OKLAHOMA CITY - From the opening serve of their match on Saturday afternoon, the Mid-America Christian University volleyball team was determined to end their match with Central Christian College of Kansas as quickly as possible. The Evangels took command early, and even with a sluggish second set, MACU was never in real danger of dropping the match to the Tigers.
MACU (13-12, 7-8 SAC) held the Central Christian (1-18, 0-16 SAC) offense to a -.150 hitting percentage in the match, and the Evangels cruised to a straight sets win over the Tigers by scores of 25-11, 25-21, and 25-11.
MACU opened the first set on a 9-2, and in the frame, the Evangels never were challenged again. MACU hit .423 (15-4-26) in the set, during which MACU allowed CCCK to take consecutive points only twice on their way to a 25-11 set win.
The second set was the most competitive stanza of the match. CCCK opened the set with a mini run of 4-1, and the Tigers build a seven point lead three times in the period. With the Tigers leading 15-8, though, the MACU offense came to life. The Evangels put together a 7-0 run that included a pair of aces from Maegan Plunk and four kills to tie the score at 15. CCCK scored the next three points to take the 18-15 lead, but a 5-0 MACU run gave the Evangels the lead, and MACU was able to close out the set in a 25-21 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set was close through the early going, but with MACU leading 10-8, the Evangels put the match away. A 7-0 spurt from the Evangels turned a two point lead into a nine point advantage, and that sealed the win. Junior Dianne Walter punctuated the victory with a pair of kills to end the match as MACU won the third set 25-11 to complete the sweep.
Walter finished with 10 of MACU's 40 kills, Da'Jah Thompson added nine, and Elena Hadzhieva chipped in seven. Alexa Bass dished out 27 assists, and Maegan Plunk added 12 digs.
MACU will hit the road on Tuesday night for a critical road test against the Southwestern Christian University Eagles (16-7, 9-7 SAC). The first serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
