Women's Volleyball 10/21/2020 3:21:00 PM Adam Stanek - MACU Sports Information

Volleyball Ready For Rematch At Science & Arts

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian volleyball team is preparing to face a Sooner Athletic Conference rival on Thursday as the Evangels will head to Chickasha, Oklahoma to take on Science & Arts in a 6 p.m. contest.

LAST TIME OUT
Mid-America Christian (8-1) didn't get its prettiest win of the season at Arlington Baptist (Texas), but the Evangels played strong defensively by holding Arlington Baptist (3-8) to just a .024 attack percentage and recorded a season-high 10 total blocks at the net to come away with the 25-16, 25-17, 25-22 sweep of the Patriots on Oct. 13.

Hanna Foecker led the MACU attack with 11 kills on a .258 attack percentage to go with eight digs, a pair of service aces and a season-high four total blocks. Junior setter Morgan Van Meir produced one of her best matches of the season with 15 assists to go with a team-leading four service aces while Maegan Plunk led the defense with 17 digs.

SCOUTING THE DROVERS
Science & Arts heads into the Thursday night matchup with a 1-6 record with the Drovers lone win of the season coming in a 3-0 sweep over Arlington Baptist on Sept. 11. USAO nearly picked up its second win at SAC rival Central Christian (Kan.) on Oct. 16, but fell in a tightly contested 3-2 (25-17, 15-25, 8-25, 25-16, 15-12) matchup.

Samiya West leads a balanced USAO attack with 62 kills (2.4 kills per set) on a .055 attack percentage while Allison Patak is the Drovers most efficient attacker with 32 kills on a .200 attack percentage. Madison Garcia is the squad's featured setter with a team-best 200 assists (7.7 assists per set) and Cheyanne Dube is USAO's top defender on the back line with 81 digs (3.1 digs per set).

HISTORY WITH THE DROVERS
Since Science & Arts started its volleyball program in 2016, the Evangels have had the Drovers' number in the series history by going 9-0, including sweeping the last eight meetings. The two teams last went head-to-head in MACU's season-opening tri-match back on Sept. 5, where Mid-America Christian dominated the first and third sets and winning a nail-biting second in a 25-10, 26-24, 25-9 victory.

Foecker put together one of her best individual performances of her career in the win, recording 15 kills on a career-high .700 attack percentage, the ninth-highest clip on any MACU player to have 10 or more attack attempts in a match during the NAIA era. Maddie Callicoat also pitched in eight kills on a .333 attack percentage while Tiana Nihipali recorded a team-high six aces from the service line. Ryann Hale led the passing with 14 assists while Plunk notched 13 digs on the defensive end.

KEEPING THE STREAK
That win against the Drovers was the start of something special for this MACU volleyball squad. Since joining the NAIA in 2007, the Evangels have never won more consecutive games than they have now as Mid-America Christian is in the midst of an eight-match winning streak. MACU has been absolutely dominant during the run, winning 24 of the 27 sets played.

CALLICOATING THE NET
After playing the entire 2019 season as a right side hitter, one move that worked well for Mid-America Christian when Desiree Brewer was out was shifting sophomore Maddie Callicoat from right side hitter to middle blocker. During her freshman campaign, Callicoat recorded 23 total blocks and hit for a .162 percentage in 28 matches, but has elevated her play at the net, even after returning to the right side with Brewer back in the lineup. MACU's opponents are struggling to hit on the left side as Callicoat currently ranks second on the team with 20 total blocks and is hitting for a .214 attack percentage through the first nine matches of the 2020-21 season.

STAT LEADERS