athletic Conference foe Southwestern Christian on Saturday afternoon.
Wayland Baptist came out of the gates a little slow in the opening set, falling behind 8-4 to the Eagles. The Pioneers battled back to make it an 11-10 score, then Wayland Baptist rattled off a run of three straight kills, including two by
Selma Sutaj, to take a 13-11 lead. Southwestern Christian took a 22-20 lead over the Pioneers late in the first set, but Wayland Baptist was able to tie the match up at 22 after back-to-back kills by
Fade Ogunbade. The Pioneers would go on to win the first set, 26-24, after Sutaj ended the set with a kill. The Pioneers had a .292 hitting percentage in the first set compared to a .250 hitting percentage for the Eagles.
Wayland Baptist opened the second set more aggressive and took an early 7-5 lead after a service ace by Ogunbade. With the score at 12-9 in favor of the Pioneers, libero
Emily Buchberger recorded back-to-back service aces followed by a Ogunbade kill to extend the WBU advantage to 15-9. Wayland Baptist secured the 25-15 win in set two, putting the pressure on the Eagles to win the third set. The Pioneers dominated the hitting percentages in the second set with Wayland Baptist having a .320 hitting percentage compared to a .179 for Southwestern Christian.
The Eagles jumped all over the Pioneers to begin the third set, taking an 11-3 lead early on, but the Pioneers rattled off a 7-0 scoring run that was capped off by a Sutaj kill to make it 11-10, SCU. The Pioneers took a 19-18 lead late in the third set after a
Jordan Schlageter service ace put the Wayland Baptist in front. The score was tied at 21 a piece late in the third set, but Heidebrecht and Ogunbade took over the final four points with a service ace and three kills to give the Pioneers the 25-21 win in set three, and the 3-0 match victory over the Eagles.
The Pioneers were dealt a bad hand today with injuries and illness, but they showed great resilience to pick up the tough road win. Head Coach
Jim Giacomazzi was talked about his team's adversities saying, "We have an award that we give to someone after each game rewarding the toughest player, and Selma got it today, because despite being under the weather, she played great and led the team in kills. We had several defensive players like
Makayla Westfall and
Aubrie Sierra get to play today. Jordan stepped up as our setter today with injuries and did a great job."
Wayland Baptist is about to enter the toughest stretch of their schedule, and Coach Giacomazzi spoke about it saying, "We are entering the meat of our conference schedule now with Texas Wesleyan and Nelson at home next weekend. Those are two of the top teams in the conference."
He continued, "The returners have down a good job at keeping their focus, and it's neat to see our experience grow each opportunity we have to touch the ball and play meaningful games against good teams. I'm pleased with where we are right now."
Sutaj finished with 13 kills, a .281 hitting percentage, seven digs, and a block assist. Ogunbade added 12 kills, a .241 hitting percentage, two block assists, and a service ace. Heidebrecht had nine kills, three service aces, and a .429 hitting percentage. Buchberger had four service aces, 20 digs, and only one reception error.
Jordan Schlageter had two kills, a .250 hitting percentage, 40 assists, two service aces, and nine digs.
The Pioneers will host
RV Nelson University in a Sooner Athletic Conference match on Friday night at 7:00 PM at the Hutcherson Center.
