Mid-America Christian University

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian volleyball team made history in its home tri-match at the Gaulke Activity Center on Saturday as the 2020-21 Evangels team became the first program to record a seven-match win streak since joining NAIA in 2007. The Evangels opened the afternoon with a three-set sweep over Southwestern Christian before closing out the meet with a sweep over Central Christian.
 

GAME ONE / Mid-America Christian vs. Southwestern Christian

• SCORE: Mid-America Christian 3, Southwestern Christian 0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-20)
  • Mid-America Christian (6-1)
  • Southwestern Christian (0-2)

 

• STAT LEADERS
  • Hanna Foecker – 19 kills, .471 attack percentage, 4 service aces, 7 digs
  • Ryann Hale – 21 assists, 8 digs
  • Maegan Plunk – 12 digs
  • Maddie Callicoat – 7 kills, 4 blocks

 

• MATCH SUMMARY
  • Set One
    • Mid-America Christian broke a 5-all tie with four unanswered behind a pair of Hanna Foecker service aces and a Desiree Brewer kill to take a 9-5 lead.
    • After Southwestern Christian fought back to tie the set at 11, the Evangels captured all of the momentum when a Maddie Callicoat kill ignited a 10-1 run to all but put the set out of reach for the Eagles at 21-12.
    • MACU scored the final three points on kills by Foecker and Brewer before an SCU attack error on game point gave the opening set to the Evangels, 25-14.
  • Set Two
    • SCU jumped out to a 6-2 lead early, but the Evangels stormed back with four straight on back-to-back blocks by Brewer and Callicoat along with an Eagles service error and attack error to lock it up at six.
    • Trailing 12-10 midway through, Mid-America Christian was finally able to swing the momentum of the set in its favor by scoring on the next eight rallies. During the run, Foecker put down three kills and while the Evangels also picked up three assisted blocks to bring the score to 18-12.
    • MACU closed out by notching five of the final six points on two Foecker service aces and a kill along with an SCU ball handling error before Brewer's attack on game point was successfully put down to give the Evangels the 25-16 win.
  • Set Three
    • Mid-America Christian was able to take eight of the first 13 rallies to hold an 8-5 edge before the Eagles went on a 5-1 run to claim a one-point edge at 10-9.
    • The Evangels were able to take advantage of a pair of SCU miscues to start a 6-1 run that included a pair of Foecker kills as well as kills from Callicoat and Porter before Cierra Guerrero ended the run with a service ace to bring the score to 16-11.
    • Southwestern Christian kept the final set close on back-to-back kills to make it a 23-20 game, but the Evangels finished strong as Ryann Hale put down the match-winning service ace following an Eagles service error to secure the 25-20 set three victory.

 

• MATCH NOTABLES
  • Mid-America Christian outhit Southwestern Christian by notching 39 kills on a .260 attack percentage while limiting the Eagles to just a .061 hitting percentage with 24 kills. The Evangels hit for an efficient .448 in the first set while defensively clamping down on SCU in second set, allowing the Eagles to hit for a -.083 percentage.
  • Foecker continued to find herself in the MACU record books as her 19-kill performance matched her own third-best kills output in a three-set match that was set earlier this season in a match at Friends (Kan.).
  • The Evangels picked up their first three-set sweep over the Eagles in eight years. The last time MACU swept Southwestern Christian came on Aug. 30, 2012 at the Gaulke Activity Center. After taking both matches last season, the Evangels are on their longest winning streak against SCU since winning 11 straight from Sept. 30, 2003 to that fated Aug. 30 matchup in 2012.

 
GAME TWO / Mid-America Christian vs. Central Christian

• SCORE: Mid-America Christian 3, Central Christian 0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-18)
  • Mid-America Christian (7-1)
  • Central Christian (1-9)

 

• STAT LEADERS
  • Hanna Foecker – 14 kills, .367 attack percentage
  • Allison Porter – 9 kills, .529 attack percentage
  • Ryann Hale – 23 assists
  • Maegan Plunk – 21 digs
  • Desiree Brewer - 5 kills, 4 blocks

 

• MATCH SUMMARY
  • Set One
    • Mid-America Christian steadily built its lead to as much as seven over the course of the set. The Evangels were able grab its largest advantage after tallying three straight points on a CCC service error and kills by Foecker and Faith Foutch to make it 19-12.
    • Central Christian clawed its way back by utilizing a pair of 4-0 runs to bring the score to 22-21.
    • After exchanging blows on kills by MACU's Callicoat and CCC's Atlantis Jamerson, the Evangels were able to weather the storm by scoring the final two points on Porter kill as well as a Brewer and Foecker assisted block on game point to take the 25-22 set one win.
  • Set Two
    • MACU and CCC battled back and forth through the early portions of set No. 2, but after trailing by one, the Evangels were able to grab the momentum for good by taking five of the next six points, making it a 13-10 MACU advantage.
    • Holding a two-point lead at 14-12, Mid-America Christian put Central Christian in a rocky position when the Evangels captured seven of the next eight rallies, three of which came on Callicoat kills that forced CCC into calling a timeout when the Tigers found themselves down 21-13.
    • Central Christian could not slow down the Evangels out of the break as MACU tallied four of the final five points to secure the 25-14 victory.
  • Set Three
    • The Evangels quickly put the second set out of reach by scoring nine of the first 11 points, three of which coming off the hand of Foecker on the attack.
    • Leading 12-7 midway through, MACU captured its biggest lead when it strung together a 7-2 run, capped off on a Kaylie Walker service ace to make it 19-9.
    • Central Christian fought its way back against the Evangels reserves, closing the gap to 21-16, but MACU was able to finish strong by taking four of the next six points with Brewer getting the kill on match point to take the third set and the match, 25-18.

 

• MATCH NOTABLES
  • Mid-America Christian put together one of its best matches of the season both offensively and defensively. The Evangels in the attack finished with 45 kills, their high of the season in a three-set affair to go along with a .320 attack percentage, the team's second-highest clip on the year. Defensively, the Evangels held Central Christian to only a .043 attack percentage, the third-lowest percentage an opponent has hit against MACU this season.
  • MACU was balanced in its attack with eight different players getting at least one kill, led by Foecker with 14 on a .367 attack percentage. Porter had one of her best offensive games with the Evangels as well, recording nine kills on a career-best .529 attack percentage.
  • With the victory, the Evangels secured the program's longest winning streak since joining the NAIA in 2007. After dropping the season-opener to Oklahoma Wesleyan back on Sept. 5, the Evangels have rattled off seven in a row. The previous best streak came during the program's winningest run in the NAIA era in 2012, notching six wins in a row from Aug. 25 through Aug. 31 before closing out the campaign with an 18-16 overall record.

 
NEXT UP

• Mid-America Christian will return to the road on Tuesday, Oct. 13 as the Evangels will aim for a home-and-away sweep over Arlington Baptist in a 5 p.m. matchup in Arlington, Texas.