GOODWELL, Okla. – The Mid-America Christian University volleyball team returned to the court on Saturday afternoon just more than 12 hours after taking their first loss of the season. The Evangels bounced back on Saturday, taking a pair of wins at Oklahoma Panhandle State University to level their Sooner Athletic Conference record and improving to three games above the break even point.
MACU (4-1, 1-1 SAC) needed four sets, but the Evangels ousted the host OPSU Aggies (1-7, 0-2 SAC) in their first match of the day, taking the victory 25-17, 24-26, 25-17, 25-14. In the second match of the day, MACU took on Oklahoma Wesleyan University (3-4), and the Evangels won the match in five sets 25-20, 25-27, 25-14, 24-26, 16-14.
In their first set of the day, MACU battled evenly early with OPSU. Midway through the stanza, however, MACU used a series of short bursts to turn a 10-8 lead into a 22-13 advantage. The overall run featured three kills from Elena Hadzhieva and two from Da'Jah Thompson. OPSU scored three straight to pull within six at 22-16, but MACU claimed three of the final four points, with another Thompson kill sealing the set win 25-17.
In the second set, MACU built a modest early lead, and they led by five late in the stanza, 19-14, but a 7-3 OPSU run closed the gap to a single point at 22-21 MACU. Moments later, the Aggies drew even at 23, and though Hadzhieva notched a kill to give MACU a set point opportunity, the Aggies finished the frame with three straight tallies to take the stanza 26-24 and square the match at one set apiece.
OPSU held a one point led in the third frame, 14-13, when MACU seized control of the set. MACU closed the stanza on a 12-3 run, highlighted by a trio of kills from Thompson, and MACU took the set 25-17 to grab a 2-1 lead in the match.
MACU sought to put the fourth set away early, racing out of the gate on an 8-2 run, but OPSU matched that with their own 8-2 spurt to knot the score at 10. From there, however, the match was all MACU, as the Evangels scored 15 of the final 19 points in the match, taking the fourth frame 25-14 and the match three sets to one.
Thompson hit .444 for the match, leading all players with 15 kills, and Hadzhieva added 11 scoring swings. Alexa Bass narrowly missed out on her third straight double-double, handing out 34 assists to go with eight digs, and Morgan Van Meir also had 15 assists in the match. Maegan Plunk paced the Evangels back line with 23 digs, and Kaylie Walker and Gabrielle Poling added 13 digs apiece as well. Walker also had a match-high five service aces.
The back half of the afternoon for MACU was a wild ride from start to finish.
Oklahoma Wesleyan came out of the gates on a 9-1 run, but they had only three kills during that span. The Evangels began to whittle away at that deficit, and MACU drew level at 17 as Thompson and Annika Barnett combined for five kills in the 16-8 spurt. MACU continued their slow takeover of the stanza over the final 11 points, taking eight of them and earning the set win 25-20.
The Eagles again started quickly in the second set, taking an 8-1 lead, but again, the Evangels began to whittle away. MACU tied the score at 13, and they continued that run to take a 15-13 lead. 10 of the 14 MACU points during the run came via the kill, but OKWU quickly answered to tie the score, and the teams traded points as the set wound down. MACU fended off one set-point chance for the Eagles, but after missing their own opportunity to take the set, the Evangels lost three straight points and Oklahoma Wesleyan took the stanza 27-25.
The Evangels hung closer to start the third set, but OKWU was still able to open up a modest 7-3 lead early. MACU, however, quickly wrestled control of the frame away of the Eagles. The Evangels notched 11 kills in the final 28 points of the set – winning 21 of those 28 points – and MACU moved to the brink of victory with a 25-14 set win.
In set four, it was MACU who came out on fire, building an early 7-2 lead. OKWU battled back to tie the score at eight, and after some point trading, MACU took a 16-12 advantage to set themselves up to potentially win it in four sets. MACU tried desperately to hang on to the lead, but the Eagles battled back to tie things up at 22, and after the Evangels claimed a 24-22 lead, OKWU fended off two match points as a part of a 4-0 run to end the set with a 26-24 win to force a decisive fifth stanza.
MACU took three of the first four points of the fifth set, but it was OKWU who opened a 7-4 lead and forced MACU into a timeout to break the momentum. MACU rallied to tie the score at seven, eight, and nine, before eventually opening an 11-9 lead. The MACU lead swelled to three at 13-10 late before four straight OKWU points gave the Eagles a match point chance. An attack error helped MACU stave off the chance, and after a kill from Thompson, a second error from OKWU gave the set to MACU 16-14, and the Evangels claimed the 3-2 match victory.
Thompson and Bass each had 14 kills to lead the way, while Annika Barnett added 11 in the match. Bass cashed in her third double-double in the first five matches with 27 assists, and she missed a triple-double by only one dig. Van Meir added a season-high 23 assists and she added a dozen digs for her first career double-double. Poling and Plunk each also had 26 digs.
MACU was to open their home slate on Wednesday, September 5 against Bacone College, however the Bacone Athletic department has announced that they will be unable to field a volleyball team this fall, so that match will be credited to MACU as a non-conference forfeit victory. The Evangels will be back on the court on Friday, September 7 when they host John Brown University (1-5, 1-1 SAC) at 7 p.m.
