LANGSTON, Okla. – The Mid-America Christian University volleyball team opened a week that will see the Evangels play three regular matches and an exhibition tilt in the span of five days when they headed north to take on the newest member of the Sooner Athletic Conference. The Evangels and Langston Lions did battle in the C.F. Gayles Field House, and thanks to an incredibly balanced offense, the Evangels cruised to a straight sets win.
MACU (6-2, 2-2 SAC) had five different hitters with at least five kills, and Gabrielle Poling added an impressive five service aces as the Evangels defeated Langston (1-9, 0-5 SAC)) 26-24, 25-19, 25-16.
The first set was a back and forth affair early, but midway through the frame, a trio of kills from Maegan Plunk, Da'Jah Thompson, and Annika Barnett gave MACU a 12-10 lead and forced Langston into a timeout. Dianne Walter added a pair of kills after the timeout, as MACU stretched their lead to 16-12, but a 5-0 Langston run gave the Lions the lead back at 17-16. MACU won three of next five points to level the set at 19, but four straight points from Langston gave the Lions a 23-19 edge, and the Lions appeared poised to win their first set in SAC play, and just their third set of the year. MACU, however, had other ideas, as the Evangels got a pair of kills from Alexa Bass as a part of a 6-0 run to help MACU take the set 26-24.
The second set was all about the long runs. MACU opened with a 6-1 run that included two kills from Annika Barnett, but that run was answered by a 7-1 run from Langston that gave the Lions an 8-7 lead. An 8-2 run from MACU put the Evangels up 15-10, but again Langston answered, this time with an 8-3 run to tie the score at 18. MACU closed out the set with a 7-1 run, highlighted by a trio of aces from Poling as MACU claimed the set 25-19.
MACU took an early 12-6 lead in the third set, but Langston put together one last gasp in the form of a 7-1 run to tie the score at 13. The Evangels, however, put the set and the match away with an 11-1 run that included kills from Barnett, Bass, Poling, Walter, and Elena Hadzhieva as the Evangels won the set 25-16 and the match 3-0.
MACU had 33 kills in the match, which were split very evenly. Hadzhieva and Walter each had six kills to lead the way, with Thompson, Bass, and Barnett adding five apiece. Bass dished out 16 assists, Poling notched five aces, and Kaylie Walker (14) and Plunk (11) each had more than 10 digs. Walter and Skylar Brower each participated in three blocks as well.
MACU will be back in action on Thursday night in McPherson, Kansas when they head to Central Christian College (0-5, 0-5 SAC) for a 6 p.m. match.
