Expectations are high for the Wayland Baptist volleyball team in 2010. With four returning starters and two experienced newcomers, Pioneer coach Jim Giacomazzi believes this team is ready to take the step to the next level.

Whether they can make that step will become apparent very quickly as the Pioneers face five teams ranked in the Preseason NAIA Coaches Poll during the first four weeks of the 2010 season. That includes the season opener against #12 Olivet Nazarene University at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Hutcherson Center in the first match of the Coca-Cola Classic.

Also on the early WBU schedule are #15 Lewis & Clark State, #18 Morningside College, #29 Embry Riddle Aeronautical University of Florida, and conference rival Lubbock Christian who enters the 2010 season ranked #22. Not to be forgotten is a match up the road in Canyon on Sept. 21 against West Texas A&M University, the NCAA Division II runner-up in 2009.

"Olivet has one of the more respected programs in the NAIA. I know that they've been to nationals the last four years, and those other teams are also regular visitors to the national tournament. We'll face Embry Riddle, Lewis & Clark and Morningside in a Labor Day weekend tournament in Florida, so we'll be able to tell right from the start how we stack up."

Once they get through tournament-hopping - the Pioneers follow-up the Labor Day tournament in Florida with a tourney in Arizona the second weekend in September - Giacomazzi's squad opens up conference play with a match at home against archrival LCU on Sept. 14.

Seniors Desiree Luevano, Anika Voigt, and Jennifer Wyatt have been with Giacomazzi since his arrival in 2007. During that time, the program has not had a losing season, accumulating 70 victories, and winning its first-ever Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Championship.

Luevano (5'7, El Paso, TX) is a two-time All-Conference honoree who can play a number of positions and will end her WBU career as one of the school's all-time leaders in digs. Voigt (5'7, Potsdam, Germany) is a three-time All-SAC selection. She should become the school's career record holder in both assists and digs before the 2010 season is completed.

Wyatt (6'1, Amarillo, TX) earned AVCA Honorable Mention honors as a sophomore and was a 2nd team All-Conference selection last year and a SAC All-Tournament team member as well. She led the 2009 Pioneers in both hitting and blocking.

One other senior, defensive specialist Alissa Mitchell (5'6, Clinton, OK), is a two-year letterwinner who saw extensive playing time on the back row last fall.

The Pioneer coach says that this season's team has better depth than at any other time in his tenure at Wayland. "Last year we started off 11-0 and were on a really good roll, and then we had some various, small, nagging injuries that took their toll. When we finally got healthy again and seemed to be putting things back together, we were hit with a major injury and just never recovered."

The major injury came during the first set of a late-season match at home against Southern Nazarene University. Sophomore outside hitter Kimberli Harger, the team's leading hitter and best passer, went up for a kill and came down wrong on her leg, tearing the ACL. Even though the Pioneers went on to win that match, they lost five of the final eight matches of the season.

A 2nd team All-Conference honoree as a freshman, Harger (5'10, Lubbock, TX) earned post-season accolades once against last year, despite missing those last few weeks of the season. She looks to be fully recovered from surgery, and is poised to have another outstanding year.

Harger will be joined by newcomers Kate Trejos (5'10, Bogota, Columbia) and Tatiana Gonzalez (6'0, Bogota, Columbia),along with redshirt Whitney Bryant (5'3, Amarillo, TX) to make up a very strong junior class. Transfers from Pratt Community College in Kansas, Trejos and Gonzalez played for a good JUCO program in a very tough volleyball division, according to Giacomazzi.

"Kate and Tatiana bring a ton of experience to our program. Kate was a JUCO All-American and has a great arm and good quickness and size. Tatiana was an All-Region player and will be a great complement to Jennifer in the middle."

Another addition to the 2010 WBU volleyball team is actually an old acquaintance. Keliesha (Ross) Carter (5'7, Arlington, TX) played for the Pioneers in 2006, but left the court after that one year in order to better concentrate on track. It wasn't a bad decision, as she went on to become a 13-time NAIA All-American and a part of four national championship teams.

Giacomazzi says that Carter, a graduate student, could play middle or leftside this fall. "Keliesha is obviously quick and she has a very exciting swing. It's fast and it's high. She can easily hit it over blockers. The goal is just to be more consistent."

Defensively, the 2010 Pioneers have made some adjustments to take advantage of better quickness. "Our defense is looking really strong. I don't expect a lot of long rallies like last year. Teams are going to be forced to really focus on our outside and middle."

It is going to be a toss-up as to who will wear the libero's uniform, according to Giacomazzi. "We may not know who will start until the pass around before each match. Both Whitney and Alissa are working really hard and bring a lot to the position. "

The lone freshman for the Pioneers this fall is another back row specialist, Ashley Welch (5'7, Plainview), a former All-District honoree at Plainview High School.

Giacomazzi says that he believes this team is capable of achieving its goal of winning the increasingly tough Sooner Athletic Conference, despite a lower than expected ranking in the SAC Preseason Coaches' poll. "They just don't know who we have yet."

"LCU, deservedly, has a great reputation, but I think our conference has a lot more parity this year than in the past. OBU is starting its third year and they have a good coach who does a good job of recruiting. OCU has a team and a coach that works hard and they should rebound from somewhat of a down year last season."

"If we can get through our early schedule with some success, then we have a chance to start earning some respect, not only in our conference, but on the national level."

A total of five collegiate teams are scheduled to take part in the annual Coca-Cola Classic. The Pioneers will see action again on Friday at 7:30 pm against Embry Riddle of Arizona, and on Saturday at 1 pm against York College of Nebraska.