POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – The fourth-seeded Mid-America Christian volleyball team made an incredible run all the way to the NCCAA National Championship after defeating Campbellsville in the semifinal match, but fell just short to Columbia International in the title match at the NCCAA National Championships at Keeter Gymnasium on Saturday.

Semifinal / Mid-America Christian vs. Campbellsville
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 3, Campbellsville 1 (25-22, 16-25, 25-12, 25-20)
  • Mid-America Christian (28-10)
  • Campbellsville (24-10)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Hanna Foecker – 29 Kills, .250 ATK%, 16 Digs
• Faith Foutch – 14 Assists, 11 Digs, 3 Kills, 2 Aces
• Lena Stockhammer – 14 Assists, 12 Digs
• Maegan Plunk – 28 Digs, 6 Assists

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • After conceding the first two points, Mid-America Christian got a block from Vanessa Moreira and Faith Foutch to start a 6-1 surge to claim the early 6-3 advantage.
  • Campbellsville tallied three of the next four to pull it to within one, but a Hanna Foecker kill started another 6-1 run to stretch the MACU edge to 13-7 at the midway point.
  • The Tigers put together a 6-1 streak of their own to close it to within one, but the Evangels were able to keep CU from taking the lead as a late 6-2 run by MACU pushed the edge back out to 22-17.
  • CU managed to trim the MACU advantage two, including surviving two set-points, but Foecker finished off the set with a kill to secure the 25-22 win.
• Set Two
  • Campbellsville was able to grab an early lead before an assisted block by Maddie Callicoat and Allison Porter followed by a Molly Shannon attack error drew it event at 6-6.
  • A kill by Sonia Flendrich on the ensuing rally started a dominant Tigers run as CU scored 10 of the next 11, including a string of eight straight to hold a 16-7 advantage.
  • Upon trading the next two rallies, Mid-America Christian rattled off points on five of the next six, getting a pair of kills from Foecker before Foutch put down an ace to bring it to 18-13.
  • However, Campbellsville regained the momentum off of a 4-1 surge before scoring three of the final five to secure the 25-16 decision.
• Set Three
  • Mid-America Christian got back on-track in a big way to start the third set as MACU scored nine of the first 10 points. Foecker put together a stellar performance in the run, tallying five kills.
  • The Evangels didn't allow the lead to drop below seven for the next nine rallies before MACU got three kills in a row from Cloie Mitchell, Focker and Foutch to stretch the edge to double-figures at 16-6.
  • A pair of quick points for the Tigers knocked the MACU lead back down to single-digits briefly before the Evangels countered with a string of five unanswered, as Foecker and Foutch combined for four kills before a Flendrich attack error gave MACU its largest lead of the set at 21-8.
  • Campbellsville tallied four unanswered to once again knock the MACU edge to single-figures, but the Evangels finished strong with four straight of their own with Foecker notching three kills to lock up the 25-12 win.
• Set Four
  • Mid-America Christian started off well from the service line as a pair of aces from Kaylie Walker and Vanessa Moreira to go along with two Foecker kills gave the Evangels the early 6-2 edge.
  • The Tigers tallied five of the next seven to knock it down to a one-point cushion before MACU countered with four unanswered as Foecker's put-down made it a 12-7 Evangels lead at the midway point.
  • Five rallies later, another Foecker kill ignited a string of six straight as four consecutive CU attack errors doubled up the MACU advantage at 20-10.
  • Campbellsville halved its deficit with a 7-2 surge as Shannon's kill brought it to 22-17, but kills from Porter and Maegan Plunk brought it to match point at 24-17.
  • The Tigers survived three match points before a Paige Merrick attack error finally ended the set and the match at 25-20.

MATCH NOTES

• In the defensive slugfest, Mid-America Christian was the stronger performer on the offensive end with 44 kills on a .156 attack percentage while the Evangels defense held Campbellsville to just a .052 hitting clip for the match, the Tigers second-lowest offensive rate of the season.
• The Evangels finished the match with 186 attacks, the third-most in a four-set match since MACU moved up to the NAIA and NCCAA Division I level in 2007.
• Senior outside hitter Hanna Foecker narrowly missed tying her own four-set match kills record with 29, marking the fourth-most in a single match in the program's record book. It was Foecker's third 20-plus kill match thus far through four matches. Foecker hit for a .250 clip and also finished with 16 digs in the defense.
• Both of the Evangels setters finished with a double-double with Faith Foutch recording 14 assists and 11 digs with two aces while Lena Stockhammer turned in 14 assists and 12 digs.
• Maegan Plunk led the defensive efforts with 28 digs while Allison Porter led the Evangels at the net with four blocks to go with a pair of kills.
• Much like their previous match against Bethel, the Evangels avenged a loss to Campbellsville in the 2020 NCCAA National Championships by a score of 3-1 (25-23, 16-25, 25-17, 26-24) in St. Paul, Minn. on Nov. 19.

