The No. 8 Wayland Baptist beach volleyball team closed out a perfect weekend on Friday and Saturday, defeating Howard Payne 4-1 and Texas Wesleyan 4-1 to finish the event with a 4-0 record.
Despite the absence of head coach Lucie Mahelova for personal reasons, the Pioneers were led by assistant coach Alyssa Vasquez, who guided the squad through a dominant weekend of competition.
Wayland opened the day with a strong showing against Howard Payne, securing the team victory with four straight-set wins.
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Wayland Baptist 4, Howard Payne 1
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Selma Sutaj / Alaina Baran (WBU) def Tara Bennett / Ashlyn Kelly (HPU) 2-0 [21-10; 21-6]
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Emilee Casey / Samantha Torres (HPU) def Deniz Yileri / Jordan Schlageter (WBU) 2-1 [15-21; 21-17; 15-12]
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Averi Penner / Lilou Henry-Souquet-Bressand (WBU) def Hali Coon / Jayden Harrison (HPU) 2-0 [21-6; 21-8]
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Frida Espeseth / Milena Alliot-Maslankiewicz (WBU) def Addison Roden / Bailey Scheivlbien (HPU) 2-0 [21-14;21-14]
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Luiza Valentim / Carlee Heidebrecht (WBU) def Baylee Burns / Abigail Henderson (HPU) 2-0 [21-10; 21-16]
        Davanee McKinney / Ana Clara Patruni (WBU) def Gracie Dixon / Joana Martinez (HPU) 2-0 [21-4; 21-5]
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"Every one of these girls showed up and showed out," said Vasquez. "All of my girls did their jobs and executed beautifully."
Wayland carried that momentum into its final dual of the weekend against Texas Wesleyan, once again securing a 4-1 team victory.
Wayland Baptist 4, Texas Wesleyan 1
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Chloe Culver / Loes Peijnenburg (TxW) def Taisiia Kalchenko / Deniz Yileri (WBU) 2-0 [21-14; 21-16]
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Selma Sutaj / Alaina Baran (WBU) def Eduardo Portes / Kali Liva (TxW) Forfeit [21-7; forfeit]
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Averi Penner / Lilou Henry-Souquet-Bressand (WBU) def Reagan Fitzsimmons / Amber Smart (TxW) 2-0 [24-22; 21-18]
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Frida Espeseth / Milena Alliot-Maslankiewicz (WBU) def Jolee Van Dyke / Audrey Rogers (TxW) 2-1 [21-19; 21-7]
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Luiza Valentim / Carlee Heidebrecht (WBU) def Sydney Alexander / Mayara Swillens 2-0 [21-15; 21-19]
           Jordan Schlageter / Davanee McKinney (WBU) def Hope Miller / Lillian Breaux 2-0 [21-12; 21-10]
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"There was a lot of good games against this team," said Vasquez. "Our girls pushed and fought to the end of each of their games. This ended the match with a win for our Lady Pioneers with the score of 4-1. I would like to give a shout out to a couple of our girls. First, to the third pair Lilou and Averi — they pushed their bodies to the limit and never gave up on a single ball. This is a pair that I can always count on to finish and leave it all on the court. Another pair I would like to shout out is Carlee and Luíza, our fifth pair. This is a pair that always strategizes before a game. I am super proud of how they played together and how they always help one another on and off the court."
With the two victories, the Pioneers completed a flawless 4-0 weekend.
"This weekend was one for the books," Vasquez said. "I couldn't be more proud of this group of girls. They fought and pushed through some close games and ended the weekend 4-0. I am super proud of all my teams this weekend. They pushed hard and never once did I have to worry about any of them. I am super honored and blessed to have each and every one of them. Thank y'all so much for making this easy for me. Go Pioneers!"
No.8 Wayland Baptist will travel to Texarkana, TX next weekend for a competition between RV Texas A&M Texarkana, East Texas A&M, and RV Texas Wesleyan University.
