SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. – The Wayland Baptist University Pioneers kicked off their Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) schedule with a dominant 3-1 victory over the John Brown University Golden Eagles on Friday evening at the Bill George Arena.
After a tightly contested first set where the Pioneers narrowly edged out the Golden Eagles 26-24, Wayland Baptist stumbled in the second, dropping it 18-25. However, the resilient Pioneers quickly regained their composure, showcasing an impressive offensive display in the third set, hitting a scorching .500 attack percentage to claim a decisive 25-14 victory. The Pioneers then closed out the match with a 25-23 win in the fourth set.
The Pioneers' attack was spearheaded by a balanced effort.
Fade Ogunbade led the charge with a game-high 15 kills, followed closely by
Averi Penner with 11 kills, and
Taisiia Kalchenko adding 9. Setter
Martyna Lewinska orchestrated the offense with an impressive 48 assists, while also contributing on defense with 5 digs.
Defensively, the Pioneers were stout, accumulating 73 digs as a team.
Averi Penner led the team in digs with 16, followed by
Rachel Russell with 13 and
Deniz Yileri with 12. The team also showcased a strong blocking presence, tallying 8 total blocks.
"We started the game very well, but we got caught off guard a bit when JBU's fiery side showed up," said head coach
Lucie Mahelova. "They did not want to lose on their home court and did a great job preparing for us through video and following the game plan."
Coach Mahelova continued, "I am very pleased with the players on the sideline that were able to jump in cold and help hold the team together when we started to fall apart."
The Pioneers will travel to Point Lookout, Missouri, to face College of the Ozarks on Saturday, September 6th. First serve is scheduled for 1:00 PM.
