OKLAHOMA CITY – Junior outside hitter Hannah Focker recorded 21 kills on a blistering .500 hitting percentage to lead the Mid-America Christian volleyball team to a series sweep over Wayland Baptist, topping the Pioneers 3-0 (25-20, 25-11, 25-17) at the Gaulke Activity Center on Monday night.
After picking up its first win over Wayland Baptist (10-14, 5-7 Sooner Athletic Conference) in program history in Plainview, Texas back on Sept. 6, Mid-America Christian (10-7, 8-4 SAC) established a streak of their own over the Pioneers by not dropping a single set to Wayland during the 2019 regular season.
The Evangels as a whole dominated both offensively and defensively, hitting for a .301 attack percentage while limiting the Pioneers to a .030 clip, the second-lowest percentage MACU has allowed all season.
Mid-America Christian got out to a fast start in the opening set, winning seven of the first 10 rallies as Focker recorded four of the Evangels' seven points on three kills and a service ace. The Evangels maintained their four-point edge until the score was 15-11, but Wayland Baptist strung together a 6-1 run to take its first lead of the match.
Following an exchange of points, MACU surged back in-front with back-to-back Focker kills and a Dianne Walter service ace to make it a 20-18 Evangels advantage.
The Pioneers took two of the next three to close the gap to 21-20, but the Evangels closed out the set with a strong run, tallying four unanswered to claim the 25-20 set one victory.
The Evangels had an electrifying start to the second set, stringing together a 6-1 run that contained three more Focker kills to force the Pioneers to call an early timeout.
Wayland Baptist narrowed the gap with a pair of points, but the Evangels swung back by taking 10 of the next 13 rallies. During the run, Elena Hadzhieva notched a trio of kills, Focker added a pair and Faith Foutch tallied two points on a kill and a solo block to go with a Ryann Hale service ace to extend the MACU lead to 16-6.
The Pioneers could not muster a rally against the stifling Evangels defense as MACU ran away with the set, scoring nine of the last 14 points to control set two, 25-11. It was the second-most dominant set the Evangels had won all season, finishing only behind a 25-8 set three win over Paul Quinn back on Aug. 24.
Set three was tightly contested early as the first 14 rallies saw eight ties and three lead changes to lead up to a 7-7 deadlock before MACU sprinted out in-front with a 4-0 run featuring kills from Focker and Hadzhieva to go with a Kaylie Walker service ace.
Wayland Baptist was able to keep within striking distance until the score was 16-12 before rattling off three in a row to narrow the MACU edge to one, prompting MACU head coach Kevin Fitzgibbon to call a timeout.
Two rallies after the timeout, the Evangels reclaimed all the momentum, pulling away with a 9-2 streak that was fittingly finished with a vicious Focker kill on match point to win set three 25-17 to complete the three-set victory.
On top of Focker's fantastic game, Hadzhieva was just as strong off the bench, tallying 13 kills on a .407 attack percentage. Senior setter Alexa Bass put together one of the best three-set matches of her career with 33 assists to go with 12 digs.
Maegan Plunk led three Evangels defensively with double-digit digs, totaling 18 for the match while Hale finished with 10 digs and a team-high three service aces.
Mid-America Christian will close out its three-match home stand on Thursday as the Evangels will host No. 24 Oklahoma City at 7 p.m. in a crucial conference showdown.
