FORT WORTH, Texas – The Mid-America Christian volleyball team struggled to get an offensive flow at Texas Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon as the Evangels fell 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-14) on Saturday.

Senior outside hitter Elena Hadzhieva led the Evangels attack with nine kills, but Mid-America Christian (8-7, 6-4 Sooner Athletic Conference) could only muster a .053 attack percentage against Texas Wesleyan (12-6, 8-2 SAC) while the Rams hit for a .310 clip.

After falling behind by as much as five early in the first set at 7-2, MACU hung with the Rams, slowly chipping away at the lead throughout before eventually closing the gap to one at 17-16 following Elena Hadzhieva kills,a Ryann Hale service ace and a TWU attack error.

However, the Rams closed out the set with a strong run, tallying eight of the last nine points come away with the 25-17 set one win.

The Evangels kept things close right away in set two as a kill and block by Maddie Callicoat and a kill from Alexa Bass locked the set up at 5-5. However, the Rams went on an 8-1 run to surge ahead by a 13-6 margin.

Texas Wesleyan grew its lead to as much as nine at 21-12 before the Evangels came rallying back. A pair of service aces from Hale and Dianne Walter, a kill from Callicoat and an assisted block by Hadzhieva brought MACU back to within four at 21-17. The Rams were still able to hold off the Evangels rally, scoring three of the last five points to take set two 25-20.

The Rams held the momentum immediately in the third set by opening the period with a 15-4 run. The Evangels were unable to string together a comeback as Texas Wesleyan claimed a 25-14 set three victory to end the match.

Libero Maegan Plunk led the MACU defensive efforts with 14 digs while Alexa Bass dished out a team-high 12 assists.