Plainview – The Pioneers capped off a terrific start to Sooner Athletic Conference play with a dominating three set sweep of the Langston Lions in a Saturday afternoon tilt at the Hutcherson Center. The Pioneers ended the weekend with a 2-0 record and never dropped a set to their conference foes.
Wayland Baptist (2-3, 2-0 SAC) got off to an aggressive start in this one, surging to a quick 6-1 lead over Langston (1-8, 0-2 SAC) that included a kill by junior
Fade Ogunbade, one of her four first set kills. The Pioneers continued to control the opening set after
Klaudia Brzeczkowska slammed back-to-back kills to make it 11-4 early. With the score at 23-16 in favor of the Pioneers, senior
Selma Sutaj scored a kill and service ace to secure the first set win for the Pioneers, 25-16.
The second set began in similar fashion to the first set, with the Pioneers getting out to an early lead and maintaining that control throughout the set. The Pioneers went ahead 7-0 to begin the second set, and
Alyssa Vasquez recorded two kills to ignite the spark. The domination continued throughout the second set for Wayland Baptist, and the Pioneers secured the win in set two, 25-10.
The Lions battled in the third set and made it a 13-10 score with the Pioneers in the lead, but Ogunbade and Sutaj combined for four straight kills off the feeds from
Valentina Bozzato to give WBU a 16-10 advantage. The Pioneers went on to win the third and final set 25-19 to complete the three-set sweep of the Lions.
Ogunbade finished the afternoon with 10 total kills and a .444 hitting percentage. Sutaj had 13 kills, a .188 hitting percentage, 11 digs, and three service aces. Brezcezkowska recorded five kills and a .417 hitting percentage. Bozzato added 34 assists, nine digs, and a kill.
Carlee Heidebrecht had seven kills, a .190 hitting percentage, and 12 digs.
The Pioneers will look to continue their winning ways next weekend as they hit the road to take on Oklahoma City University and Southwestern Christian. Wayland Baptist will challenge the Stars of OCU on Friday at 7:00 PM in Oklahoma City. The Pioneers and Eagles of SCU will face off on Saturday at 1:00 PM in Bethany, Oklahoma.
