OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian volleyball will return to the Gaulke Activity Center for its matches in 20 days as the Evangels will take on No. 23 Oklahoma City at 7 p.m. tonight before playing Southwestern Christian at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 11-6 (3-3 SAC)
• Last Match: Lost at SW Assemblies of God – 3-2 (22-25, 16-25, 25-23, 25-16, 15-6) – Sept. 18, 2021 – Waxahachie, Texas
• Stat Leaders:
  • Hanna Foecker – SR - OH
    • 337 Kills, 4.96 K/S, .288 ATK%, 12 Aces, 123 Digs, 1.81 D/S, 28 Blocks, 0.41 BLK/S
  • Lena Stockhammer – SO – S
    • 665 Assists, 9.78 AST/S, 22 Aces, 0.32 SA/S, 112 Digs, 1.65 D/S, 18 Blocks
  • Maegan Plunk – SR – L
    • 350 Digs, 5.15 D/S, 32 Assists, 11 Aces
  • Allison Porter – SO – MB
    • 61 Blocks, 0.94 BLK/S, 59 Kills, .218 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian will be looking forward to its return to the Gaulke Activity Center as the Evangels are coming off a 10-match road stand. MACU has not had very many opportunities to play in-front of its home crowd as 15 of MACU's first 17 matches this season were held on the road or at a neutral site. However, the Evangels have fared well inside the Gaulke Activity Center, picking up wins against Science & Arts (Okla.) on Aug. 30 and John Brown (Ark.) on Sept. 1.
  • While the Evangels were able to challenge two of the top teams in the Sooner Athletic Conference on the road, Mid-America Christian will be looking for stronger execution in the attack as MACU only mustered a .194 attack percentage against Texas Wesleyan and a .077 clip against SW Assemblies of God.
  • MACU currently has three players that rank in the top five in the NAIA in their respective categories. Hanna Foecker still leads the nation in total kills with 337, Lena Stockhammer ranks third in total assists with 665 and Maegan Plunk holds the fourth-most digs with 350.
  • The Evangels will be looking to avoid their first three-match losing streak on the season.

SCOUTING REPORT
#23 Oklahoma City

• Record: 6-4 (5-1 SAC)
• Last Match: Won vs. Central Christian – 3-0 (25-10, 25-15, 25-18) – Sept. 18, 2021 – Oklahoma City, Okla. (Abe Lemons Arena)
• Series History: OCU leads 28-1 (NAIA era)
• Last Match vs. MACU: OCU won 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-20) – Mar. 18, 2021 – Oklahoma City, Okla. (Gaulke Activity Center)
• Stat Leaders:
  • Ella Lofton – SR – OH
    • 128 Kills, 3.46 K/S, .270 ATK%, 96 Digs, 2.59 D/S, 13 Aces, 0.35 SA/S
  • Sophia Salak – SR – S
    • 389 Assists, 10.51 AST/S, 65 Digs, 1.76 D/S, 12 Blocks, 0.36 BLK/S
  • Josie Thomas – FR – DS/L
    • 142 Digs, 4.18 D/S, 13 Aces, 0.38 SA/S
  • Olivia Nutter – SR – MB
    • 24 Blocks, 0.71 BLK/S, 72 Kills, 2.12 K/S, .266 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • After starting off the season with a 2-4 record following a grueling non-conference schedule, Oklahoma City has rebounded the last few weeks in Sooner Athletic Conference play, winning four in a row to improve to 5-1 in SAC play.
  • Oklahoma City features a team with a lot of senior leadership, led by setter Sophia Salak who is a two-time SAC Most Valuable Player. Currently, Salak ranks second in the SAC in assists per set (10.51) and 12^th in the NAIA.
  • Mid-America Christian will be seeking its first win against the Stars since 2007. The Evangels narrowly missed upending OCU in 2019 at the Gaulke Activity Center, dropping a hard-fought five-set affair to OCU. Despite getting swept in their meeting in the spring, MACU competed closely with the Stars, not losing by more than five points in any of the sets.

Southwestern Christian (Okla.)

• Record: 4-7 (1-5 SAC)
• Last Match: Won vs. Central Christian – 3-1 (25-14, 25-21, 22-25, 25-18) – Sept. 17, 2021 – Bethany, Okla.
• Series History: SCU leads 10-9 (NAIA era)
• Last Match vs. MACU: MACU won 3-0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-15) – Mar. 22, 2021 – Oklahoma City, Okla. (Gaulke Activity Center)
• Stat Leaders:
  • Makenna Thomas – FR – S/RS
    • 80 Kills, 2.16 K/S, .130 ATK%, 13 Aces, 0.35 SA/S, 108 Digs, 2.92 D/S
  • Faith DeSouza – S/RS
    • 146 Assists, 4.29 AST/S, 70 Digs, 2.06 D/S, 11 Blocks, 0.32 BLK/S
  • Ariana Ruiz – JR – S/DS
    • 23 Aces, 0.68 SA/S, 125 Assists, 3.68 AST/S, 73 Digs, 2.15 D/S
  • Treasure Mozon – FR – DS/L
    • 144 Digs, 3.89 D/S
  • Abagail Heimermann – SR - MH
    • 27 Blocks, 0.73 BLK/S, 76 Kills, 2.05 K/S, .262 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Southwestern Christian picked up its first Sooner Athletic Conference win of the season on Friday when it defeated Central Christian 3-1 inside Pickens-Springer Gymnasium, snapping a five-match losing streak to start conference play.
  • The Eagles have struggled mightily in the attack, ranking just 193^rd nationally in kills per set at 8.85. However, SCU is a strong team in service, ranking 23^rd in the NAIA in service aces per set (2.18).
  • Even though Southwestern Christian leads the series since MACU joined the NAIA in 2007, the Evangels have dominated the series since 2019. Mid-America Christian is 5-0 against the Eagles since snapping a six-match losing streak to SCU on Sept. 10, 2019.