OKLAHOMA CITY – Coming off a solid showing at the SAC/RRAC Crossover, the Mid-America Christian volleyball team will look to open Sooner Athletic Conference play on a high note this weekend.
The Evangels will start conference play at Wayland Baptist at 7 p.m. after facing Our Lady of the Lake in a non-conference match at 5 p.m. in Plainview, Texas. MACU will then travel to Goodwell, Okla. to take on Oklahoma Panhandle State at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
LAST TIME OUT
Mid-America Christian enters the weekend series two weeks removed from the SAC/RRAC Crossover, hosted by Oklahoma City University on Aug. 23 and 24. The Evangels split the four-match swing, picking up wins against University of the Southwest (N.M.) in the Friday match and defeating Paul Quinn in three sets on Saturday.
MACU was able to go toe-to-toe with the RRAC preseason favorite Huston-Tillotson before falling in the fifth set in their Aug. 24 matchup. In the five-set strife, Evangels newcomer Hannah Focker tied the MACU school record for most kills in a match with 27, drawing even with Cris Smith's mark set against Southern Nazarene (Okla.) during the 2010 season. The Sudlohn, Germany product was also able to lay down four service aces while recording 10 digs on the defense.
Focker was just as impressive in MACU's three-set win over Paul Quinn, smashing 11 kills on a .526 attack percentage while finishing with 11 digs for her second double-double on the day.
SCOUTING THE SAINTS
Our Lady of the Lake enters the Friday series with a 4-1 record in non-conference play and were picked to finish third in the Red River Athletic Conference.
The Saints are coming off a split at the Huston-Tillotson Tournament, dropping their first match of the season in a 3-2 decision to Texas Wesleyan before bouncing back with a 3-0 win over Dillard in their final match.
The balanced OLLU attack is led by middle blocker Bailei Hubbard, who has recorded 53 kills and reached double-digit kills in four of the Saints' five matches this season. Outside hitter Natalie Fazio and Anyssa Rivera will also look to contribute to the OLLU offense, recording 45 and 43 kills respectively.
The catalyst for the Saints attack is setter Anissa Tamez. The two-time RRAC Setter of the Week has notched 176 assists this season, including a season-best 45 against Texas Wesleyan last week.
On defense, Hubbard has been a strong defensive presence at the net with 15 of the team's 29 blocks while libero Elizabeth Oliverez controls the backline with a team-leading 61 digs.
HISTORY WITH THE SAINTS
Friday's match will mark only the second meeting in the history of the Evangels and Saints programs. MACU will look to avenge its lone loss to Our Lady of the Lake, which came in a 3-0 defeat back on Sept. 12, 2014.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Wayland Baptist makes its way into SAC play with a 4-5 record and a 1-0 mark at home this season. Last week, the Pioneers competed in the Mile High Challenge in Denver, Colo., coming out victorious in three of their four matches. WBU won a pair of five-set decisions against Presentation College (S.D.) and Friends University (Kan.) before splitting their Aug. 31 matches, dropping a 3-1 decision to Dickinson State (N.D.) and wrapping up the tournament with a straight set sweep over Johnson & Wales (Colo.).
The Pioneers will look to center their attack around sophomore Tatijana Markic, who leads the squad with 119 kills through nine matches, which includes a 28-kill performance against Friends University last week.
WBU runs a 6-2 rotation that features a pair of standout setters in Lucie Mahelova and Renzelle Horner. Mahelova leads the team with 144 assists, averaging 7.2 assists per set while Horner has tallied 128 assists on a 5.82 per set clip.
On the defense, junior Kellie Kozak controls the net presence for the Pioneers, recording a team-high 23 blocks while Amber Daniel runs the back line defense with a team-leading 108 digs at 4.15 digs per set.
HISTORY WITH THE PIONEERS
MACU will be looking to move past its tumultuous history with the Pioneers, falling to Wayland Baptist in its 27 previous meetings since the series began in 2004. In 2018, Mid-America Christian lost in straight sets to WBU on the road, but were able to challenge the Pioneers at home on Oct. 6, 2018. The Evangels forced extra points in the first set with Wayland, winning 27-25 before MACU took set two by a score of 25-19. The Evangels were able to hang in the final two sets, but the Pioneers were able to come away with 25-20 and 25-21 wins to halt the potential Evangels upset.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
Oklahoma Panhandle State enters SAC play this weekend with a 3-4 record in non-conference action. The Aggies last week split a weekend series with their home tri-match, falling in straight sets to the University of the Southwest (N.M.) before bouncing back with a 3-1 win over Sterling (Kan.) on Aug. 30. OPSU started off the week with a win over Oklahoma Wesleyan on Sept. 3, sweeping the Eagles 3-0.
With a balanced offensive attack that features three players with 40 or more kills, Kendra Butler leads the way with a team-high 58 kills on a blistering .319 attack percentage.
The offensive pace will be controlled by setter Deagan Dingman, who leads the team with 140 assists, tallying a season-high 44 assists against Avila (Mo.) on Aug. 24.
On top of being the team's best attacker, Butler can provide some frustrations at the net with her defense, leading the squad with 17 total blocks on the season. On the defensive backline, the Aggies feature three players with more than 70 digs with Ashley Sanchez topping the team with 78.
HISTORY WITH THE AGGIES
A relative newcomer to the Sooner Athletic Conference, Oklahoma Panhandle State holds a slight 4-3 edge in the all-time series against the Evangels. However, momentum has been on MACU's side in the series as of late with the Evangels taking the last three matches against the Aggies. The series has been tightly contested in those three matches with Mid-America Christian winning a pair of five-set affairs, including a 3-2 victory over OPSU in their Oct. 5 match at the Gaulke Activity Center.
WALLOPING WALTER
In her final season with the Evangels, senior middle blocker Dianne Walter has been MACU's most effective attacker. The Vancouver, Wash. native ranks third on the team with a 22 kills on an incredibly efficient .340 attack percentage. Walter has recorded a .600 or better attack percentage in two matches so far this season, including a season-high .615 with nine kills against the University of the Southwest as well as a nine-kill effort on a .600 attack percentage in the Evangels three-set sweep over Paul Quinn. Walter has played an intricate role in the Evangels' wins this season, totaling a .607 percentage in MACU's victories.
BULGARIAN BLASTER
Senior outside hitter Elena Hadzhieva has stepped into the role as one of MACU's top attackers so far during the 2019 campaign. The Razlog, Bulgaria product is currently tied with Focker with the team-leading 38 kills at a 2.92 kills per set ratio, ranking 1.07 higher than her 2018 clip. Hadzhieva racked up a season-high 15 kills in MACU's five-set loss to Huston-Tillotson.
SERVING UP THE COMPETITION
In the Evangels' last match against Paul Quinn, MACU served up a season-high 12 service aces in just three sets. Junior defensive specialist Maegan Plunk was especially efficient from the service line, tying a career-high five aces, matching output from Oct. 16, 2018 against Langston (Okla.). Focker and Alexa Bass also played intricate roles from the service line, notching three assists apiece.
