OKLAHOMA CITY – Five-set matches have not been kind to the Mid-America Christian University volleyball team in 2017. The Lady Evangels entered play on Saturday with losses in all four matches that had gone the distance this season, but on Saturday afternoon, a gutsy performance helped MACU reverse that trend and keep their Sooner Athletic Conference tournament hopes alive.
MACU (9-13, 5-8 SAC) belted 61 kills and notched 10 blocks as they overcame a 2-1 deficit in the match to avenge an earlier five set loss to Oklahoma Panhandle State University (8-14, 5-8 SAC) with a five set win, 25-27, 25-22, 22-25, 25-16, 15-10.
MACU appeared to take control of the first set early, but self-inflicted miscues let OPSU climb back into the set. The Lady Evangels committed a dozen attack errors in the set, so despite notching 19 first-set kills, they dropped the stanza to OPSU 27-25.
MACU opened the second stanza on a 7-3 spurt, and in the frame they limited their attack errors, but OPSU got their offense rolling midway through the set. OPSU notched five kills and three aces as a part of a prolonged 10-4 stretch that saw the Aggies surge in front 18-15, but the Lady Evangels were able to dig deep and respond. Jasmine Pickett had a pair of kills and she was in on a block as well as MACU closed the set on their own 10-4 run to take the 25-22 win and square the match at 1-1.
Set three was a nip-and tuck affair throughout, with neither team leading by more than two points until OPSU took a 23-19 lead late in the frame. MACU managed to close the gap back to two twice, but they were unable to get any closer, and OPSU win the set 25-22 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Knowing their season was hanging in the balance, the Lady Evangels came out of the gate quickly in the fourth set, and they kept their foot on the accelerator all the way to the finish line. MACU had 12 kills and only one error in the fourth stanza. Combined with holding the Aggies to an attack percentage of .182, MACU took the set 25-16 to set up a winner-take-all fifth stanza.
OPSU took three of the first four points in the decisive frame, but midway through the frame, MACU surged in front. Kills by Pickett, Da'Jah Thompson, and Mary Seifert led a 4-1 spurt for MACU that turned a 5-5 tie into a 9-6 lead, and the Evangels never looked back. Laurel Church, Siefert, and Gabrielle Poling each had kills later in the set as a part of a 4-1 run that helped put the match away, and Church finished off the afternoon with a kill to give MACU the win 15-10 in the fifth frame, and 3-2 in the match.
Breeana Fritschow led the Lady Evangels with a double-double. She had 15 kills and 16 digs, while Church had 14 kills to go with eight blocks, seven digs, and four assists. Melissa Hoppal (31 A, 32 D) and Ryann Hale (19 A, 18 D) also had double-doubles in the match for MACU, while Gabrielle Polling added 23 digs. Tarann Riley posted 14 digs as well.
The win draws MACU even with OPSU in the SAC standings, and while it did not secure the tiebreaker for the Lady Evangels over the Aggies, the schedule does leave MACU with an opportunity to play their way into the SAC tournament. If MACU can pass OPSU in the standings, then the Lady Evangels would qualify for the conference tournament, leaving the Aggies on the outside looking in. MACU will wrap up their home schedule on Thursday night with a Senior Night tilt against the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma Drovers (2-18, 1-12 SAC) at 7 p.m.
