OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian volleyball team started off the second half of Sooner Athletic Conference play on the right foot as the Evangels defeated Oklahoma Panhandle State in straight sets (25-22, 25-14, 25-19) Friday night at the Gaulke Activity Center.
Senior outside hitter Elena Hadzhieva led the Mid-America Christian (9-7, 7-4 SAC) attack with 11 kills and redshirt sophomore setter Ryann Hale recorded a career-high six service aces, the highest individual mark from the service line for the Evangels this season.
In the opening set, Oklahoma Panhandle State (6-12, 3-8 SAC) hung with the Evangels through the first six points until MACU got some breathing room with a 9-4 run, which started with three unanswered thanks to a service ace from Hannah Focker to give the Evangels the 12-7 lead.
MACU built its lead to as much as six at 15-9 with a Hale service ace, but the Aggies stormed back by tallying five of the next six points to close the gap to 16-14, prompting MACU Head Coach Kevin Fitzgibbon to call a timeout.
The Aggies and Evangels split the next six points until MACU rattled off three in a row due in large part to a Hadzhieva kill along with a Dianne Walter, Skylar Brower assisted block to make it 22-17 and put the pressure back on the Aggies to rally.
OPSU battled back with a 5-1 run to shrink the Evangels advantage to 23-22, but a pair of Focker kills thwarted the rally, giving Mid-America Christian the 25-22 set one win.
After hitting just .087 in the first set, the MACU offense came out fired up in the second set. The Evangels opened the period with a 10-4 run that included three Hale service aces along with a pair of Alexa Bass kills and a Hadzhieva kill.
The Aggies stayed within striking distance over the next seven points, but the Evangels stretched their lead to eight after a Focker kill ignited a 3-0 run that was capped by two more Hale service aces. OPSU continued to fight back throughout, trimming the lead to five once again at 19-14 before the Evangels went on a strong run to close out the set.
MACU retaliated by rattling off six straight, five of which came via the kill as a Hadzhieva's putdown ignited the run while Walter and Maddie Callicoat each tallied two for the 25-14 set two win. Despite the sluggish start to set one, the Evangels offense was anything but in the second, hitting for a .423 attack percentage.
The Aggies had the momentum early in the third set, leading for a majority of the first half, but MACU would not allow Oklahoma Panhandle to pull away, keeping the OPSU lead to just two until it was a 12-10 score.
Following a Brower kill and with Walter at the service line, MACU regained its composure as the Evangels streaked in-front with nine unanswered. Brower and Walter tallied six of the nine points with Brower slamming down four kills and Walter picking up a pair of aces to set the score at 19-12.
OPSU managed to close the gap to four at 22-18, but following an Evangels timeout, MACU straightened things out by scoring three of the last four points as Hadzhieva's 11th kill of the match on set point sealed the victory.
Bass led the Evangels setting game with 25 assists to go with seven digs while Maegan Plunk led the back line with 14 digs. Brower and Faith Foutch led MACU at the net with three total blocks each.
After picking up a pair of blocks in the match, Walter moved up the Mid-America Christian record books, tying her for the ninth-most career blocks in program history with Jennifer Roselius at 129 total blocks.
Mid-America Christian will have a weekend break before Wayland Baptist comes to town for a 7 p.m. match at the Gaulke Activity Center on Monday.
