HUTCHINSON, Kan. – The Mid-America Christian volleyball team opened the season with a pair of stiff tests at the KCAC Fall Fling at the Hutchinson Sports Arena on Friday. Despite going wire-to-wire with Kansas Wesleyan and Saint Mary (Kan.), the Evangels fell in five sets in both of the afternoon matches.
 

GAME ONE / Mid-America Christian vs. Kansas Wesleyan

• SCORE
  • Kansas Wesleyan 3, Mid-America Christian 2 (19-25, 25-16, 25-16, 24-26, 15-12)
    • Mid-America Christian (0-1)
    • Kansas Wesleyan (1-0)
• TOP PERFORMERS
  • Hanna Foecker – 26 Kills, .306 Atk%, 4 Aces, 9 Digs, 3 Blocks
  • Lena Stockhammer – 52 Assists, 3 Kills, 2 Aces
  • Maegan Plunk – 17 Digs
  • Allison Porter – 5 Blocks, 5 Kills, .250 Atk%
• MATCH SUMMARY
  • Set One
    • After Kansas Wesleyan was able to cut it to within a point, the Evangels gained some breathing room by going on a four unanswered run behind a kill and an ace from Hanna Foecker as well as a kill from Clara Zuehlke to extend the lead to 12-7 at the midway point.
    • Late in the set, the Evangels were able to utilize another run of four straight rallies that included a Foecker kill and back-to-back service aces from the senior outside hitter before an assisted block from Zuehlke and Allison Porter forced game-point at 24-16.
    • The Coyotes were able to rattle off three straight before Porter ended the match with a kill from the right side to give MACU the early lead with a 25-16 win.
  • Set Two
    • Kansas Wesleyan utilized early 3-0 and 4-0 runs to grab a 14-6 lead midway through the set.
    • MACU was able to close it to within five following three straight Evangels points, featuring back-to-back kills off of Foecker's hand to make it 16-11.
    • The Coyotes held off the MACU rally, ending the set by scoring four of the last five points to hand the Evangels the 25-16 defeat and draw the match even at 1-1.
  • Set Three
    • KWU was once again able to gain early control, by taking 10 of the first 15 rallies.
    • Consecutive Foecker kills was able to close the gap to 12-9 before the Coyotes countered by taking eight of the next nine points, including a six unanswered run to push the KWU advantage back out to 20-10.
    • MACU tallied the next three points behind a kill from Maddie Callicoat as well as an assisted block by Callicoat and Porter, but the Evangels were unable to climb any closer as Kansas Wesleyan pulled away with another 25-16 set win to take a 2-1 advantage.
  • Set Four
    • The Evangels and Coyotes battled back-and-forth at the start, drawing three ties and a pair of lead changes before the Evangels gained some breathing room midway through on kills from Foecker, Zuehlke and Vanessa Moreira to make it 13-9.
    • Kansas Wesleyan fought back with four unanswered of its own to draw the match even at 13-all before the Evangels answered with three straight of their own that included a Foecker and Moreira block and a Madalyn Shurley service ace.
    • The Coyotes were able to claw their way back three late ties at 20, 21 and 23 before Foecker forced game-point with a strong kill from the left side.
    • KWU's Maddy Beckett put down a kill to force extra points, but MACU finished strong after taking advantage of a Coyotes' service error. Foecker and Porter came away with a big block on Beckett's attack on the final rally to come away with a 26-24 victory, forcing a decisive fifth-set.
  • Set Five
    • Mid-America Christian found itself in a deep hole to start the final set as KWU scored the first seven points.
    • Trailing 11-4, the Evangels refused to give up by going on a 7-2 run as a block by Callicoat and Moreira brought MACU to within two at 13-11.
    • After trading the next two points, Kansas Wesleyan ended the match on a right-side block, handing the Evangels a 15-12 defeat.
• MATCH NOTES
  • Mid-America Christian was able to fight through 24 service errors by out-attacking the Coyotes, notching 62 kills on a .202 attack percentage while KWU turned in 45 kills on a .231 clip.
  • Hanna Foecker finished the match with 26 kills on a .306 attack percentage to go with four aces while recording nine digs and three blocks in the defense. The 26 kills tied Shannon Niemeier and Christiane Costa for the fourth-most in a match during the NAIA era to now hold three of the top four marks in the MACU record book.
  • In her first match with the Evangels, Lena Stockhammer also found herself in the MACU record books as her 52 assists grabbed the third-best mark in the NAIA era record book, only behind a pair of 54 assist performances from Calle Solie in 2009 and 2012.
  • Maegan Plunk led the backline with 17 digs while Allison Porter was MACU's top presence at the net with five blocks.

