WINFIELD, Kan. – Playing in one of the oldest facilities west of the Mississippi River on Friday night, the Mid-America Christian University volleyball team took to the court against a pair of formidable foes from the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Evangels took part in a tri-match at Southwestern College (Kan.) where they faced Kansas Wesleyan University and the host Moundbuilders.
The Evangels (7-7) struggled to avoid errors in both matches, and as a result, they lost to both opponents. MACU dropped the match to KWU (14-5) in straight sets, 25-17, 25-18, and 25-21; then after a 32-30 opening set win over the Moundbuilders (15-6), the Evangels lost the next three 25-19, 25-14, and 25-22.
The Evangels took two of the first three points of their match against the Coyotes to open the night, but KWU immediately answered with an 8-0 run to seize control. The Coyotes pushed their lead to 11 points twice in the set, but MACU did battle back. The Evangels used a 4-0 run to trim the deficit to 17-10, and later, a 6-2 MACU spurt pulled the Evangels within five at 21-16. That was as close as they got in the set though, as KWU won four of the final five points to take the set 25-17
Set two was similar to set one, in that MACU took an early lead, and KWU came from behind to take a sizeable lead late, but this time the Coyotes stretched their lead out more slowly. With the Evangels leading 5-4, a 5-0 KWU run gave the Coyotes a 9-5 lead, but the Evangels stabilized that margin, and they eventually pulled within three at 14-11. The Coyotes answered, however, pushing their lead to 20-13, and despite a late surge from MACU, KWU took the set 25-18 to take a 2-0 lead.
MACU again took the early lead in the third set, but KWU quickly answered, and they slowly inched into the lead. The Coyotes used a 4-1 spurt midway through the set to take a 14-9 lead, and from that point on, the score was not closer than three points again. The teams traded a pair of late 5-0 runs, but ultimately, it did not matter, as KWU took the set 25-21 and the match 3-0.
The teams combined for only 64 kills in the match, and both teams failed to hit the ball at a .150 clip. Skylar Brower, Da'Jah Thompson, and Annika Barnett each tied for the MACU team lead with six kills, Alexa Bass (16) and Morgan Van Meir (10) each reached double figures in assists, and Maegan Plunk had a team-high 16 digs.
After a 30 minute break, the Evangels and Moundbuilders took to the floor, and MACU took an early lead in the first set. MACU trailed only once in the first 34 points of the frame, at 9-8, but the Builders kept things close, and with the score tied at 23, the drama began to increase. Both teams had multiple set point chances in the stanza, and on their third such chance, MACU took advantage on a kill from Elena Hadzhieva to take the set 32-30.
The Moundbuilders regrouped, though, and in the second set, Southwestern opened on a 5-0 run and quickly took a 9-2 lead. The Southwestern lead eventually reached 11, and much like in the first two sets against Kansas Wesleyan, the Evangels were left to battle from behind. A 7-1 run pulled MACU within five at 18-13, but that proved to be the closest score in the remainder of the frame, as Southwestern leveled the match with a 25-19 set win.
Another slow start in the third set for MACU led to an 8-1 Moundbuilders' lead, and this time, MACU struggled to make any dent in the margin. The score was never closer than six points in the rest of the stanza, and a set-ending 5-0 run helped Southwestern take the set 25-14 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
MACU started out on fire in the fourth frame. The Evangels surged to a 9-3 lead in the set and appeared poised to send the match to a fifth set, but Southwestern quickly answered. A 7-1 Moundbuilders' run knotted the score at 10, and the teams remained close for the rest of the night. A 3-0 Southwestern run gave the Moundbuilders a 17-15 lead, but MACU summoned one last gasp to tie the set at 22. Unfortunately for the Evangels, a critically timed service error gave the ball back to the Moundbuilders, and Southwestern put away the final two points of the night to take the set 25-22 and the match 3-1.
Thompson led MACU with 15 kills, and Barnett added 11 in the match. Bass handed out 29 assists, and Van Meir contributed 14 helpers; and on the back row, Plunk pulled up 16 digs, and Kaylie Walker added 13. Bass and Plunk added three service aces apiece.
MACU will return to Sooner Athletic Conference play on Tuesday night when they host the University of Science & Arts (Okla.) Drovers (4-12, 2-5 SAC) at 7 p.m.
