GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Mid-America Christian volleyball team will compete for the NCCAA National Championship for the first time since the 2004 season, as the Evangels were selected as one of the eight teams in the championship field, announced by the NCCAA league office on Friday.
The NCCAA Division I National Championship Tournament will be held on the College of the Ozarks campus in Point Lookout, Mo. from Thursday, Dec. 5 to Saturday, Dec. 7.
Mid-America Christian will enter the tournament as the No. 5 seed and will be in Pool A with No. 8 seed Piedmont International, No. 4 seed Judson as well as top-seeded Sooner Athletic Conference rival Southwestern Assemblies of God.
The Evangels finished the regular season with a 14-12 record and put together their best finish in league play since joining the SAC in 2007, placing fifth with a 12-8 conference mark. Under first year head coach Kevin Fitzgibbon, it was MACU's first winning season since the 2012 campaign, when MACU went 18-16 and competed in the NCCAA Central Region Championship Tournament.
It is MACU's first time competing for the NCCAA Division I title since making the jump up from Division II in 2007. The Evangels will be seeking its second NCCAA National Championship in program history after winning the 2001 NCCAA Division II National Championship.
Over the course of the 2019 campaign, the Evangels set some milestone wins and were one of the most competitive teams in the Sooner Athletic Conference. On Sept. 6, Mid-America Christian won its first match ever against Wayland Baptist, snapping a 27-match losing streak dating back to 2004 with a 3-0 sweep over the Pioneers. MACU was also able to pick up a pair of victories over Southwestern Christian, who was also selected to compete at the 2019 NCCAA National Championships.
Even in a loss, the Evangels were the only team in the conference to take Oklahoma City (33-1), the SAC regular season and tournament champion to five sets as the Stars had to rally from two sets down to spoil the MACU upset at the Gaulke Activity Center on Oct. 17.
The Evangels will officially begin pool play against fourth-seeded Judson (Ill.) at 12 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 5 before taking on No. 1 seed SAGU at 4 p.m. MACU will then wrap up pool play on Dec. 6 at noon against No. 8 seed Piedmont International and if the Evangels finish as one of the top two teams in their pool, MACU will play in one of the two semifinal matches slated for 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The winners will advance to the championship match, slated for a 12 p.m. start on Saturday, Dec. 7.
