OKLAHOMA CITY – Mid-America Christian volleyball will be looking to close out its three-match road swing on a high note as the Evangels will head to Waxahachie, Texas on Friday for a 7 p.m. match at Southwestern Assemblies of God before traveling to Fort Worth, Texas to face Texas Wesleyan at 1 p.m. on Saturday.


LAST TIME OUT

Mid-America Christian (8-5, 6-2 Sooner Athletic Conference) split a pair of matches last week, sweeping the University of Science and Arts in straight sets (25-15, 25-11, 25-19) before falling in a three-set match at John Brown (18-25, 18-25, 17-25).

In the victory over USAO, the Evangels limited the Drovers to a zero attack percentage while Hanna Focker recorded a double-double with 12 digs and 11 kills to go with a career-high five service aces. Elena Hadzhieva led the Evangels attack, turning in a match-high 12 kills.

Against the Golden Eagles, MACU struggled to slow down the aggressive John Brown attack as JBU finished the match with a .305 attack percentage as opposed to MACU's .120. Focker led the Evangels with 10 kills while Maegan Plunk led the defensive efforts with 11 digs.


SCOUTING THE LADY LIONS

Southwestern Assemblies of God enters the weekend with a 11-6 record and a 5-3 mark in SAC games. The Lady Lions are in the midst of a three-match win streak after picking a pair of 3-1 road victories at Wayland Baptist (25-16, 24-26, 25-22, 25-15) and Oklahoma Panhandle State (25-23, 24-26, 25-18, 25-20) last week.

SAGU is led by a pair of players with more than 200 kills already this season as freshman outside hitter Ava Myers has 213 kills on a .241 attack percentage and sophomore outside hitter Alexis Mealer has 203 kills on a .281 percentage. Both players rank in the top five of the conference in attack percentage.

Senior setter Sophia Ivy will run the offense, leading the SAC with 658 assists at a 10.1 per game clip. Defensively, senior middle hitter is the Lady Lions top presence at the net with 49 total blocks, averaging 0.8 blocks per set while junior libero Nikki Almaguer leads the backline defense with 224 digs.


HISTORY WITH THE LADY LIONS

While the 2019 MACU volleyball team is accustomed to breaking long losing streaks, they'll set their sights on one more with SAGU as the Lady Lions hold a 30-5 edge in the all-time series and have won the last 13 matchups.

However, the last time the Evangels did beat SAGU was in Waxahachie, Texas on Nov. 15, 2012 in straight sets (25-20, 25-23, 25-22). Jordan Batley led the Evangels with 14 kills while Taryn Walker chipped in 11 in the victory. Calle Solie efficiently dished out 37 assists and four different Evangels recorded 10 or more digs.


SCOUTING THE RAMS

Texas Wesleyan makes its way into the weekend with a 10-6 record and are currently tied with Mid-America Christian for third in the SAC at 6-2. Last week, the Rams gutted out a 3-2 (25-22, 20-25, 25-21, 17-25, 15-7) win at Wayland Baptist before dominating Oklahoma Panhandle State, sweeping the Aggies in straight sets (25-19, 25-9, 25-9).

The Rams have two of the top attackers in the SAC in Veronika Webb and Chastiny Brown. A middle blocker from Houston, Brown leads the team with 151 kills on a .257 attack percentage, the fourth-best rate in the conference while Webb has 130 kills on a .272 percentage, the third-best percentage in the SAC. On the whole, the Rams balanced attack has four players with more than 100 kills on the season.

Setting up the Rams attack are a pair of setters in Brenda Pargas and Morgan Burns. Pargas leads the team with 318 assists while Burns has chipped in 214 this season. On top of being TWU's top attacker, Brown has also been the Rams best presence at the net defensively with a team-leading 53 blocks. When the ball does reach the backline, it will most likely be junior outside hitter Madison Lopez receiving it with a team-leading 268 digs.


HISTORY WITH THE RAMS

The Evangels will be seeking their first win ever against Texas Wesleyan as the Rams have won the first 15 meetings since their first ever match in 2005. The last time the two teams met in Fort Worth, Texas, MACU gave the Rams a tough fight in a 3-1 loss (25-22, 21-25, 12-25, 22-25).  


BASS FISHING FOR SOME RECORDS

While she is unlikely to catch Solie's 3675 career assists, senior setter and right side hitter Alexa Bass has a strong opportunity to move into second all-time for career assists in MACU's record book this weekend. The Argyle, Texas native enters the two-game road trip with 947 assists, just 33 behind Melissa Hoppal's second-best career mark of 980.


SERVING FOR SEVEN