OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian University volleyball team entered the Sooner Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship tournament on Tuesday night knowing that they faced an uphill battle. The Lady Evangels were the tournament's eighth seed, and they knew that their next defeat would mean the end of their season.

MACU (10-16) struggled to get their offense going in their quarterfinal match at Oklahoma City University (21-6), and the top-seeded Stars eliminated the Lady Evangels in straight sets, 25-14, 25-19, 25-13.

The Stars opened the first set by taking three of the first four points, and MACU was never able to gain any traction in the stanza offensively. MACU did battle back to within four at 18-14 late in the set, but the Stars closed the frame out on a 7-0 run to take a 25-14 first set win.

The Lady Evangels hung with the Stars early in the second set, as the teams split the first 16 points evenly. A quick 5-0 run from OCU, however, gave the Stars a cushion they would protect for the remainder of the stanza, as OCU took a 25-19 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set saw OCU sprint out to a 7-1 lead, but MACU battled back to close the gap to 10-7. The Stars, however, answered with a 7-0 run to push their lead to double digits and the Stars cruised in with a 25-13 set win to complete the sweep.

Breanna Fritschow led the Evangels offensively with five kills. Ryann Hale dished out a team-high seven assists, and Melissa Hoppal added six helpers. Hale led the way with nine digs, and Gabrielle Poling posted eight digs as well.

The loss ends the 2017 MACU volleyball season, and with it, the collegiate careers of the six seniors – Mary Seifert, Laurel Church, Fritschow, Hoppal, Jasmine Pickett, and Erika Brown.