McPHERSON, Kan. – The Mid-America Christian University volleyball team continues to play well under first year head coach Faith Avalos. The Evangels went on the road on Thursday night, and for the second time in three nights, MACU swept away a Sooner Athletic Conference opponent.
MACU (7-2, 3-2 SAC) set the tone for the night with a 12-0 run late in the first set, and the Evangels cruised to a sweep of the Central Christian College (Kan.) Tigers (0-6, 0-6 SAC) 25-16, 27-25, 25-14.
Central Christian scored the first two points and eased out to a 5-4 lead early. MACU scored the next four points, with Elena Hadzhieva notching a kill and Maegan Plunk recording an ace during the spurt. Central Christian rallied to take a 13-11 lead, but then MACU seized control. Annika Barnett had three kills as a part of a 12-0 run that helped MACU turn the deficit into a 23-13 lead, and the Evangels coasted in with a 25-16 set win.
MACU took an early 7-5 lead in the second set, but Central Christian came back and grabbed a 14-11 edge. It was at that point that Gabrielle Poling served an 8-0 run that included three aces and helped MACU to claim a 19-11 advantage, but again the Tigers came back. CCCK tied the score at 22, but MACU held the Tigers off for a 27-25 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third stanza was close through the early stages, but with MACU trailing 9-1, the Evangels rattled off a 6-1 run to take a 13-10 lead. CCCK closed to 14-12, but from that point on, MACU was in total control. The Evangels scored 11 of the final 13 points in the match, and Plunk ended the evening with an ace to give MACU a 25-14 win in the set and a three set sweep.
Hadzhieva and Barnett led the way offensively with eight kills each, and Alexa Bass and Morgan Van Meir dished out double digit assists with 14 and 11, respectively. Plunk had 11 digs in the match, and Kaylie Walker added 10 as well.
MACU will step out of conference play on Saturday for a unique non-conference double-header. The Evangels will head to Arkadelphia, Arkansas to take on the Henderson State University Reddies (12-2). The Evangels will play the Reddies varsity team at 2 p.m., and the Evangels will stay on the court to take on the Reddies junior varsity squad in an exhibition match at 4 p.m.
