OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU volleyball team will officially get Sooner Athletic Conference play underway this week as the Evangels will head to Chickasha, Okla. tonight for a 6 p.m. matchup against Science & Arts before hosting Southwestern Christian for their home opener at 7 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 3-4
• Last Match: Won vs. Dickinson State (N.D.) – 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-20, 25-20) – Aug. 26, 2023 – Hastings, Neb.
• Stat Leaders:
  • Kills: Lena Stockhammer (85), Sawyer Franz (82), Sarah Jones (49)
  • ATK%: Annabeth Fehrle (.238), Lena Stockhammer (.231), Sarah Jones (.220)
  • Assists: Casady McKinney (228), Ludmilla Souza (43)
  • Aces: Casady McKinney (15), Marlee Hunter (8), Sydney Martin (8)
  • Digs: Marlee Hunter (113), Sawyer Franz (68), Casady McKinney (56)
  • Blocks: Sarah Jones (15), Annabeth Fehrle (5), Lauryn Walters (5)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian is coming off a tough showing at the Hastings Classic as the Evangels faced some of the toughest competition in the country. The Evangels narrowly missed pulling off a major upset against No. 24 Hastings (Neb.) in a five-set defeat before losing a pair of close three-set affairs against two of the top teams from the KCAC in Kansas Wesleyan and Oklahoma Wesleyan. However, the Evangels were able to salvage a win out of the tournament in the finale with a 3-1 victory over Dickinson State.
  • After putting together a solid weekend from the setter position, sophomore Casady McKinney was named both the SAC Setter of the Week and the NCCAA Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week, finishing the four-game slate with 148 assists (9.87 per set) to go along with 25 digs and eight service aces.
  • Despite getting off to a 3-4 start, Mid-America Christian has played some strong competition to start off the season as all four of MACU's losses have come to teams that finished with at least 20 wins in 2022 while two opponents qualified for the NAIA National Championships.
  • The Evangels so far feature a very balanced attack between two strikers nearly averaging three kills per set. While senior outside hitter Lena Stockhammer leads the team with 85 kills on a .231 attack percentage, freshman outside Sawyer Franz is also coming up big for the MACU attack with 82 kills on a .206 attack percentage.

SCOUTING REPORT
 Science & Arts (Okla.)

• Record: 3-1
• Last Match: Lost at Benedictine (Kan.) – 3-1 (25-12, 21-25, 25-20, 25-11) – Aug. 25, 2023 – Atchison, Kan.
• Series vs MACU (2016-): MACU leads 16-0
• Last Match vs MACU: MACU won 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-19) – Oct. 27, 2022 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Series Streak: MACU won 16
• Players to Watch:
  • Victoria Southerland – JR – OH
    • 42 Kills (3.00 K/S), .200 ATK%, 33 Digs (2.36 D/S), 5 Aces (0.36 SA/S)
  • Kayla Pierce – JR – S
    • 66 Assists (4.71 A/S), 20 Digs (1.43 D/S)
  • Soleil Trejo – SR – DS/L
    • 76 Digs (5.43 D/S), .914 RCV%, 6 Aces (0.43 SA/S)
  • Samantha Perez – JR – MB
    • 13 Blocks (0.93 B/S), 32 Kills (2.29 K/S), .324 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Science & Arts opened its season with a pair of strong wins against Friends and Central Baptist in a tri-match at the Drover Fieldhouse on Aug. 22 before splitting a pair of matches against Hannibal-LaGrange and Benedictine in a road tri-match on Aug. 26.
  • Under first-year head coach Isabel Almendarez, the Drovers feature a balanced attack that currently leads the SAC in hitting percentage (.212). Hill College transfer Victoria Southerland has led the Drovers attack with 42 kills on a .200 attack percentage while middle blocker Samantha Perez has been one of the most efficient attackers in the conference with 32 kills on a SAC best .324 hitting clip.
  • The Drovers defensively have been tough in the back row, holding opponents to just a .097 attack percentage as junior libero Soleil Trejo ranks second in the SAC at 5.43 digs per set.
  • Since the establishment of the program in 2016, Mid-America Christian has fared well against the Drovers, going 16-0 during that stretch, including a 3-1 win at USAO on Sept. 20 and a 3-0 sweep at the Gaulke Activity Center on Oct. 27 last season.

Southwestern Christian (Okla.)

• Record: 2-3
• Last Match: Won at Philander Smith (Ark.) – 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-20) – Aug. 26, 2023 – Little Rock, Ark.
• Series vs MACU (2003-): MACU leads 21-11
• Last Match vs MACU: SCU won 3-2 (25-18, 13-25, 21-25, 25-20, 15-11) – Oct. 13, 2022 – Bethany, Okla.
• Series Streak: SCU Won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Dasia Ingram – FR – OH/MB
    • 46 Kills (2.56 K/S), .215 ATK%, 25 Digs (1.39 D/S), 8 Block (0.44 B/S)
  • Faith DeSouza – SR – S
    • 103 Assists (6.06 A/S), 17 Kills (1.00 K/S), .130 ATK%, 38 Digs (2.24 D/S)
  • Treasure Mozon – SR – DS/L
    • 76 Digs (4.22 D/S), .929 RCV%, 7 Aces (0.39 SA/S)
• Team Notes:
  • Southwestern Christian is coming off a 2-2 showing at the Philander Smith Panther Classic on Aug. 25-26. After opening with a 3-0 win against Jarvis Christian (Texas), the Eagles dropped back-to-back matches to Texas A&M-Texarkana 3-1 and Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) before closing out the classic with a 3-0 win over host Philander Smith.
  • The balanced SCU attack is led by freshman outside hitter and middle blocker Dasia Ingram, who is averaging 2.56 kills per set on a .215 attack percentage while sophomore opposite and outside hitter Paige McGee is chipping in 2.33 kills per set on a .075 hitting clip.
  • The Eagles overall have struggled in the attack, mustering just 9.61 kills per set on .125 attack percentage while defensively allowing 12.11 kills per set on a .170 attack rate.
  • While Mid-America Christian holds a 21-11 lead in the all-time series, the Evangels will be looking to avenge a heartbreaking loss to the Eagles on Oct. 13 last season. In that defeat, MACU managed to bounce back from a 25-18 opening-set loss to take the next two 25-13 and 25-21. However, SCU recaptured the momentum in the fourth with a 25-20 win before taking the final set 15-11 to get its first win against MACU since 2018. However, the Evangels have fared well against Southwestern Christian in their home confines as MACU has won five straight inside the Gaulke Activity Center while taking 15 of the 16 sets played against each other.