OKLAHOMA CITY – A short-handed Mid-America Christian volleyball team struggled in the attack against one of the top teams in the country as the Evangels fell in straight-sets to No. 24 Texas Wesleyan inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Saturday afternoon.
SCORE
- Texas Wesleyan 3, Mid-America Christian 0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-15)
- Mid-America Christian (9-6, 3-3 SAC)
- Texas Wesleyan (11-2, 6-0 SAC)
TOP PERFORMERS
MATCH SUMMARY
- Set One
- Texas Wesleyan jumped out to a fast start, utilizing four-point and three-point rallies to claim a 13-7 lead at the midway point.
- MACU briefly closed the gap to three behind three straight Lena Stockhammer kills to make it a 15-12 game, but the Lady Rams surged back with a 5-1 run of their own to stretch the lead out to 20-13.
- The Evangels swung back by taking four of the next five behind an Annabeth Fehrle kill and block, a Lauryn Walters kill and a Marlee Hunter service ace to close to 21-17, but TWU scored the final four points to secure the 25-17 win.
- The Lady Rams were aggressive in the attack right out the gate, recording 18 of their 25 points off kills on a .326 attack percentage while the Evangels were held to only 11 kills on a .195 clip.
- Despite the offensive struggles, Stockhammer had a strong set with four kills on a .400 hitting clip while MACU struggled to slow down the tandem of Kendal King and Lauran Richards, who combined for 10 kills on a .400 attack percentage.
- Set Two
- TWU commanded a strong early advantage against Mid-America Christian scoring on 11 of the first 15 rallies.
- The Lady Rams slowly grew its lead out to as large as eight at 15-7 before the Evangels chipped their way back. A Sarah Jones and Walters assisted block ignited a three-unanswered surge as two more Walters kills brought the deficit down to five.
- After seven straight sideouts, MACU went on a strong run as a Vanessa Moreira kill ignited a 7-2 streak before Ryley Bowden's service ace tied it up at 20.
- Texas Wesleyan put the Evangels' backs against the wall by scoring four straight to bring it to game point at 24-20, but MACU survived the first three game points on a kills by Walters and Jones before the two teamed up to block Malia Linton's attack, bringing the score to 24-23.
- Just when it looked like the Evangels were going to force a tie, the officials called a kill glanced off the MACU block for Richards to end the set at 25-23.
- Despite suffering the loss, MACU was able to outperform Texas Wesleyan in the attack, finishing with 14 kills on a .227 hitting clip while the Lady Rams were held to 13 kills on a .146 attack rate.
- One area where Texas Wesleyan was able to make up the difference was from the service line and in passing as MACU committed four service errors and two ball-handling errors in the set while TWU kept it clean from the line and in the passing attack.
- Moreira played a big impact in the MACU attack in the second frame, notching five kills on an .833 attack percentage.
- Set Three
- Mid-America Christian was immediately put with its backs against the wall in the second set as the Lady Rams took a commanding 14-5 lead into the midway point of the set.
- Seven unanswered during a 9-1 run for TWU gave the Lady Rams their largest lead of the match at 23-8.
- The Evangels didn't go down without a fight as MACU rattled off five in a row to close it back to single digits at 23-14, but TWU scored two of the final three points wrap-up the 25-15 final.
- While MACU defensively was able to limit Texas Wesleyan to only 13 kills on a .150 attack percentage, the Evangels struggled mightily in the attack as Mid-America Christian turned in just five kills on a -.054 rate in the final set.
- Cloie Mitchell was the lone Evangel record multiple kills with a pair on a .222 percentage while King tallied five more kills on a .444 clip for the Lady Rams.
MATCH NOTES
- Texas Wesleyan led the attack with 44 total kills on a .206 attack percentage while the Evangels could only muster 30 kills on a .131 rate for the match.
- Mid-America Christian out-blocked Texas Wesleyan with six blocks to just four for the Lady Rams while Sarah Jones led the net effort with a season-high five assisted blocks.
- Six different Evangels recorded three or more kills in the match as Lena Stockhammer led the way with seven kills to go with 10 assists and six digs.
- Vanessa Moreira boasted the highest attack percentage for MACU with six kills on a .250 attack rate while Lauryn Walters also turned in eight points off six kills and four assisted blocks.
- Casady McKinney led the passing efforts with 14 assists to go with six digs while Marlee Hunter led the back row defense with 17 digs.
UP NEXT
- Mid-America Christian will return to the road next week as the Evangels will face Science & Arts on Tuesday, Sept. 20. Opening serve is slated for 7 p.m. inside the USAO Fieldhouse.
