OKLAHOMA CITY – After a very successful week for the Mid-America Christian athletic programs, Kyleigh Gibson and Jennifer Starwalt from the women's soccer team as well as Maegan Plunk from the volleyball team earned Sooner Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors.
The women's soccer team swept the honors with Gibson receiving the Offensive Player of the Week award while Starwalt took home the Defensive Player of the Week accolade.
A redshirt freshman forward from Moore, Okla., Gibson spearheaded the Evangels attack in their 4-1 win over Arizona Christian and 2-0 victory at Sterling College.
In those matches, Gibson by became the first MACU player to record back-to-back multi-goal games since Brittney Stephens during the 2017 season with a pair of goals in each contest.
Gibson notched the game-winning goals in both games with her seventh minute score against Arizona Christian and her go-ahead goal in the 29th minute against Sterling.
A junior goalkeeper who is also from Moore, Starwalt earned her first weekly award after pitching her eighth career shutout against Sterling. In the two matches combined, Starwalt only conceded one goal that came on a penalty kick while tallying 11 saves, seven of which set in the Arizona Christian match.
With the volleyball team getting off to its best start in conference play in the history of the program, Plunk earned the Defender of the Week honors. Plunk became the first Evangel to earn the weekly volleyball SAC award since Shannon Niemeier took home the Player of the Week accolade on Sept. 29, 2014 and the second player to ever get a weekly award.
The Rowlett, Texas native wrapped up her weekend with 57 digs in the three matches, averaging 5.18 digs per set. Plunk tallied 23 digs in a grind-it-out four-set affair against Oklahoma Panhandle State while finishing with 18 digs in just three sets in the Evangels' first ever win against Wayland Baptist. Plunk also set a career milestone against the Aggies, tallying her 1000th career collegiate dig.
The Evangels volleyball team will be back in-action tonight for their home-opener against Southwestern Christian at 7 p.m. The women's soccer team will also return home this week for a Friday match starting at 3 p.m. against Bethel (Kan.).
