OKLAHOMA CITY – After picking up one of the biggest wins since the program joined the Sooner Athletic Conference in 2007 with a win against John Brown, the Mid-America Christian volleyball team will be looking to keep the momentum rolling as the Evangels will head to Batesville, Ark. for the Highlander Invitational hosted by Lyon on Friday and Saturday.

MACU will open the tournament against College of the Ozarks (Mo.) at 11:30 a.m. on Friday before closing out the first day against host Lyon at 7 p.m. The Evangels will then face Jarvis Christian (Texas) at 1 p.m. on Saturday before wrapping up the event with a 6 p.m. match against Centenary (La.).

 
MACU SEASON REPORT (2021)

• Record: 4-3 (2-0 SAC)
• Last Match: Won vs. John Brown (Ark.) – 3-0 (25-23, 20-25, 25-21, 25-19) – Sept. 1 – Oklahoma City, Okla. (Gaulke Activity Center)
• Stat Leaders:
  • Hanna Foecker – SR - OH
    • 105 Kills, 4.20 K/S, .235 ATK%, 8 Aces, 0.32 SA/S, 54 Digs, 2.16 D/S, 13 Blocks, 0.52 BLK/S
  • Lena Stockhammer – SO – S
    • 224 Assists, 8.96 AST/S, 10 Aces, 0.40 SA/S, 39 Digs, 1.56 D/S, 10 Blocks
  • Maegan Plunk – SR – L
    • 133 Digs, 4.59 D/S
  • Allison Porter – SO – MB
    • 32 Blocks, 1.14 BLK/S, 18 Kills
• Team Notes:
  • On Wednesday night, Mid-America Christian defeated John Brown for the first time since 2012 and just the fourth time in program history. In MACU's last win on Oct. 4, 2012, the Evangels battled back from a 2-1 deficit to come away with a thrilling 25-17, 26-28, 23-25, 25-18, 15-13 victory.
  • Senior libero Maegan Plunk is coming off one of her finest defensive performances in her four-year Evangels career. The Mineola, Texas product tied her own four-set match record with 30 digs in the victory. Plunk initially tied Camera Broadnax's 30-dig record in a 3-1 defeat at John Brown on Nov. 1, 2019.
  • After turning in 20 kills against the Golden Eagles, senior outside hitter Hanna Foecker bumped her season total to 125, the third-most most in the entire NAIA. After turning in a career-high nine blocks against JBU, Allison Porter also ranks as one of the top blockers in the NAIA, as her 32 total blocks sits as the 12^th-highest amongst NAIA players.
  • Since going 1-3 at the KCAC Fall Fling, the Evangels have been playing dominant volleyball, winning three straight matches and dropping just one set during that stretch.

SCOUTING REPORT
College of the Ozarks (Mo.)

• Record: 2-0
• Last Match: Won vs. Avila (Mo.) 3-0 (25-21, 27-25, 25-13) – Aug. 28 – Point Lookout, Mo.
• Series History – N/A
• Last Match vs. MACU:  N/A
• Stat Leaders:
  • Ryley Thixton – SR - OH
    • 32 Kills, 5.33 K/S, .381 ATK%, 5 Aces, 0.83 SA/S, 18 Digs, 3.00 D/S
  • Morgan Austin – FR – S
    • 77 Assists, 12.83 AST/S, 10 Digs, 1.67 D/S
  • Mica Chadwell – FR – OH/DS
    • 5 Aces, 0.83 SA/S, 22 Digs, 3.67 D/S
  • Brooklyn Crawford – FR – MB
    • 3 Blocks, 0.50 BLK/S, 27 Kills, 4.50 K/S, .346 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • College of the Ozarks opened the 2021 season with a pair of home wins, a pair of three-set sweeps over Ozark Christian (Mo.) and Avila (Mo.).
  • While playing a shortened 2020 season due to COVID-19, the Bobcats have been a strong program, posting 24 or more wins per season between 2016-2019.
  • Through two matches, Ozarks ranks second in the NAIA in kills per set (15.0) and lead the nation in assists per set (14.17).
  • Senior outside hitter Ryley Thixton is a major threat for the Bobcats on the outside as her 5.33 kills per set rate is the second-highest in the NAIA and the highest of any players to compete in more than one match.
  • Her freshman counterpart Morgan Austin also sits atop of the NAIA leaderboards by averaging 12.83 assists per set.
  • Mid-America Christian and College of the Ozarks will be playing each other for the first time since MACU joined the NAIA in 2007.

Lyon (Ark.)