 
GAME TWO / Mid-America Christian vs. Saint Mary (Kan.)

• SCORE
  • Saint Mary 3, Mid-America Christian 2 (27-29, 15-25, 25-21, 25-15, 15-12)
    • Mid-America Christian (0-2)
    • Saint Mary (1-0)
• TOP PERFORMERS
  • Hanna Foecker – 19 Kills, .222 Atk%, 13 Digs, 4 Blocks
  • Maddie Callicoat – 12 Kills, .281 Atk%
  • Lena Stockhammer – 40 Assists, 3 Kills, 8 Digs
  • Maegan Plunk – 26 Digs
• MATCH SUMMARY
  • Set One
    • Mid-America Christian got off to a fast start, scoring 10 of the first 13 points of the match.
    • Saint Mary fought back to tie it at 15 and again at 18, but utilized a 5-1 run to grab a late 21-19 edge.
    • A pair of kills from Hanna Foecker and Allison Porter jumpstarted a four unanswered run to make it 23-21.
    • Saint Mary put the Evangels on the brink with three straight to force game-point at 24-23. MACU was able to survive on kills from Foecker on the 46^th and 48^th rallies to tie it at 25 before a USM attack error gave MACU game-point at 26-25.
    • Saint Mary and MACU traded the next three points to draw it even before Vanessa Moreira came up with two clutch kills to close out a 29-27 set win.
  • Set Two
    • With the two teams splitting the first eight points, MACU was able to pull together four in a row with Foecker getting a kill and a block with Porter while Moreira added a service ace to make it an 8-4 MACU advantage.
    • The Spires closed it to one at 11-10 before the Evangels rattled off four in a row during a 6-1 run to extend their edge to 17-11 on Morgan Van Meir's service ace.
    • Maintaining a five-point cushion over the next five rallies, Mid-America Christian finished strong by taking five of the next six points, closed out on consecutive kills from Clara Zuehlke and Maddie Callicoat to seal a 25-15 win.
  • Set Three
    • The third set was a tightly contested match from beginning to end with neither team garnering larger than a two-point lead, but the Spires were able to take advantage a three-point run to grab an 8-6 edge.
    • Over the next 18 rallies, MACU managed to draw even with USM seven times, but were unable to take the lead as the Spires utilized a 5-1 run to break a 16-all tie.
    • The closest MACU could cut into the deficit was three at 24-21 after getting a Foecker kill and an assisted block from the German outside hitter with Porter before the Spires finished the set by taking advantage of a MACU service error.
  • Set Four
    • MACU kept it close 15 rallies in as the Spires held a one-point edge before stringing together a devastating 12-2 streak to put the Evangels down 20-9.
    • Mid-America Christian started to make things interesting as a Callicoat kill jumpstarted a 6-1 Evangels run before a Madayln Shurley service ace closed it to 21-15.
    • Saint Mary ended MACU's threat with four unanswered to close out the set at 25-15, drawing the match even.
  • Set Five
    • Mid-America Christian was able to take the early edge as a Foecker kill broke a two-all tie before a Spires attack error gave MACU the 4-2 lead.
    • Saint Mary put together another devastating run, tallying four in a row and seven of the next eight to grab a 9-5 advantage.
    • The Spires stretched their lead to six at 13-7 before the Evangels came storming back. MACU rattled off a 5-1 run, which included surviving match-point three times on kills by Foecker and Lena Stockhammer to go along with a block from Foecker and Moreira to bring it to 14-12 and forcing Saint Mary to call a timeout.
    • USM finished off the set on a Rylee Kenitzer kill out of the timeout to thward the MACU comeback.
• MATCH NOTES
  • Mid-America Christian finished the match with 56 kills on a .188 attack percentage while Saint Mary turned in 61 kills on a .176 rate.
  • Hanna Foecker led MACU once again with a double-double, turning in 19 kills on a .222 attack percentage along with 13 digs, four blocks and a service ace.
  • Lena Stockhammer once again led the passing efforts with 40 assists to go with eight digs in the defense.
  • Maegan Plunk once again led the defense with a team-high 26 digs.

 
UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will return to action in the Hutchinson Sports Arena tomorrow for another pair of matchups against Tabor (Kan.) at 1 p.m. before facing McPherson (Kan.) at 5 p.m. to close out the event.