OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian volleyball team put together a dominant performance in its final match inside the Gaulke Activity Center during the 2020-21 season as the Evangels swept Science & Arts in straight sets. With the victory, Mid-America Christian picked up its 18^th win to tie the NAIA Era (2007-present) record for the most in the season, drawing even with the 2012 team that finished with an 18-16 overall record.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 3, Science & Arts 0 (25-11, 25-19, 25-15)
  • Mid-America Christian (18-14)
  • Science & Arts (1-17)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Hanna Foecker – 11 Kills, .257 Atk%, 12 Digs, 3 Aces, 1 Block
• Desiree Brewer – 7 Kills, .333 Atk%, 2 Blocks, 1 Ace
• Morgan Van Meir – 27 Assists, 8 Digs, 3 Kills, 1 Ace
• Maegan Plunk – 11 Digs, 1 Ace

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • After trading the first four points, Mid-America Christian got three service aces from Faith Foutch during a 7-1 run to claim a 9-3 lead.
  • Science & Arts rattled off three straight to close it to three, but the Evangels were able to get a little more breathing room by winning five of the next seven rallies as a pair of kills from Tiana Nihipali to go along with a kill from Maddie Callicoat extended the edge to 14-8.
  • USAO got a point back following a service error, but the Evangels dominated down the stretch, outscoring the Drovers 11-2 as back-to-back kills from Desiree Brewer and Nihipali closed out a 25-11 victory.
• Set Two
  • Mid-America Christian struggled in the early going as Science & Arts jumped out to an 8-5 advantage before the Evangels came storming back. MACU rattled off a 9-1 run, including five unanswered that featured a pair of Hanna Foecker service aces and a kill to take back a 14-9 lead.
  • The Drovers clawed their way back, taking eight of the next 11 points as service ace from Allison Patak drew the set even at 17-all.
  • After Patak sent the ensuing serve out of bounds, the Evangels closed out with an 8-2 run to secure the 25-19 set two win.
• Set Three
  • Science & Arts kept it close through the first half of the final set as the Evangels could not gain a lead larger than three as back-to-back kills from Patak and Marquis King pulled it to one at 14-13.
  • A Foutch kill on the ensuing rally jumpstarted a 10 unanswered run for MACU. Kaylie Walker put down a pair of service aces and Foecker notched three kills during the run, including the one that set it at match point, 24-13.
  • The Drovers didn't go down quietly, getting a kill from P.J. Curry and an ace from King before Patak's attack error finished off the 25-15 MACU victory.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian posted its highest hitting percentage during the spring season, tallying 37 kills on a .243 clip while the defense limited USAO to just 24 kills on a .058 attack percentage.
• In getting the win, the Evangels have secured their third winning season since the program joined the NAIA and Sooner Athletic Conference as well as its second straight after going 15-14 in 2019.
• Hanna Foecker led both the attack and the defense with her 16^th double-double, tallying 11 kills on a .257 attack percentage to go with 12 digs and three service aces. Foecker became just the second Evangels player to surpass 500 kills in a season with the effort as she ended the night with 501 on the season. Foecker currently needs five kills to draw even with Christiane Costa's 2010 single season record mark.
• The Evangels had one of their most balanced attacks of the season as four different players recorded five or more kills with each hitting above .200 for the match. Desiree Brewer put down seven kills on a .333 clip, Maddie Callicoat tallied seven kills on a .211 percentage and Tiana Nihipali turned in five on a .235 rate.
• By getting 13 service aces as a team, MACU recorded the second-most in a three-set match this season. The most came against this same Drovers squad back on Feb. 24 as the Evangels finished with 14 in that match.
• Mid-America Christian finished with a 10-7 record inside the Gaulke Activity Center, which was the most wins the Evangels have recorded at home since MACU went 10-3 during the 2004 season.

NEXT UP

• Mid-America Christian will close out the regular season on the road as the Evangels will head to McPherson, Kan. on Friday for a Sooner Athletic Conference matchup with Central Christian. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. start.
• If the Evangels can get the win, they'd finish in at least a tie for fifth in the SAC standings.