PARKVILLE, Mo. – Wayland Baptist Volleyball wrapped up the Park University Invitational on Saturday with a split, falling to the University of Saint Mary in three sets before bouncing back with a five-set victory over tournament host Park University.
The Pioneers dropped their opening match of the day to Saint Mary, 3-0 (23-25, 19-25, 25-27), before finishing the weekend on a high note with a 3-2 (25-22, 25-21, 16-25, 16-25, 15-10) victory over Park. The split moved Wayland to 4-4 on the season and gave the Pioneers a 3-1 record at the Park Invitational.
Saint Mary 3, Wayland Baptist 0
Wayland opened Saturday with three competitive sets against Saint Mary, but the Pioneers were unable to get over the hump in a 3-0 loss.
Saint Mary edged Wayland 25-23 in the opening set before taking the second, 25-19. The Pioneers battled to extend the match in the third, pushing the set beyond 25 points before Saint Mary eventually secured the 27-25 victory.
Deniz Yileri led the Wayland offense with 13 kills while hitting .229. Yileri was also a major factor from the service line, recording six of the Pioneers' nine aces, and completed a double-double with 13 digs. Olivia Ley added six kills, while Taisiia Kalchenko finished with five.
Chloe Gray directed the offense with 32 assists while also contributing 14 digs and two service aces. Milena Alliot-Maslankiewicz matched Gray with a team-high 14 digs, while Lovie Eastep-Harris added eight. Emma Scott led Wayland at the net with three block assists.
As a team, Wayland finished with 36 kills, 34 assists, nine aces and 73 digs. The Pioneers held an advantage in both aces and digs but were limited to a .088 hitting percentage for the match.
Wayland Baptist 3, Park 2
Wayland responded in a big way in its tournament finale, taking down host Park in a five-set battle.
The Pioneers came out strong, taking the opening set 25-22 before following with a 25-21 victory in the second to build a 2-0 advantage. Park responded by taking the third and fourth sets by identical 25-16 scores, forcing a deciding fifth set.
With the match on the line, Wayland saved its best offensive performance for last. The Pioneers recorded 11 kills without an attack error in 22 attempts during the fifth set, hitting .500 on their way to a 15-10 victory.
Yileri once again led the Pioneer attack, finishing with 17 kills and 20 digs for her second double-double of the day. Brooklyn Bundy and Scott each added 10 kills. Bundy hit .276, while Scott was nearly unstoppable offensively, hitting .556 with 10 kills and no errors on 18 attacks. Scott also led the Pioneers at the net with four total blocks and added two service aces.
Gray posted 46 assists to go along with nine digs and two aces. Aubrie Sierra and Yileri shared the team lead with 20 digs apiece, while Alliot-Maslankiewicz added 17 as Wayland finished with 83 digs.
The Pioneers totaled 54 kills, 48 assists and eight service aces in the victory. Wayland's serving helped make a difference, with the Pioneers finishing with three more aces than Park.
After opening the Park Invitational with victories over Southwestern College and Hannibal-LaGrange on Friday, Wayland finished the weekend 3-1 and returns home with an even 4-4 overall record. The Pioneers' tournament included three victories in four matches and was capped by a five-set win over the host Pirates.
