PLAINVIEW, TX -- Wayland Baptist put together a gritty performance Saturday afternoon inside Hutcherson Center, but the Pioneers came up short against Sooner Athletic Conference leader
RV Texas Wesleyan, falling in four sets (23-25, 20-25, 25-20, 19-25).
The Pioneers (6-7, 5-4 SAC) showed plenty of fight against the conference's top team, handing the Rams (12-4, 9-0 SAC) just their second set loss in league play this season.
After dropping a back-and-forth opening set, Wayland struggled to find consistency in the second before storming back in the third. Behind strong attacking from
Carlee Heidebrecht (17 kills, .250 hitting) and
Deniz Yileri (14 kills, 20 digs), the Pioneers found their rhythm and pulled away late to secure the 25-20 win and push the match to a fourth set.
Wayland continued to pressure Texas Wesleyan in the final frame, keeping the score close early, but the Rams responded with a late surge to close out the match.
Setter
Martyna Lewinska ran the offense with precision, dishing out 41 assists to go along with 10 digs, while
Rachel Russell anchored the defense with a team-high 15 digs. Heidebrecht's 17.5 points led all scorers, with Yileri adding 17 points of her own.
Taisiia Kalchenko contributed seven kills, and middle blocker
Fade Ogunbade tallied seven kills and two blocks.
Despite the setback, the Pioneers matched Texas Wesleyan statistically in several areas, finishing with more assists (48–42) and digs (79–75), while also limiting the Rams to a .156 hitting percentage.
Wayland Baptist returns to action on Friday, October 3
rd when they host the Drovers of Science & Arts at 6:00 PM in the Hutcherson Center.
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