OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian University volleyball team opened their home season on Friday night in the Gaulke Activity center, becoming the first MACU team to open up their home slate in 2018. In front of a raucous crowd, the Evangels pushed John Brown University to the brink before falling late.
MACU (5-2, 1-2 SAC) had three hitters in double-figures in the match and Alexa Bass notched her first MACU triple-double, but late struggled from the Evangels helped JBU (2-5, 2-1 SAC) rally for a five set win 25-27, 25-20, 19-25, 25-17, 15-10.
MACU opened an early 7-4 first set lead, but a 7-2 JBU run vaulted the Golden Eagles in front 12-10. The Evangels quickly surged back in front, aided by four straight attack errors by JBU, but the Eagles righted the ship and took a 19-17 lead with a 4-0 spurt late in the stanza. The teams then traded runs of 5-0 (MACU) and 4-0 (JBU) to give the Golden Eagles a 23-22 lead late, but a JBU service error opened the door for MACU. MACU scored their last four points of the set on kills, and the Evangels too the opening frame 27-25.
After MACU took the first three points of the second frame, a 7-0 JBU run turned the tide of the second frame. MACU rallied with a 5-1 run to tie the score at 8-8, but JBU put together a long 8-2 run to open a 16-10 lead and they never looked back. The Golden Eagles held off one last charge from MACU that cut the deficit to 22-18 before taking the set 25-20.
JBU took an early 5-3 lead in set three, but the MACU block helped launch an 8-2 run that gave the Evangels an 11-7 lead. JBU came back and knotted the score at 12, and with the set tied at 14, MACU seized the momentum for good. A 6-1 run gave MACU a 20-15 lead on their way to a 25-19 set win that put the Evangels on the doorstep of snapping a 10-match skid against JBU.
The fourth set, however, was all JBU. The Golden Eagles hit .359 as a team in set four and they made only one attack error in the frame. JBU opened a 19-9 lead and put things on cruise control from there, taking the 25-17 set win and squaring the match.
MACU took an early 4-1 lead in the deciding set, but a 6-1 run gave the Golden Eagles an 8-5 edge at the change of playing areas. MACU managed to close to within two at 9-7, but a 4-0 run from JBU put the match firmly in their pocket. One last 3-0 spurt from MACU cut the deficit to 13-10, but an attack error and a block sealed the win for JBU, 15-10.
MACU belted 53 kills in the match, led by Annika Barnett's 12. Da'Jah Thompson added 11, and Bass had 10 kills as well. Bass led the way with 24 assists, and she completed the triple-double with a dozen digs. Morgan Van Meir also had a double-double with 21 assists and 11 digs, and Maegan Plunk (24), Gabrielle Poling (16), and Kaylie Walker (14) also had at least 10 digs. Dianne Walter was in on four blocks in the match, and she added eight kills while hitting .364 in the match.
MACU will return to the floor on Tuesday evening when they head north to face the newest member of the Sooner Athletic Conference, the Langston University Lions (1-4, 0-4 SAC). First serve is slated for 7 p.m.
