OKLAHOMA CITY – Coming off a big five-set road victory at Oklahoma Wesleyan last week, the Mid-America Christian volleyball team will look to continue its winning ways on the road as the Evangels will compete at a tri-match hosted by Friends University (Kan.) in Wichita, Kansas on Tuesday, Sept. 22. MACU will open the tri-match against Bethel (Kan.) at 5 p.m. before closing out the slate against Friends at 7 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
On Monday, Sept. 14, Mid-America Christian (2-1) avenged a home loss to Oklahoma Wesleyan (6-1) as the Evangels went into Bartlesville and handed Oklahoma Wesleyan its first defeat of the season in a five-set thriller (25-23, 25-23, 20-25, 25-27, 15-11).
Senior libero Maegan Plunk found her way into the MACU record books as her 46 digs shattered the Evangels previous single-match best of 38 set by Shelbi Johnson against Friends on Oct. 9, 2010. Senior outside hitter Hanna Foecker led the MACU attack with a season-high 23 kills, her fifth 20-plus kill match with the Evangels while her 90 attack attempts also set a new program record. Redshirt junior setter Ryann Hale finished a team-high 26 assists and four service aces to help lead MACU to the victory.
SCOUTING THE THRESHERS
Bethel is still seeking its first win of the 2020 season after opening the year with a pair of three-set losses at the Kansas Wesleyan tri-match on Sept. 5, falling to the host Coyotes as well as the Sterling (Kan.) Warriors. The Threshers faced the Warriors yet again on Sept. 9 at home, this time falling in four sets. Bethel will be looking to improve upon a challenging 2019 season that saw the Threshers go 7-20 overall.
Junior outside hitter Mia Loganbill leads Bethel in the attack with 23 kills, averaging 2.3 kills per set on an .091 attack percentage. The Threshers attack is fed by a pair of setters in Jessica Schumann and Kaylee VanderVeen, with Schumann notching 22 assists at 3.7 assists per set while VanderVeen's 27 assists comes at a 3.0 a/s clip.
Sophomore libero Katey Wilhelm will look to lead the BC backline with a team-leading 59 digs (5.9 digs per set) while sophomore middle blocker Julie Wilhite is the Threshers best defensive presence at the net with a squad-high five blocks.
HISTORY WITH THE THRESHERS
Since the Evangels moved up to the NAIA level in 2007, Mid-America Christian and Bethel will be facing each other for only the second time in the last 14 years and the first time in 10 years. The last time the two team went head-to-head came at the Gaulke Activity Center on Sept. 18, 2010, as the Evangels were able to dispatch the Threshers in four sets (25-11, 25-18, 13-25, 25-21). Christiane Smith led the MACU attack with 14 kills (.270 attack percentage), six total blocks and 11 digs while Calle Solie dished out a team-high 30 assists. Shelbi Johnson led the MACU defensive efforts on the backline with 15 digs.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Friends will enter Tuesday's tri-match with a 3-2 record. The Falcons opened the season at the Kansas Wesleyan Tournament with a split on Sept. 5, gutting out a five-set thriller against Southwestern (Kan.) before falling in straight sets to St. Mary's (Neb.). Friends returned to the court the following day with similar results, picking up a 3-1 win over Dakota State (S.D.) before dropping a three-set affair to McPherson (Kan.) in the tournament finale. The Falcons got back on the winning track in a win over Randall (Okla.) last week as Friends Head Coach Martin Ayin picked up his 300th win. Friends is coming off a 17-20 campaign in 2019, going 6-5 in Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) play.
Sophomore middle blocker Rheagan Hoover has been the most prolific attacker for the Falcons thus far in 2020, tallying a team-high 47 kills (2.6 k/s). Senior setter Abigail Knittel will be the catalyst of the Friends attack with a squad-leading 151 assists (8.4 a/s). On defense, senior libero Alyssa Arnold is turning in a team-high 100 digs (5.6 d/s) while Sarah Lazar-St. John will lead Friends at the net with 14 total blocks.
HISTORY WITH THE FALCONS
Friends currently holds a 3-0 lead over the Evangels in in the series during the NAIA era, but MACU will be taking on the Falcons for the first time in 10 seasons. The two squads last met back on Oct. 9, 2010 in Wichita as the two teams duked out a five-set affair that ultimately went in the Falcons favor (26-24, 25-15, 31-29, 25-23, 15-11).
Danielle Betts made history for MACU in that match, becoming the first Evangel to ever record 10 or more kills on a perfect attack percentage, registering 16 kills on 16 attempts. Shelbi Johnson's record-setting 38 digs came in that match while Christiane Smith turned in a team-high 17 kills and Calle Solie dished out 48 assists
SWEEPING DOWN THE WEEKLY SAC AWARD PLAINS
For the first time in program history, the Evangels swept the Sooner Athletic Conference Attacker, Setter and Defender of the Week honors.
Maegan Plunk was tabbed the league's Defensive Player of the Week honor after her 46-dig effort against the Eagles last Monday. Plunk collected her first and MACU's first ever SAC Defender of the Week honor on Sept. 11, 2019 after recording 18 digs in a three-set sweep at Wayland Baptist on Sept. 6 for the program's first ever win over Wayland Baptist. She followed it up with a 23-dig effort in a 3-1 win at Oklahoma Panhandle State on Sept. 7.
Hanna Foecker also collected her second SAC Attacker of the Week honor after being tabbed as the best hitter in the league for the week on Oct. 30, 2019. During the week prior, the Sudlohn, Germany product surpassed Christiane Smith on MACU's single match kills list with 30 in a dramatic five-set victory at Southwestern Christian on Oct. 19 and followed it up with 15 and 11 kill efforts in sweeps at Langston and Central Christian on Oct. 24 and 25.
Redshirt junior setter Ryann Hale earned her first ever SAC Player of the Week honor as the league's Setter of the Week, closing out the win against Oklahoma Wesleyan with a career-high 26 assists and a game-high four aces from the service line.
DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
Through the first three matches, Mid-America Christian is on-pace to set the program's NAIA era record for the lowest opponent attack percentage. Currently the Evangels are only allowing opponents to hit for a .134 percentage, which is significantly lower than the 2019 team that eclipsed the record with a .154 opponent attack percentage. The Evangels' best defensive showing came against Science & Arts on Sept. 5 when they held the Drovers to just a .013 attack percentage, its lowest since holding USAO to a zero clip in a three-set sweep on Sept. 27, 2019. In their Sept. 14 matchup with Oklahoma Wesleyan, the Evangels held an Eagles team that ranks 15th in the NAIA in attack percentage (.234) to a season-low .137, which is only the second time in seven matches that Wesleyan hit below a .200 average with the previous low of .188 coming against Cottey (Mo.)
