OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian will have a pivotal matchup to open the second half of Sooner Athletic Conference play on Friday as the Evangels host Oklahoma Panhandle State for a 7 p.m. match before taking on Wayland Baptist at the USAO Fieldhouse in Chickasha, Okla. at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 12-9 (6-4 SAC)
• Last Match: Won vs. Central Christian (Kan.) – 3-0 (25-13, 25-12, 25-22) – Oct. 1, 2022 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Stat Leaders:
  • Kills: Lena Stockhammer (206), Cloie Mitchell (163), Lauryn Walters (162)
  • ATK%: Vanessa Moreira (.319), Miriam Nardi (.282), Sarah Jones (.175)
  • Assists: Casady McKinney (415), Lena Stockhammer (378)
  • Aces: Faith Foutch (37), Casady McKinney (33), Marlee Hunter (24)
  • Digs: Marlee Hunter (406), Sydney Martin (208), Lena Stockhammer (187)
  • Blocks: Lena Stockhammer (45), Vanessa Moreira (42), Miriam Nardi (37)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian is coming off a pair of dominant three-set sweeps over Langston and Central Christian last weekend. In the win over the Tigers, the Evangels hit a season-best .286 attack percentage while limiting CCCK to a season-low -.056 attack clip.
  • In MACU's pair of three-set sweeps, the Evangels got some strong performances from Cloie Mitchell and Annabeth Fehrle in the attack. With both hitting from the outside, Mitchell finished the week with 21 kills on a 3.5 per set ratio and a .281 attack percentage while Fehrle notched 17 kills on a .406 hitting clip.
  • The Evangels were stellar in the block in the win against the Tigers, tying a season-high nine blocks while boasting a season-best 3.0 blocks per set average.
  • MACU has continued to perform well inside the Gaulke Activity Center as the Evangels hold a 7-4 mark at home with their only four losses coming to opponents with a combined 85-5 (.940) record during the 2022 season.

SCOUTING REPORT
Oklahoma Panhandle State

• Record: 13-6 (6-4 SAC)
• Last Match: Won vs. Southwestern Christian (Okla.) – 3-0 (25-8, 25-13, 25-14) – Oct. 1, 2022 – Goodwell, Okla.
• Series vs. MACU (2008-): OPSU leads 8-6
• Last Match vs. MACU: OPSU won 3-1 (25-22, 16-25, 26-24, 27-25) – Sept. 3, 2022 – Goodwell, Okla.
• Players to Watch:
  • Essence West – SR – OH
    • 232 Kills (3.52 K/S), .210 ATK%, 211 Digs (3.20 D/S), 21 Aces (0.32 SA/S)
  • Lesly Galarza – SR – S
    • 457 Assists (7.14 A/S), 135 Digs (2.11 D/S)
  • Gracie Soza – JR – L
    • 302 Digs (4.51 D/S), 21 Aces (0.31 SA/S)
  • Ebony Dykes – SR – MB
    • 62 Blocks (0.93 B/S), 63 Kills, 0.94 K/S
• Team Notes:
  • Oklahoma Panhandle State entered the second half of Sooner Athletic Conference play in a three-way deadlock with Mid-America Christian and Oklahoma City for fourth in the league with a 6-4 conference mark and a 13-6 record overall.
  • The Aggies are led by one of the top attackers in the SAC in Essence West, who ranks second in the league with 232 kills and 3.52 kills per set. Her .210 attack percentage also ranks 10^th in the SAC amongst all qualifying players (played in 66 percent of games and averages at least five attacks per set).
  • Aggies setter Lesly Galarza also ranks fifth in the conference in assists per set (7.14) while Ebony Dykes is boasting the sixth-highest blocks per set average (0.93).
  • While OPSU was able to defeat the Evangels in their earlier season meeting in Goodwell, MACU put up a strong fight by forcing two sets to extra points. While the Aggies lead the all-time series 8-6, the Evangels are 4-2 against OPSU inside the Gaulke Activity Center, including winning four of the last five meetings at home. In last season's meeting in OKC, MACU swept the Aggies 25-18, 25-18, 31-29 on Oct. 15, 2021.

Wayland Baptist (Texas)

• Record: 5-10 (5-5 SAC)
• Last Match: Won vs. Oklahoma City – 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-23) – Oct. 1, 2022 – Plainview, Texas
• Series vs. MACU (2004-): WBU leads 29-6
• Last Match vs. MACU: MACU won 3-2 (17-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-22, 15-5) – Sept. 2, 2022 – Plainview, Texas
• Players to Watch:
  • Alexa Hinojos – JR – MH
    • 126 Kills (2.33 K/S), .203 ATK%, 53 Blocks (0.98 B/S)
  • Chante Moore – JR – MH
    • 103 Kills (1.84 K/S), .192 ATK%, 40 Blocks (0.71 B/S)
  • Samantha Ingram – JR – S
    • 269 Assists (4.80 A/S), 142 Digs (2.54 D/S), 35 Blocks (0.63 B/S)
  • Dayana Critchii – JR – L/DS
    • 157 Digs (3.65 D/S), 13 SA (0.30 SA/S)
• Team Notes:
  • After starting off the season 1-10, Wayland Baptist took a lot of momentum into the midway point of conference play by winning its last four matches. The Pioneers are coming off a three-set sweep over Oklahoma City in its last match on Oct. 1, a victory that moved WBU to seventh in the SAC standings.
  • The Pioneers are led by one of the best middles in the league in Alexa Hinojos, who ranks fourth in the conference in blocks per set (0.98) and is also the team's leader in the attack with 126 kills on a .203 attack percentage.
  • WBU has struggled in road and neutral site matches this season, boasting just a 2-6 record away from the Hutcherson Center with the two wins coming against Central Christian and Langston, two teams that sit at the bottom of the league standings.
  • Even though Wayland Baptist leads the all-time series 29-6, the Evangels have had recent success against the Pioneers, holding a 6-2 record since the 2019 season. In their previous meeting, the Evangels needed to battle back from a set down, taking set four 25-22 before putting together a dominant 15-5 showing in set five to come away with the 3-2 win inside the Hutcherson Center on Sept. 2.