Pioneers Roll Through Weekend with Four Dual Victories

The Wayland Baptist beach volleyball team put together a dominant weekend on the sand, winning four duals and dropping just one court across two days of competition. The Pioneers swept both of their matches on Friday before returning Saturday to secure another pair of victories.

Wayland opened the weekend on March 13 with a 5-0 sweep of Texas Wesleyan.. Luiza Valentim and Carlee Heidebrecht completed the sweep at No. 5, rallying to win an exciting three-set match 23-21, 16-21, 15-12.

Wayland Baptist def Texas Wesleyan University 5-0

            1. Taisiia Kalchenko/Deniz Yileri (WBU) def. C. Culver/L. Peijnenburg (TXWES) 21-8-21,18
            2. Alaina Baran/Selma Sutaj (WBU) def. S. Alexander/K. Liva (TXWES) 22-20,22-20
            3. Averi Penner/Lilou Henry-Souquet-Bressand (WBU) def. A. Smart/J. VanDyke (TXWES) 21-13,21-8
            4. Frida Espeseth/Milena Alliot-Maslankiewicz (WBU) def. A. Rodgers/M. Swillens (TXWES) 21-17,21-19
            5. Luiza Valentim/Carlee Heidebrecht (WBU) def. H. Miller/L. Breaux (TXWES) 23-21,16-21,15-12
 

Later Friday, the Pioneers delivered another 5-0 sweep, this time against Texas A&M–Texarkana. Kalchenko and Yileri take care of business, overcoming a first-set loss to win 19-21, 21-8, 15-12. Jordan Schlager and Davanee McKinney in their limited action added a straight-set victory in the exhibition dub.

Wayland Baptist def Texas A&M Texarkana 5-0

            1. Taisiia Kalchenko/Deniz Yileri (WBU) def. P. Dobreva/L. Blue (TAMUT) 19-21,21-8,15-12
            2. Alaina Baran/Selma Sutaj (WBU) def. G.Garcia/M. Mata (TAMUT) 22-20,21-14
            3. Averi Penner/Lilou Henry-Souquet-Bressand (WBU) def. J. Tillman/B. Marvin (TAMUT) 21-11,21-13
            4. Frida Espeseth/Milena Alliot-Maslankiewicz (WBU) def. D. Presley/F. Lazo (TAMUT) 21-13,21-15
            5. Luiza Valentim/Carlee Heidebrecht (WBU) def. Z. Martinez/R. Mangan (TAMUT) 21-19,17-21,15-10
            6. Jordan Schlageter/Davanee McKinney (WBU) def. J. Taylor/H. Wells (TAMUT) 21-17,21-8
 

Wayland returned to the sand Saturday dropping their 1 and only match over the weekend with a 4-1 victory over East Texas A&M. Sutaj and Baran controlled the No. 2 match, 21-13, 21-15 to start off the day. Schlager and McKinney came back on day two to earned another exhibition win.

Wayland Baptist def East Texas A&M 4-1
            
            1. Taisiia Kalchenko/Deniz Yileri (WBU) def. P. Dickson/B. Morin (ETBU) 21-15,21-16
            2. Selma Sutaj/Alaina Baran (WBU) def. B. Fields/C. Lasala (ETBU) 21-13,2115
            3. Lilou Henry-Souquet-Bressand/Averi Penner (WBU) def. C. Ellenburg/C. Jalufka (ETBU) 21-13,21-14
            4. Frida Espeseth/Milena Alliot-Maslankiewicz (WBU) def. L. Guardia/K. Holloway (ETBU) 15-21,21-17,15-7
            5. M. Cox/E. Matz (ETBU) def. Luiza Valentim/Carlee Heidebrecht (WBU)21-15,13-21,15-12
            6. Jordan Schlageter/Davanee McKinney (WBU) def. E. Thomas/B. Pope (ETBU) 21-15,21-10 (EXHIB)
 

The Pioneers capped the weekend with their second sweep of Texas Wesleyan, Espeseth and Alliot-Maslankiewicz started the match collecting a 21-14, 21-19 victory. Valentim and Heidebrecht finished off the dual with a thrilling three-set win, 21-9, 19-21, 19-17 to bounce back from and finish strong.

Wayland Baptist def Texas Wesleyan University 5-0

            1. Taisiia Kalchenko/Deniz Yileri (WBU) def. K. Liva/A. Smart (TXWES) 21-18,21-18
            2. Selma Sutaj/Alaina Baran (WBU) def. C. Culver/L. Peijnenburg (TXWES) 21-,14-21,18
            3. Averi Penner/Lilou-Henry-Souquet-Bressand (WBU) def. S. Alexander/A. Rogers (TXWES)
            4. Frida Espeseth;/Milena Alliot-Maslankiewicz (WBU) def. M. Swillens/J. VanDyke (TXWES) 21-14,21-19
            5. Luiza Valentim/Carlee Heidebrecht (WBU) def. H. Miller/L. Breaux (TXWES) 21-9,19-21,19-17


"Our girls played really confident all weekend," said assistant coach Alyssa Vasquez. "They competed and battled to showcase some amazing volleyball. The thing we love to see is our girls having fun. They are always cheering and supporting each other; they know how to make an away match feel like we are at home."
 

With the strong showing, the Pioneers continued to build momentum early in the season, showcasing depth across the lineup while picking up four team wins over the weekend.