CHICKASHA, Okla. – The Mid-America Christian volleyball team overcame a slow start at Science & Arts as the Evangels rallied for a 3-1 victory at the USAO Fieldhouse on Tuesday night.
SCORE
- Mid-America Christian 3, Science & Arts 1 (22-25, 26-24, 25-12, 25-12)
- Mid-America Christian (10-6, 4-3 SAC)
- Science & Arts (5-7, 1-6 SAC)
TOP PERFORMERS
MATCH SUMMARY
- Set One
- With the two teams evenly exchanging a 7-7 score through the first 14 rallies, Science & Arts put together a powerful 10-3 run to claim a seven-point advantage late in the set.
- The Drovers maintained their seven-point cushion until a Casady McKinney ball-handling error made it 22-15, but the Evangels didn't go down without a fight as back-to-back Lena Stockhammer kills ignited a five-unanswered run for MACU, bringing the score to 22-20.
- USAO finished out by scoring three of the final five points to seal the 25-22 win.
- While the two teams evenly scored 10 kills, Science & Arts was slightly better in the attack with a .133 attack percentage to a .125 for the Evangels.
- Service errors proved costly for MACU in the set as Mid-America Christian finished with seven errors to one ace while the Drovers tallied just three miscues.
- Set Two
- Mid-America Christian got off to a strong start in the second set, scoring eight of the first 11 points before growing its lead out to 16-9 off a Cloie Mitchell kill.
- A Stockhammer service ace brought it to game-point at 24-17, but the Drovers went on an astounding seven unanswered streak as Lariah Allen's kill brought it even at 24-all.
- The Evangels got a big sideout when Kat Smith was called for being in the net before Lauryn Walters powered a kill from the left side to the back row to seal the 26-24 victory.
- MACU out-hit the Drovers with 14 kills on a .148 attack percentage while USAO was limited to 10 kills on a .022 clip.
- The Evangels continued to struggle from service, committing another six errors to two aces while the Drovers notched two aces and no errors from the line.
- Walters sparked the MACU attack with four kills on a blistering .429 attack percentage.
- Set Three
- With the set all square at two, Mid-America Christian rattled off eight unanswered as part of a 11-1 run as an Annabeth Ferhle kill gave MACU the 13-3 advantage at the midway point.
- A Walters kill followed by a Faith Foutch service ace gave MACU its largest lead of the set at 16-4 before the Drovers surged back by scoring on eight of the next 11 rallies to close it to 19-12.
- A Mitchell kill ignited a six-straight point streak for the Evangels as Mitchell capped off the run with a game-point kill to claim the 25-12 win.
- Mid-America Christian put together one of its best sets of the season in the attack, registering 13 kills and committed just one attack error for a .522 hitting percentage while the Drovers were held to only seven kills at a .077 clip.
- The Evangels were able to get into a better rhythm from the service line, tallying four aces to only three errors while the Drovers were held to only one ace and a pair of errors.
- Mitchell came up big for MACU in the set, putting down six kills on an astonishing .667 attack percentage while Stockhammer added four kills on an .800 rate.
- Set Four
- The Evangels once again started spectacularly as back-to-back Stockhammer aces gave MACU the 9-2 edge.
- After USAO took two of the next three, a Ferhle kill started another strong MACU surge, tallying six of the next eight to push the lead out to 16-6.
- The Drovers could only close it to as close as eight on an Allen kill to make it 20-12, but the Evangels once again wrapped up the set in spectacular fashion, scoring the final five points off of three Fehrle kills, a Walters kill and a Ryley Bowden service ace, sealing the 25-12 victory.
- After committing just one attack error in the previous set, Mid-America Christian was even more stellar in the attack in set four, recording 14 kills with no attack errors for a .583 attack percentage while USAO turned in five kills on a .100 rate.
- Ferhle, Mitchell and Stockhammer paced the MACU attack with four kills apiece with each player hitting at a .571 attack percentage or higher.
- MACU added five aces and five errors from the service line while the Drovers could only muster one ace to three errors.
MATCH NOTES
- Mid-America Christian finished the match with 51 total kills on a season-high .286 attack percentage while Science & Arts notched 32 kills on only a .074 hitting rate.
- Overall, the Evangels had a tough night from the service line, tying a season-high 21 errors to go with 12 total aces.
- Despite needing to play under the weather, senior outside hitter Cloie Mitchell turned in the best match of her collegiate career with a match-high 15 kills on a .333 attack percentage.
- Lena Stockhammer continued to be a double-doubles machine for the Evangels, recording 14 kills on a .370 hitting clip to go with 15 assists and three aces.
- Casady McKinney led MACU both passing and in the defense with a team-high 21 assists and 17 digs while Marlee Hunter also finished with 17 digs.
- Mid-America Christian improved to 15-0 all-time against Science & Arts with a 7-0 mark inside the USAO Fieldhouse.
UP NEXT
- Mid-America Christian will continue its road trip on Thursday as the Evangels will head to Siloam Springs, Ark. for a 7 p.m. match against John Brown.
