OKLAHOMA CITY – In its final regular season match before competing at the NCCAA National Championships next week, the Mid-America Christian volleyball team gave a strong challenge to Southwestern Assemblies of God, but fell 3-1 at Gaulke Activity Center on Friday night.

 
SCORE

• Southwestern Assemblies of God 3, Mid-America Christian 1 (22-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-15)
  • Mid-America Christian (9-4)
  • Southwestern Assemblies of God (4-1)

 

STAT LEADERS

• Hanna Foecker – 17 kills, 4 blocks, 2 service aces, 6 digs
• Ryann Hale – 23 assists, 9 digs
• Maegan Plunk – 16 digs
• Allison Porter – 5 blocks

 

MATCH SUMMARY

• 1^st Set
  • Mid-America Christian opened the set strong by taking four of the first five points that included a pair of Allison Porter blocks before SAGU rallied back with an 8-1 run to grab a 9-5 edge.
  • After the Lady Lions took their largest lead of the set at 12-7, the Evangels clawed their way back by winning the next five rallies, spurred by a pair of Tiana Nihipali kills as well as a Maddie Callicoat kill.
  • The two teams traded the next five points until MACU recaptured the advantage by scoring on five of the next six rallies to make it a 19-16 game.
  • SAGU managed to pull its deficit to within one at 22-21, but Hanna Foecker took over late, tallying kills on three of the final four rallies to seal a 25-22 set one win.
• 2^nd Set
  • Southwestern Assemblies of God managed to grab an early two-point cushion before a Foecker kill and service ace to go with a Callicoat kill ignited a five unanswered run to give MACU the 8-5 advantage.
  • The two teams traded strong runs with SAGU scoring four straight to take a 9-8 lead, the Evangels answering back with four straight to reclaim a 12-9 advantage, the Lady Lions firing back with five in a row to make it 14-12 before MACU strung together three in a row to take back the 15-14 lead.
  • The Lady Lions went on the last strong run of the match, utilizing a 6-1 streak to seize control at 20-16. The Evangels were unable to scratch away at the deficit as SAGU came away with the 25-20 set win.
• 3^rd Set
  • Mid-America Christian managed to win seven of the first 10 of a highly competitive third set. The Evangels managed to build as much as a six-point advantage in the set, utilizing a 5-2 run to make it a 17-11 game, prompting SAGU to call a timeout to regroup.
  • The Lady Lions inched their way back, stringing together a 5-1 run to pull the match to within two at 18-16. Even though the Evangels answered back with two straight points on a Callicoat kill and a SAGU attack error, the Lady Lions recaptured the momentum by scoring the next six points to take the 22-20 lead.
  • The Evangels snatched the lead back behind back-to-back kills from Callicoat and Porter followed by a SAGU attack error to bring the score to 23-22, but the Lady Lions finished strong by scoring four of the final five points to sneak away with a 26-24 win.
• 4^th Set
  • The two teams battled back and forth early before Southwestern Assemblies of God took advantage of a 6-1 spurt to push the Lady Lions in-front, 12-8.
  • Mid-America Christian managed to keep it close over the next few rallies, trailing just 14-12 before the Lady Lions surged away by scoring 11 of the final 14 points to end the game and the match at 25-15.

 

MATCH NOTES

• After a strong opening set that saw the Evangels hit for a .242 percentage, Mid-America Christian struggled down the stretch as it finished with a .086 attack percentage for the match while the Lady Lions hit .183 against MACU.
• Hanna Foecker led the Evangels attack with 17 kills, but could only muster a .173 attack percentage against a feisty Lady Lions defense. Foecker had a solid showing on the defensive end, tallying four total blocks to go with six digs.
• Redshirt junior setter Ryann Hale finished with a match-high 16 assists and just a dig shy of a double-double with nine. Maegan Plunk led the backline with a team-high 16 digs while Allison Porter continued to defend well at the net with a team-high five total blocks.

 

NEXT UP

• Mid-America Christian will head to St. Paul, Minnesota next week to compete in its second straight NCCAA Division II National Championships. The No. 3 seeded Evangels will open pool play against Campbellsville (Ky.) at noon on Thursday, Nov. 19 at the Ericksen Center.