MCPHERSON, Kan. – For the second straight year, the MACU volleyball team and Central Christian battled each other to a five-set thriller inside Jerry E. Alexander Arena on Thursday night, however, this time the Evangels came out victorious as MACU came away with the 18-16 win in the fifth set.
SCORE
- Mid-America Christian 3, Central Christian 2 (22-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-27, 18-16)
- Mid-America Christian (15-10, 11-5 SAC)
- Central Christian (7-18, 4-12 SAC)
TOP PERFORMERS
MATCH SUMMARY
- Set One
- Central Christian took firm control of the opening set by scoring six straight points during an 8-1 run toward the midway point to hold a commanding 12-4 lead following an Amanda Dotter left side kill that found the middle of the MACU defense.
- The Evangels scored the next two points following a Dotter attack error and a Sawyer Franz roll shot kill down the left sideline, but the Tigers swung back with four-unanswered to take their largest lead of the match at 16-6 on another Dotter termination.
- After trading the next two rallies, Mid-America Christian clawed its way back to eventually close it to a 22-20 game following a Franz finish and another Dotter hitting miscue.
- However, MACU was unable to climb any closer as the match ended on five-straight side-out scores as a Kamryn Vanatta kill sealed the 25-22 win for the Tigers.
- Set Two
- CCC once again opened the set strong by scoring six of the first nine, but Mid-America Christian quickly seized control following a Franz termination as MACU tallied seven of the next eight points to grab the 10-7 advantage when Lena Stockhammer blasted a cross-court shot from the left to the right side.
- The Tigers rallied to score the next three to tie it up at 10 before the Evangels got the attack going from the right side with a Kaylee Harrison kill and back-to-back Lauryn Walters terminations as MACU went on a 7-1 surge to make it a 17-11 game.
- Central Christian kept the Evangels from completely running away with the set behind eight consecutive side-out points, but three-straight Stockhammer slams allowed MACU to close out the set with a 5-2 run, wrapping up the 25-17 final on Stockhammer's fourth termination of the run.
- Set Three
- Once again, the Tigers grasped the early momentum, scoring on eight of the first 11 rallies before a Franz finish jumpstarted a string of four straight as a Ryley Bowden service ace closed it to 8-7.
- Central Christian stretched its lead back to three at the midway point, but back-to-back kills by Walters and Franz ignited a 6-1 MACU surge, capturing the 15-13 edge on Walters and Annabeth Fehrle's assisted block.
- The Tigers scored two of the next three to make it a one-point game, but Mid-America Christian closed out the set strong, scoring nine of the final 11 points as consecutive Ludmilla Souza service aces sealed the second-straight 25-17 win.
- Set Four
- It was a game of runs in the early portion of the fourth set, as the two teams traded the lead five times as a three-point MACU run gave the Evangels the 9-7 edge on Franz's finish off the Central block.
- Neither team could muster more than a two-point run over the next 16 rallies, but Central Christian captured a 19-18 edge on a pair of kills by Vanatta and Aijha Sampsell and a Jacque Freeman ace.
- Both teams battled back-and-forth once again before the Evangels found three-straight on a Jones and Walters assisted block, a Tigers attack error and a Franz kill to bring it to match-point at 24-22.
- The Tigers showed incredible resilience at the end of the set, making several stellar digs on the defensive end while going on a 5-1 run to capture the 27-25 win and force the decisive fifth set.
- Set Five
- The Tigers took the early lead in the final set by scoring five of the first eight, but Mid-America Christian swung the momentum back in its favor by taking five of the next six as Bowden's second ace of the match sent MACU into the side change with the 8-6 edge.
- Approaching the end of the set, Central Christian made its move, utilizing a 4-1 run to capture a 13-12 lead on an Alysen Harris ace, but MACU put the Tigers on the brink with back-to-back points on a Fehrle side-out kill up the middle and a CCC setting error make it 14-13.
- The set went into extras on five-straight side-out scores with the Tigers last point coming on a Sampsell kill to make it 16-all.
- Jones gave MACU its fourth match point as her tap-over induced a net violation on the Tigers before another Central miscue on a set resulted in a ball-handing error being called on Jordan Myers to seal the 18-16 final.
MATCH NOTES
- Mid-America Christian performed well in its offensive attack, tallying 64 kills on a .269 attack percentage and while Central Christian finished with more kills at 66, 29 Tigers attack errors resulted in a .199 hitting percentage.
- Leading the MACU attack was Lena Stockhammer for the second-straight match, putting down 17 kills on a very efficient .357 hitting percentage. Sawyer Franz also pitched in 15 kills on a .174 rate while Lauryn Walters turned in one her best matches in her MACU career, tallying 14 terminations on a blistering .462 hitting clip.
- MACU's passing efforts resulted in 64 assists on all 64 of the Evangels' kills, matching the fourth-most dimes in a single match in the NAIA Era and tying their season-high of 64 in the five-set win over Science & Arts on Oct. 3.
- Leading the distribution efforts was Ludmilla Souza, who dished out 33 assists and notched a double-double with 13 digs while Casady McKinney recorded 27 assists to go with eight shovels defensively.
- Marlee Hunter led MACU's back row with 27 digs to go with three assists and two service aces.
- While it didn't come easy, Mid-America Christian completed the season sweep over Central Christian after coming away with a straight-set 27-25, 25-12, 25-13 victory inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Sept. 15.
- The Evangels avenged a heartbreaking five-set loss they suffered last season inside Jerry E. Alexander Arena on Nov. 1, 2022. In that match, the Evangels fought back from a set down to force the fifth, but after MACU had survived four match points, the Tigers claimed the final point on a Kamryn Vanatta kill to close out a heartbreaking 15-13 defeat.
- The victory proved to be a vital one as MACU heads into the final two weeks of the regular season with an 11-5 record in Sooner Athletic Conference play, sitting just a game back of John Brown for third. The Golden Eagles will play two of its toughest matches of the season at No. 24 Southwestern Assemblies of God and No. 14 Texas Wesleyan.
UP NEXT
- Mid-America Christian will play three of its final four matches of the regular season inside the friendly confines of the Gaulke Activity Center as the Evangels will prepare to host Wayland Baptist for Senior Night on Friday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.
