OKLAHOMA CITY – For the first time in nine years, the Mid-America Christian volleyball team was victorious against Sooner Athletic Conference powerhouse John Brown as the Evangels came away with a 3-1 victory against the Golden Eagles on Wednesday night inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
 
Mid-America Christian vs. John Brown

• SCORE
  • Mid-America Christian 3, John Brown 1 (25-23, 20-25, 25-21, 25-19)
    • Mid-America Christian (4-3, 2-0 SAC)
    • John Brown (4-6, 1-1 SAC)
• TOP PERFORMERS
  • Hanna Foecker – 20 Kills, .269 ATK%, 9 Digs
  • Vanessa Moreira – 11 Kills, 2 Blocks
  • Lena Stockhammer – 36 Assists, 13 Digs, 5 Kills, .500 ATK%, 5 Blocks
  • Maegan Plunk – 30 Digs
  • Allison Porter – 9 Blocks
• MATCH SUMMARY
  • Set One
    • Mid-America Christian and John Brown were dead even through the first 12 rallies before the Golden went on a 6-1 run to grab a 12-7 lead midway through the set.
    • A Vanessa Moreira kill jumpstarted a four unanswered run for the Evangels as a Moreira and Lena Stockhammer assisted block, a Kaylie Walker service ace and a Hanna Foecker kill brought it back to a 12-11 game.
    • The Golden Eagles managed to hold on to their lead as they threatened to win the set with a late 22-19 advantage.
    • MACU went on a stellar run at the end, scoring six of the final seven points as a Foecker kill on set point allowed the Evangels to come away with the narrow 25-23 opening set victory.
  • Set Two
    • While JBU held a slim one-point lead through 15 rallies, the Golden Eagles managed to gain some breathing room behind four straight points to extend the edge to 12-7 over the Evangels.
    • John Brown maintained no less than a three-point lead for the remainder of the set, growing its advantage to as much as seven at 23-16.
    • Back-to-back kills from Moreira helped give MACU some momentum heading into the second set as the Evangels took four of the next five points before a Delaney Barnes kill on the third set point finally secured a 25-20 JBU win.
  • Set Three
    • Mid-America Christian got off to a fast start in the third set, taking nine of the first 13 points as a kill from Maddie Callicoat and a JBU ball-handling error allowed MACU to hold the five-point cushion.
    • John Brown fought back with three unanswered before a Foecker kill allowed a three unanswered counter from MACU to push the lead back out to 14-10.
    • Neither team could string together a strong run over the next 14 rallies before kills by Delaney Barnes, Julie Milligan and Taylor Golmen brought the Golden Eagles back to within one at 21-20.
    • A Stockhammer solo block swung the momentum back into the Evangels favor as MACU ended the set with a 4-1 run, which included back-to-back kills from Foecker. The run allowed Mid-America Christian to take the lead in the match once again with the 25-21 set victory.
  • Set Four
    • MACU and JBU each went on some runs through the first half of the set. John Brown rattled off five in a row to grab a 5-2 lead before the Evangels countered with a 7-1 run, including five unanswered to reclaim a 9-6 advantage.
    • John Brown scored four straight to grab a slim 11-10 edge midway through the set before the Evangels battled back with six straight to take a commanding five-point lead.
    • MACU was persistent in not allowing the Golden Eagles to come back, swelling the lead to as much as seven at 22-15. Much like the earlier sets, Foecker ended the match with a kill down the left sideline to secure the 25-19 win to seal the 3-1 victory.
• MATCH NOTES
  • While John Brown managed to outhit the Evangels by a .244-to-.151 margin through the first two sets, Mid-America Christian dominated defensively over the final two sets, limiting the Golden Eagles to just a .001 attack percentage while the Evangels swatted .166 over the final two sets.
  • Overall for the match, the Evangels tallied 51 kills on a .159 clip while JBU notched 45 kills at a .118 percentile.
  • Both teams were phenomenal at the net as Mid-America Christian turned in a season-high 13 blocks while the Golden Eagles recorded 12 of their own. It was the most blocks MACU has recorded in a win since tallying 21 in a five-set victory over Hillsdale (now Randall) on Sept. 6, 2014.
  • Senior libero Maegan Plunk once again placed herself at the top of the Evangels record books. The Mineola, Texas product finished the match with 30 digs at 7.5 digs per set, tying her own four-set match record.
  • After garnering SAC Defender of the Week honors for recording a career-high eight blocks at Oklahoma Wesleyan last week, Allison Porter once again broke her own record, finishing with nine blocks at a 2.25 block-per-set average.
  • Sophomore setter Lena Stockhammer was an impact player both offensively and defensively, turning in her second double-double of the season with 36 assists and 13 digs while also finishing with a season-best five blocks and five kills.
  • Hanna Foecker led the MACU attack, notching her third 20-kill match of the season on a .269 attack percentage while narrowly missing a double-double with nine digs.
  • The Evangels snapped a 14-match losing streak to the Golden Eagles, as MACU's last win against JBU came in a five-set thriller at the Gaulke Activity Center on Oct. 13, 2012.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will hit the road once again this weekend as it will be competing in its second early season invitational. The Evangels will head to Batesville, Ark. for the Highlander Invitational hosted by Lyon as MACU will face off against College of the Ozarks (Mo.) at 11 a.m. and Lyon (Ark.) at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 3.