 
Championship / Mid-America Christian vs. Columbia International
SCORE

• Columbia International 3, Mid-America Christian 0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-20)
  • Mid-America Christian (28-11)
  • Columbia International (33-9)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Hanna Foecker – 17 Kills, 11 Digs, 4 Aces
• Lena Stockhammer – 14 Assists
• Maegan Plunk – 18 Digs
• Vanessa Moreira – 4 Blocks, 2 Kills, 2 Aces

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • Mid-America Christian got off to a fast start by scoring four of the first five off of a pair of service aces from Vanessa Moreira and a Hanna Foecker kill. After Columbia International closed the gap to one, the Evangels put together a string of five straight behind two Cloie Mitchell kills and two Foecker aces to make it 10-4.
  • The Evangels extended their edge to as much as 14-7 off of a kill and service ace by Maddie Callicoat.
  • After a Foecker kill brought it to 16-9, Columbia International went on an 8-2 run to close it to just an 18-17 MACU edge.
  • Following a pair of Mitchell kills, the Rams tallied three straight with two Gabriela Vega aces to tie it up at 20.
  • An assisted block by Callicoat and Moreira and a Callicoat ace during a string of three unanswered pushed the MACU edge out to 23-20, but the Evangels couldn't slow down CIU as the Rams ended the set with five unanswered to take the opener, 25-23.
• Set Two
  • Columbia International captured the early momentum by scoring the first three, but the Evangels fought their way back by utilizing a 6-2 surge to take their first lead at 7-6 on a Mitchell kill. The Evangels brought it to a two-point cushion following a service error with back-to-back kills from Foecker and Allison Porter.
  • The Rams scored the next three to briefly take back the advantage, but MACU countered with a Callicoat kill before an Alana Sanjurjo attack error put the Evangels back in-front 11-10.
  • Mid-America Christian found itself down again following a four-point streak by the Rams, but the Evangels streaked back in-front by taking eight of the next 10, including four unanswered to end the run at 19-16.
  • CIU managed to fight back to tie it at 20 and again at 21 before the Evangels took advantage of three Rams miscues to bring it to set point at 24-21.
  • However, much like set one, the Rams captured a late wave of momentum by scoring the final five points to steal away another set by a score of 26-24.
• Set Three
  • The final set was a back-and-forth affair through the first 14 rallies as neither team could muster more than a three-point rally. Back-to-back points by the Rams allowed them to tie it up at 7-7 before the Evangels rattled off four in a row, including a pair of Kaylie Walker aces to grab an 11-7 lead.
  • Columbia International bucked the lead back down to just one at 11-10, but the Evangels were able to stem the tide before getting three straight off a CIU attack error and back-to-back Foecker aces to make it a 16-12 game.
  • Three rallies later, a Vega kill started another Rams comeback, tallying four straight to tie it up at 17.
  • Foecker and Abbey Kleist traded kills before a Faith Foutch put-down gave the Evangels their final lead of the 2021 season at 19-18.
  • Columbia International continued its trend of finishing each set strong as the Rams closed out with a 7-1 run to end the match at 25-20.

MATCH NOTES

• Columbia International was the more efficient team in the attack, ending with 42 kills on a .252 attack percentage while the Evangels could only muster 32 kills on a .115 hitting rate. However, one area MACU was able to gain some ground on CIU was from the service line as the Evangels finished with 12 aces while holding the Rams to just four.
• At the conclusion of the match, Hanna Foecker and Cloie Mitchell were selected to the NCCAA All-Tournament Team.
• Hanna Foecker finished her illustrious MACU career with yet another double-double with 17 kills, 11 digs and four service aces.
• The Borken, Germany product wrapped up her remarkable season with 776 kills, the only player in the country to eclipse 700 kills in a season. In just three seasons with MACU, Foecker recorded 1673, nearly doubling MACU Player of the Decade Christiane Costa's second-best career mark (844). Foecker also ended her MACU career in third in the program's NAIA era record book for service aces with 120 as well as seventh in total digs with 844.
• Another super senior that wrapped up a record-setting career, Maegan Plunk finished the match with a team-high 18 digs to finish the campaign with 738. The mark eclipsed her own single season record set during the 2020 season with 671. Plunk was also the first player in the NAIA era to eclipse 2000 career digs with 2288. The Mineola, Texas native is also one of just five players to ever eclipse more than 100 career service aces in the NAIA era, as she sits in fourth in the record book with 111.
• Kaylie Walker also closed out her MACU career with three digs and two service aces. Walker's two aces allowed her to tie Jordan Batley (2011) and Hannah Luedtke (2015) for the fifth-most aces recorded in a season. Over the course of her four-year Evangels career, the Cache, Okla. native became the program's NAIA era record holder for service aces, becoming the first player to eclipse 150 with a total of 151 in her career. Walker is also just the third MACU player in the same time frame to eclipse 1000 career digs with 1152, placing her third in the record book behind her teammate, Punk and Camera Broadnax.
• Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Allison Porter finished her season with the most blocks notched in a single campaign since 2012 as her 126 rejections at the season ranks as the third-most, only behind Kacee Montgomery and Becca Anderson, who each notched 137 during the 2012 season.
• While triumphantly competing on a severely injured ankle for the entirety of the NCCAA Championships, sophomore setter Lena Stockhammer wrapped up her record-breaking season with 1387 assists, averaging 9.5 assists per set. Stockhammer notched 14 assists in the championship match to wrap up the year.
• Mid-America Christian wrapped up the season with a 28-11 overall record, becoming the winningest program since joining the NAIA era and is the second-best record in program history only behind the 2001 NCCAA Division II National Championship team's mark of 37-3.
• The Evangels competed in their first ever NCCAA Division I National Championship match and their first title match since that 2001 program competed for the Division II title.