• Record: 4-1
• Last Match: Lost vs. Bethel (Tenn.) 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-18) – Aug. 31, 2021 – Batesville, Ark.
• Series History – N/A
• Last Match vs. MACU:  N/A
• Stat Leaders:
  • Natalia Szymanska – SO - OH
    • 40 Kills, 2.50 K/S, .319 ATK%
  • Layla Wilson – FR – S
    • 98 Assists, 5.76 AST/S, 7 SA, 0.41 SA/S, 34 Digs, 2.0 D/S
  • Adia Sherbeyn – SR – DS
    • 7 SA, 0.41 SA/S, 68 Digs, 4.00 D/S
  • Samantha Ferguson – FR – MB
    • 10 Blocks, 0.63 BLK/S, 30 Kills, 1.88 K/S, .181 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Lyon opened the season on a high note, winning its first four matches of the year at the Philander Smith Tournament on Aug. 27-28. The Scots in that meet defeated Paul Quinn (Texas) 3-1, Southwestern Christian (Okla.) 3-1, Wiley (Texas) 3-0 and Jarvis Christian (Texas) 3-0.
  • LC features a balanced attack on the front line with seven players averaging more than a kill per set, led by Natalia Szymanska with 40 kills on a blistering .319 attack percentage.
  • The Scots also feature a 7-2 rotation with two setters. Their freshman distributor Layla Wilson leads the team with 98 assists at 5.76 per set while Laney Blankenship, another freshman setter has 77 assists at a 4.53 clip.
  • Much like the earlier of the Friday matchups, MACU and Lyon will be competing against each other for the first time in the modern era.

Jarvis Christian (Texas)

• Record: 0-4
• Last Match: Lost vs. Lyon 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 27-25) – Aug. 28, 2021 – Little Rock, Ark.
• Series History – MACU leads 8-0
• Last Match vs. MACU:  MACU won 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-16) – Mar. 19, 2021 – Atlanta, Texas
• Stat Leaders:
  • Keyona Easter – JR - OH
    • 23 Kills, 1.92 K/S, .141 ATK%, 19 Digs, 1.58 D/S
  • Johnice Hubbard – FR - S
    • 42 Assists, 3.50 AST/S, 17 Digs, 1.42 D/S
  • Amariah Kendrick – FR - DS
    • 3 Aces, 0.25 SA/S, 26 Digs, 2.17 D/S, 10 Kills, 0.83 K/S
  • Aaroyna Wilson – FR – MB
    • 8 Blocks, 0.67 BLK/S, 14 Kills, 1.17 K/S, .146 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Jarvis Christian will be competing at its second invitational to start the 2021 campaign. Last week the Bulldogs competed at the Philander Smith Invitational, dropping all four of their matches 3-0 to Langston (Okla.), Wiley (Texas) 3-0, Philander Smith (Ark.) 3-0 and Lyon (Ark.) 3-0.
  • The Bulldogs have struggled in the attack to start the season, recording just a .033 team attack percentage and have only reached 20-plus points in three of the 12 sets they've competed in thus far.
  • Mid-America Christian is 8-0 against the Bulldogs since the two teams started facing each other in 2009. The two teams collided in a tournament that JCC hosted this spring on Mar. 9, as the Evangels came away with a 25-14, 25-14, 25-16 victory. Hanna Foecker led the way with 10 kills, Morgan Van Meir dished out a team-high 21 assists and Maegan Plunk finished with a match-high 17 digs.

Centenary (La.)

• Record: 0-0
• Last Match: Lost vs. Colorado College 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-15) – Apr. 10, 2021 – Shreveport, La.
• Series History – N/A
• Last Match vs. MACU:  N/A
• Stat Leaders (Returning):
  • Alyssa Davis – SR – OH
    • 166 Kills, 3.19 K/S, .176 ATK%, 10 Aces, 0.19 SA/S, 132 Digs, 2.54 D/S, 18 Blocks, 0.35 BLK/S
  • Rachel Demerjian – SR – S
    • 355 Assists, 7.10 AST/S, 102 Digs, 2.04 D/S
  • Jacie Proctor – SO – DS/L
    • 230 Digs, 5.11 D/S
  • Elizabeth Epley – SR – MB
    • 33 Blocks, 0.63 BLK/S, 80 Kills, 1.54 K/S, .116 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Centenary, an NCAA Division III school out of Louisiana will be opening its 2021 season. Last year, CC ended the year with a 3-14 overall record.
  • CC brings back most of its offensive and defensive leaders from a season ago with Alyssa Davis leading the team in both kills and service aces while Rachel Demerjian commanded the offense with 355 Assists at 7.10 per set. Centenary will also return two of its top defensive players from last year, including Jacie Proctor who averaged 5.11 digs per set in the back court while Elizabeth Epley led the charge at the net with 33 blocks on a 0.63 per set average.
  • MACU and Centenary will be facing each other for the first time in their program's histories.