OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU volleyball team is set to host its two biggest home volleyball matches of the season inside the Gaulke Activity Center this weekend as the Evangels will take on No. 14 Texas Wesleyan at 7 p.m. on Friday before battling No. 24 Southwestern Assemblies of God at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 13-8 (9-3 SAC)
• Last Match: Won at Southwestern Christian – 3-0 (25-18, 25-10, 25-13) – Oct. 7, 2023 – Bethany, Okla.
• Streak: Won 3
• Stat Leaders:
  • Kills: Sawyer Franz (272, 3.63 K/S), Lena Stockhammer (227, 3.03 K/S), Sarah Jones (118, 1.57 K/S)
  • ATK% (K-E-A, %): Sawyer Franz (272-106-734, .226), Sarah Jones (118-49-323, .214), Lena Stockhammer (227-93-634, .211)
  • Assists: Casady McKinney (509, 6.97 A/S), Ludmilla Souza (254, 4.46 A/S)
  • Aces: Casady McKinney (34, 0.47 SA/S), Marlee Hunter (34, 0.45 SA/S), Ludmilla Souza (27, 0.47 SA/S)
  • Digs: Marlee Hunter (361, 4.81 D/S), Sawyer Franz (176, 2.35 D/S), Sydney Martin (153, 2.04 D/S)
  • Serve Receive (RE-R, %): Marlee Hunter (19-398, .952), Ryley Bowden (7-123, .943), Sawyer Franz (23-384, .940)
  • Blocks: Sarah Jones (51, 0.68 B/S), Annabeth Fehrle (32, 0.43 B/S)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian is coming off a dominant road performance at Southwestern Christian last Saturday as the Evangels ran away with a 25-18, 25-10, 25-13 three-set sweep inside Pickens-Springer Gymnasium.
  • In the win, MACU put together its most efficient offensive attack of the season, hitting for by far and away its best attack clip of the season at .375 while five different players with more than five attacks registered a .333 clip or better.
  • One of the big reasons for MACU's recent success in the attack has been the strong play of junior right side hitter Miriam Nardi. Last week in the Evangels' wins over USAO and SCU, the Verona, Italy native smashed 29 kills on a .463 attack percentage. Nardi also registered a career-high 20 kills in the win against the Drovers, which included the match-winning kill in the fifth set.
  • The Evangels continue to produce as one of the nation's best teams from the service line. After tallying 10 aces to only six errors against the Eagles, Mid-America Christian has climbed up to 12^th in the NAIA at 2.25 aces per set, one spot ahead of its Friday night opponent Texas Wesleyan (2.24).

SCOUTING REPORT
Texas Wesleyan

• Record: 17-3 (12-0 SAC)
• Last Match: Won at Langston – 3-0 (25-7, 25-16, 25-11) – Oct. 7, 2023 – Langston, Okla.
• Series vs MACU (2005-): TWU leads 25-0
• Last Match vs MACU: TWU won 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-15) – Sept. 9, 2023 – Fort Worth, Texas
• Series Streak: TWU won 25
• Players to Watch:
  • Hanna Rubis – FR – MB/OH
    • 184 Kills (3.07 K/S), .203 ATK%
  • Ruby O'Brien – SO – S
    • 388 Assists (5.79 A/S), 24 Aces (0.36 SA/S), 147 Digs (2.19 D/S)
  • Andrea Malek – JR – L/DS
    • 417 Digs (6.22 D/S), .967 RCV%, 28 Aces (0.42 SA/S)
  • Carly Unruh – SR – MB
    • 35 Blocks (0.73 B/S), 63 Kills (1.31 K/S), .191 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Texas Wesleyan had no problems in a pair of road matches last week, picking up a pair of sweeps at Central Christian and Langston.
  • The Lady Rams feature an incredibly balanced offensive attack with seven players averaging at least a kill per set while hitting the second-best attack percentage in Sooner Athletic Conference matches at .252. TWU features one of the stingiest back row defenses in the entire NAIA as its 19.30 digs per set not only leads the SAC, but ranks seventh in the country. The Lady Rams in-service have also been very strong with the 13^th-most aces per set in the NAIA at 2.24.
  • Leading the balanced TexWes attack will be freshman middle and outside Hanna Rubis, who enters the match with the sixth-best kills per set rate in the SAC at 3.07 kills while hitting .203. 
  • The Lady Rams back row is headlined by one of the nation's best liberos in Andrea Malek. The junior ranks sixth in the entire NAIA in digs per set at 6.22 while also being incredible in serve receive, committing just nine errors for a .967 receive percentage.
  • Mid-America Christian is still seeking its first ever win against the NAIA powerhouse Texas Wesleyan program. The closest the Evangels have come to upsetting the Lady Rams came on Nov. 5, 2015 when MACU went into Fort Worth and took TWU to five sets before eventually falling 15-12 in the final set.

SW Assemblies of God (Texas)

• Record: 14-6 (11-1 SAC)
• Last Match: Won at Central Christian – 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-8) – Oct. 7, 2023 – McPherson, Kan.
• Series vs MACU (2003-): SAGU leads 40-7
• Last Match vs MACU: SAGU won 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-17) – Sept. 8, 2023 – Waxahachie, Texas
• Series Streak: SAGU won 4
• Players to Watch:
  • Emma Tompkins – SR – MH/OPP
    • 168 Kills (2.63 K/S), .280 ATK%, 54 Blocks (0.84 B/S)
  • Riley Burcham – SR – S
    • 428 Assists (6.11 A/S), 21 Aces (0.30 SA/S), 138 Digs (1.97 D/S)
  • Tessa Glick – JR – L/DS
    • 277 Digs (3.96 D/S), .962 RCV%
  • Karena Tipton – SR – MH/OPP
    • 53 Blocks (0.84 B/S), 104 Kills (1.65 K/S), .325 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Since suffering its only conference loss to Texas Wesleyan back on Sept. 19, Southwestern Assemblies of God has been playing nearly flawless volleyball during its five-match win streak, losing just one set during that stretch.
  • What has made SAGU a very dangerous team this season has been their ability to score in a variety of ways. SAGU enters the weekend as the top-hitting team in SAC competition, batting a .256 attack percentage in its 12 conference matches. The Lady Lions also rank tied for first in the league in blocks per set at 2.19 while also registering the second-most aces per set in league play only behind MACU at 2.42.
  • The Lady Lions balanced attack makes them a difficult foe to contend with as three different players are tallying more than two kills per set, led by the 2022 SAC Player of the Year in Emma Tompkins. The senior middle hitter is averaging 2.63 kills per set on a .280 hitting clip while Bailee Alexander has also been a major threat for the Lady Lions as of late, tallying back-to-back SAC Attacker of the Week honors.
  • Mid-America Christian will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak to Southwestern Assemblies of God, however, MACU has had some success against the Lady Lions in its home confines as the Evangels have won two of their last three meetings against the national powerhouse program inside the Gaulke Activity Center. The last time MACU beat SAGU inside the Gaulke, the Evangels pulled out a five-set thriller as a Lady Lions attack error on match-point sealed a 15-13 win in the fifth set on Oct. 22, 2021.