CHICKASHA, Okla. – The Mid-America Christian volleyball team's ninth straight win didn't come easy as the Evangels needed to hold off a furious rally by Science & Arts on Thursday night, but freshman middle blocker Allison Porter came up with some big points for MACU in the decisive fifth-set to seal a 3-2 win at the Drover Fieldhouse.

It was a career night for the Evangels starting middle blocker as she turned in a 14-kill, six-block performance, which included getting the match-winning kill.
 

SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 3, Science & Arts 2 (25-22, 25-21, 20-25, 20-25, 15-11)
  • Mid-America Christian (9-1)
  • Science & Arts (1-7)

 
STAT LEADERS

• Hanna Foecker – 15 kills, 12 digs, 6 blocks
• Allison Porter – 14 kills, .480 attack percentage, 6 blocks, 6 digs, 1 service ace
• Ryann Hale – 24 assists, 10 digs, 3 service aces
• Maegan Plunk – 28 digs, 8 assists
• Kaylie Walker – 14 digs, 4 service aces

 
MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • The opening set was a back-and-forth affair that saw 12 ties and four lead changes until Science & Arts strung together a five unanswered run to grab a late 23-21 lead.
  • Mid-America Christian fought back by scoring on the final four rallies as an Allison Porter kill, a USAO ball-handling error and an assisted block by Desiree Brewer and Hanna Foecker established game-point before Foecker emphatically ended it with a kill that deflected off the blocker's hands to seal the 25-23 win.
• Set Two
  • The second set was more of the same for the two squads as neither team could capture larger than a five-point lead until the Evangels got some breathing room by taking advantage of four Drovers attack errors during a 5-0 run to extend the advantage to 23-16.
  • USAO clawed its way back by winning six of the next seven rallies, but Maddie Callicoat was able to tool the Drovers block for a kill to secure set two in MACU's favor, 25-22.
• Set Three
  • An early five unanswered run by Mid-America Christian was able to give the Evangels the early momentum. However, with an 18-15 lead, MACU was unable to hold it as the Drovers went on an 8-0 streak to grab a five-point edge.
  • Back-to-back kills by Faith Foutch and Brewer allowed MACU to get it back to within three, but Science & Arts tallied the final two points to secure its first win of the match, 25-20.
• Set Four
  • USAO maintained its momentum through the first half of the set No. 4, leading by as much as 11-5 before Mid-America Christian stormed back behind a string of seven straight rallies to nab the 16-13 advantage.
  • Despite maintaining a 20-16 lead late, Science & Arts recaptured its momentum by rattling off nine unanswered to close out the set to take its second straight 25-20 win, locking the match up at 2-2.
• Set Five
  • After conceding the opening point of the final set, MACU was able to fight back by getting three unanswered, two of which coming off back-to-back Kaylie Walker service aces to bring the score to 3-1 MACU.
  • The Drovers were able to keep it to within striking distance before tying it up at 10-all on a Madison Garcia service ace.
  • Following a USAO attack error, Mid-America Christian scored on the next three rallies as a Porter kill and an assisted block with Foecker followed by a Callicoat kill made it match-point at 14-10.
  • USAO briefly halted the run on a P.J. Curry kill, but Porter ended the match for good on the final rally by tapping a kill over the block to an open middle to seal the 15-11 victory.

 
MATCH NOTABLES

• Mid-America Christian struggled in the attack, hitting for its second-lowest attack percentage of the season at .076 and committed a season-high 37 attack errors along with its 50 kills. However, the Evangels were still able to hold strong defensively, limiting the Drovers to a .083 attack percentage behind 45 kills and 31 attack errors.
• The Evangels recorded their second straight match with double-digit blocks, turning in a season-high 11.
• It was the first time a match between Mid-America Christian and Science & Arts had went to five sets since the establishment of the Drovers volleyball program in 2016.
• Allison Porter played the best match of her Evangels career both offensively and defensively, as her 14 kills, six blocks and six digs were all career-highs for the freshman middle blocker.
• Despite struggling in the attack, Hanna Foecker was still able to finish with a double-double, turning in a match-high 15 kills to go with 12 digs as well as notch a career-high six blocks.

 
NEXT UP

• Mid-America Christian will return home for a Halloween match next Saturday against SAC rival Wayland Baptist. Opening serve is slated for 3 p.m. at the Gaulke Activity Center.