OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian volleyball team will look to rebound from its first Sooner Athletic Conference loss of the season as the Evangels will host Langston (Okla.) at 7 p.m. on Thursday before taking on Central Christian (Kan.) at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
LAST TIME OUT
Mid-America Christian (5-4, 3-1 SAC) was held to a season-low -0.96 attack percentage in facing its toughest opponent of the 2019 season thus far, dropping a 3-0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-21) decision to No. 24 Oklahoma City (10-1, 4-0 SAC) last Saturday.
The Evangels didn't go down without a fight in the third and final set as they were neck-and-neck with the Stars throughout until they tied it up at 20-20. However, OCU closed out the final set on a 5-1 run to seal MACU's defeat.
SCOUTING THE LADY LIONS
Langston is off to a rough start to the 2019 season, holding a 1-11 record and are 0-4 in SAC play. The Lady Lions lost a pair of hard-fought matches last weekend, falling 3-1 (22-25, 14-25, 27-25, 25-15) to Wayland Baptist on Friday before dropping a five-set thriller to Oklahoma Panhandle State (25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 20-25, 12-15) on Saturday. The Lady Lions also dropped a three-set affair at Southwestern College on Tuesday, falling 19-25, 10-25, 12-25.
The Lady Lions attack is led by sophomore outside hitter Brittani Bailey and sophomore middle blocker Antonese Tatum. Bailey leads the squad with 85 kills while Tatum has tallied 80 kills on a team-high 2.22 kills per set. Sophomore setter Jada Roland will command the LU offense with a team-leading 224 assists, averaging 6.22 assists per set.
Tatum will look to control the defensive flow at the net as she currently possesses 23 of the team's 40 total blocks while Bailey leads the back line with a team-best 78 digs.
HISTORY WITH THE LADY LIONS
The Evangels hold a 5-3 edge in the all-time series against Langston dating back to their first match in 2013. Despite getting off to a 1-3 start, MACU has taken four straight from the Lady Lions, including a pair of wins last season. In their last meeting on Oct. 16, 2018 in the Gaulke Activity Center, the Evangels overcame an opening set loss to defeat Langston 3-1 (19-25, 25-12, 25-14, 25-21). Elena Hadzhieva recorded a team-high 14 kills on a blistering .619 attack percentage while Alexa Bass finished with 26 assists.
SCOUTING THE LADY TIGERS
Central Christian enters the weekend with a 2-9 record overall and an 0-4 mark in SAC action. Last week, the Lady Tigers dropped a pair of three-set matches, falling to Oklahoma Panhandle State (15-25, 22-25, 15-25) on Friday and Wayland Baptist (8-25, 11-25, 11-25) on Saturday. The Lady Tigers dropped a three-set non-conference match at Sterling on Tuesday, by scores of 22-25, 13-25 and 15-25.
Junior Morgan Cook will spearhead the offensive attack as she leads the team with 83 kills on a .189 attack percentage. The Lady Tigers passing is led by freshman setter Kiarrah Carlisle with 165 assists while McKenzie Cook takes charge of the backline with a team-best 93 digs.
HISTORY WITH THE LADY TIGERS
MACU is undefeated against Central Christian in the all-time series, winning all five of their previous meetups. The Evangels swept the Lady Tigers in straight sets in both of last year's matches, including an Oct. 20 match that saw MACU dominate 25-11, 25-21, 25-11 at the Gaulke Activity Center. Dianne Walter led a balanced Evangels attack with a team-high 10 kills on a .500 attack percentage. Bass dished out 27 assists, averaging a nine assists per set in that home victory.
KILLER INSTINCT
The Mid-America Christian volleyball team as a whole has been scoring a good chunk of their points this season on the attack, recording 12.3 kills per set as opposed to just 9.8 kills per set for the Evangels' opponents. That mark currently ranks as the second-best kills per set ratio in the Sooner Athletic Conference, only behind current conference leader Oklahoma City. The Evangels also rank second in the conference in assists per set with an 11.5 average.
OPPONENTS GETTING PLUNK'D
Opposing defenses have been getting frustrated with the defensive efforts of junior libero Maegan Plunk. The Rowlett, Texas product currently leads the league at 5.5 digs per set, recording 176 digs in 32 sets of work. Despite suffering a loss in their last match against No. 24 Oklahoma City, Plunk was solid on the defensive end, coming away with 17 digs at a 5.67 digs per set ratio for the match.
