OKLAHOMA CITY – Senior setter and right side hitter Alexa Bass recorded her second career triple-double to lead the Mid-America Christian volleyball team to a 3-0 start in Sooner Athletic Conference play as the Evangels defeated Southwestern Christian 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-13, 25-20) in their home opener Tuesday night.
Junior outside hitter Hannah Focker led the offensive attack with 19 kills on a .286 attack percentage while senior outside hitter Elena Hadzhieva chipped in 13 kills as well.
Mid-America Christian (5-3, 3-0 SAC) got off to a slow start in the opening set, trailing by as much as five at 10-6. However, the Evangels were able to rally back in the set, scoring nine of the next 11 points to take a 15-12 lead.
Southwestern Christian (2-5, 0-3 SAC) managed to hang with MACU, keeping the match to within a point at 20-19, but the Evangels closed out the set on a 5-1 run that featured three Focker kills and was closed out an Alexa Bass kill for the 25-20 win.
After trading 4-0 runs in the second set, the Evangels answered back with another 5-0 run that included two more Focker kills and a Maddie Callicoat kill to make it 9-4. Mid-America Christian maintained at a four-point edge until the midway point of the set but with the Eagles trailing 14-10, SCU rattled off 13 of the next 18 points to take their largest lead at 23-19.
The Evangels didn't go down without a fight, as MACU streaked out to a 4-1 run with two Focker kills to close the gap to 24-23. However, the Eagles were able to sneak away with the set win on the ensuing possession on a Bayleigh Murphy kill.
Mid-America Christian swung the momentum back in its favor in the third set as the Evangels never trailed. After getting off to a 3-0 start. MACU slowly built its lead up to eight midway through with an 11-4 run to garner a 16-8 advantage.
The Eagles clawed back to trim the MACU lead to five at 17-12, but the Evangels found their footing again late, wrapping up the set on an 8-1 run that included six unanswered points thanks to a pair of service aces by Kaylie Walker and a Bass kill, sealing the 25-13 win.
The fourth and final set was tightly contested throughout, seeing 12 ties and five lead changes with the final tie coming on an SCU kill by Cashlyn Munroe to make it 16-all. Back-to-back kills by Callicoat gave the Evangels some breathing room and a quick 3-0 run moments later with a pair of Focker kills and a Hadzihieva kill stretched the MACU lead to 22-18.
The Evangels scored three of the last four points in the match, ending on a Bass kill on the right side to close out the 25-20 set win for their third straight win to start out SAC play.
Setter Ryann Hale matched Bass with 23 assists while Plunk led the defensive efforts with 20 digs.
Mid-America Christian will return to the road later this week for one of their most challenging contests of the season when they take on cross town rival Oklahoma City on Saturday. The match is slated for a 1 p.m. start in Abe Lemons Arena.
