OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian volleyball team posed a strong challenge to Sooner Athletic Conference leader Texas Wesleyan, but the Evangels came up just short in a 3-1 loss to the Lady Rams on Saturday afternoon inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
 
SCORE

• Texas Wesleyan 3, Mid-America Christian 1 (19-25, 25-18, 25-12, 25-17)
  • Mid-America Christian (20-8, 11-5 SAC)
  • Texas Wesleyan (19-5, 14-2 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Hanna Foecker – 11 Kills, 11 Digs
• Lena Stockhammer – 33 Assists, 6 Digs, 3 Kills, 2 Aces
• Maegan Plunk – 13 Digs, 3 Assists
• Vanessa Moreira – 10 Digs, 3 Blocks, 5 Kills, .222 ATK%

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • Texas Wesleyan scored three of the first four points, but Mid-America Christian was able to get on-track following a Nyia Anderson service error, surging in-front thanks to a 10-2 run capped off on an assisted block by Vanessa Moreira and Allison Porter to bring it to 11-5.
  • After trading three-point swings, the Lady Rams rallied back by claiming six of the next eight to make it a two-point set at 16-14 on a Sydney Charlton kill.
  • The Evangels responded by getting the next three points, ending the run on a Lena Stockhammer ace, but the Rams pulled it back to three at 20-17 following a 3-1 run.
  • Mid-America Christian finished the set strong, claiming five of the final seven to seal the 25-19 victory.
• Set Two
  • Neither team could main larger than a two-point lead through the first half of the set as a Porter kill drew it event 11-all.
  • A kill by TWU's Sydney Charlton ignited a 6-1 streak as a kill by Bailey Foy extended the Lady Rams edge to 17-12.
  • Hanna Foecker put down a kill while Moriera and Maddie Callicoat teamed up on a block to bring it to 17-14, but Texas Wesleyan swung back with three unanswered before pulling away with the 25-18 set win.
• Set Three
  • TWU managed to jump out to an early four-point lead before the Evangels rallied back behind kills from Callicoat and Cloie Mitchell to go with a Moreira and Porter assisted block to bring it to a 7-6 deficit.
  • Texas Wesleyan countered a nearly unstoppable run, as the Lady Rams scored 13 of the next 16 points, grabbing a commanding 21-9 advantage.
  • The Evangels tried to fight back, getting three of the next four off of kills from Moreira and Foecker, but the Lady Rams scored the final three points to secure a 25-12 victory.
• Set Four
  • The final set was tightly contested in the early going, as a Mitchell kill and back-to-back service aces by Maegan Plunk gave MACU the 7-6 edge.
  • Texas Wesleyan once again pieced together a strong surge during the midway portion of the set, outscoring the Evangels 9-2 as a Veronika Webb kill gave extended the Lady Rams advantage to 15-9.
  • Foecker slammed down three kills during a 4-2 run to cut the Evangels' deficit to two, but TWU had another strong counter, tallying four straight to grab its largest lead of the set at 21-13.
  • MACU notched three straight points, getting a pair of kills from Mitchell and Kalyn Cormier, but the Lady Rams closed out the match by scoring four of the final five to wrap up a 25-17 victory.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian struggled to slow down a blistering Texas Wesleyan attack. After holding TWU to a .059 attack position in the opening set, the Lady Rams swatted .248 in set two and above .400 in sets three and four to finish with 57 kills on a .299 clip for the match. The Evangels had a reversal of fortunes after the opening set, after hitting .310 in set one, MACU hit under .100 in two of the final three to finish with 42 kills on a .155 attack percentage.
• Hanna Foecker was the lone player to reach double-digit kills for the Evangels in the match, recording a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs. Cloie Mitchell had a solid match off the MACU bench with nine kills on a .233 hitting clip.
• The Evangels also got some strong performances from the middle as Allison Porter finished with six kills on a team-high .462 attack percentage while Vanessa Moreira recorded five kills on a .222 rate. Moreira also notched 10 digs in the back row while both Porter and Moreira each tallied a team-high three blocks.
• With the loss, the Evangels fell to 11-5 in Sooner Athletic Conference play, falling a game-back of Southwestern Assemblies of God for fourth in the league standings with four matches left in the regular season. Texas Wesleyan continued to hold the top spot in the conference as the Lady Rams moved to 14-2 in SAC play, sitting ahead of Wayland Baptist and Oklahoma City in second.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will return to the road on Tuesday as the Evangels will face crosstown rival Southwestern Christian for a 6 p.m. match inside the Pickens-Springer Gymnasium in Bethany, Okla.