WAXAHACHIE, Texas – The Mid-America Christian volleyball team battled hard against a pair of NAIA Top 25 opponents, but the Evangels dropped a 3-1 decision at No. 24 Texas Wesleyan on Friday night before falling in straight sets to No. 9 Southwestern Assemblies of God on Saturday.
Mid-America Christian vs. No. 24 Texas Wesleyan
- SCORE
- Texas Wesleyan 3, Mid-America Christian 1 (25-19, 25-17, 21-25, 25-19)
- Mid-America Christian (15-11, 9-6 SAC)
- Texas Wesleyan (20-3, 14-1 SAC)
- TOP PERFORMERS
- MATCH NOTES
- After falling in the first two sets, Mid-America Christian put together an impressive showing in the third set, leading by as much as six at 23-17 on a Miriam Nardi kill. Texas Wesleyan battled back by scoring four straight, but the Evangels were able to finish out with the 25-21 win.
- Mid-America Christian held the momentum through the first half of set four, taking a 12-10 lead off a Nardi kill and a Malia Linton attack error, but the Lady Rams pulled away over the second half, outscoring MACU 15-7 over the final half of the set to claim the match, 25-19.
- Texas Wesleyan out-hit the Evangels with 54 kills on a .172 attack percentage while the Evangels were held to 48 kills at a .112 hitting rate.
- Three different MACU players cracked double-digit kills with Lena Stockhammer and Miriam Nardi tallying a team-best 12 kills apiece while Lauryn Walters tallied 10 kills on a .200 hitting clip.
- Stockhammer turned in a triple-double. Along with her 12 kills, Stockhammer also dished out a team-high 19 assists to go with 13 digs in the defense.
- Marlee Hunter led the MACU defensive efforts with 24 digs, averaging six per set.
Mid-America Christian vs. No. 9 SW Assemblies of God (Texas)
- SCORE
- SW Assemblies of God 3, Mid-America Christian 0 (25-9, 25-19, 25-23)
- Mid-America Christian (15-13, 9-7 SAC)
- SW Assemblies of God (24-0, 16-0 SAC)
- TOP PERFORMERS
- MATCH NOTES
- Mid-America Christian struggled to contain Southwestern Assemblies of God in the opening set as the Lady Lions scored on 16 of the first 19 rallies. SAGU scored the final five points to secure the 25-9 win.
- SAGU also held the momentum through the first half of set two, taking as large as a six-point lead at 15-9 before the Evangels battled back with five unanswered points to close it to 15-14. MACU managed to keep it to a two-point game over the next nine rallies before the Lady Lions scored five of the last six points to lock up the 25-19 win.
- MACU claimed the early momentum in the third set, leading by as much as three at 9-6. After the Lions utilized a five-point run to take a 15-12 lead, the Evangels swung back with a four-point run of their own to take back a 16-15 advantage.
- SAGU built back a three-point advantage 19-16 before a pair of Lauryn Walters kills in a 4-1 run brought it even at 20-all. However, the Lady Lions managed to hold off the Evangels by scoring on five of the final eight rallies to secure the 25-23 win.
- Mid-America Christian struggled to slow down the SAGU attack, as the Lady Lions finished with 43 kills on a .327 attack percentage while MACU was limited to 32 kills at a .182 hitting clip.
- Lena Stockhammer led the MACU attack with 12 kills on a blistering .333 attack percentage and also finished with seven assists and six digs.
- Casady McKinney led the MACU passing efforts with 15 assists to go with five digs in the defense. Marlee Hunter led the back line defense with 15 digs.
UP NEXT
- Mid-America Christian will return home on Thursday, Oct. 27 as the Evangels will host Science & Arts for Senior Night. Opening serve is slated for 7 p.m. while the Senior Night presentation will occur prior to the match.
