OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU volleyball team was able to overcome a slow start in its return home to the Gaulke Activity Center on Friday night as the Evangels swept Central Christian 3-0 in just their second home match of the season.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 3, Central Christian 0 (27-25, 25-12, 25-13)
  • Mid-America Christian (7-7, 3-2 SAC)
  • Central Christian (4-9, 1-4 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Lena Stockhammer – 14 Kills, .462 ATK%, 2 Digs
• Sawyer Franz – 14 Kills, .367 ATK%, 6 Digs, 2 Aces
• Ludmilla Souza – 34 Assists, 8 Digs, 2 Kills, .500 ATK%, 2 Aces
• Marlee Hunter – 13 Digs, 3 Aces

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • The first half of the opening set was a back and forth affair with a series of runs, but Central Christian went on a 5-1 run near the midway point to claim a 14-12 advantage over the Evangels, forcing MACU head coach Holly McKamie to call a timeout.
  • After trading the next four points, it appeared Mid-America Christian seized control by rattling off a 7-1 streak of its own three Marlee Hunter service aces and a pair of Sawyer Franz terminations to make it a 21-17 MACU advantage.
  • The Tigers narrowly missed stealing the set after putting together a late 6-1 surge to bring it to set-point at 24-23 to bring out MACU's final timeout.
  • A crucial kill by Lena Stockhammer allowed MACU to survive one set-point, but CCCK's Kamryn Vanatta put a kill shot down the left sideline that glanced off the hands of Ludmilla Souza to bring it back to set-point at 25-24.
  • However, Mid-America Christian would not be denied as the Evangels finished very strong with three straight terminations from Stockhammer and Miriam Nardi before Franz finished it off from the left side with a powerful kill down the middle of the Tigers defense to secure the 27-25 victory.
• Set Two
  • Unlike the first set, Mid-America Christian opened the second set with a commanding advantage, scoring on the first four rallies before utilizing a 9-2 run during the midway portions of the set to secure a 16-6 advantage on Stockhammer's tapper over the Tigers block.
  • Central Christian made some small strides back to close it to eight on an Ashanti Sampsell and Zoe Smith assisted block on Annabeth Fehrle's left-side tapper to make it an 18-10 game.
  • A Franz kill on the ensuing rally righted the MACU ship as the Evangels closed out the second set with a 7-2 streak capped off on a Franz missile ace that glanced off the arms of the Tigers libero to make it a 25-12 final.
• Set Three
  • CCCK kept it close through the first 15 rallies as an Alysen Harris service ace closed it to an 8-7 game after MACU opened with the 6-2 advantage.
  • Back-to-back terminations by Stockhammer and Sarah Jones jumpstarted a dominant Evangels run as MACU scored 13 of the next 17 points to take a commanding 21-11 lead following four straight Faith Foutch service aces.
  • Central Christian scored two of the next three, but the Evangels capped it off by scoring the final three on a consecutive Stockhammer slams before Jones finished it off by coming with the match-point solo block on Sampsell's attack up the middle to secure the 25-13 win.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian finished the match with 44 kills on a .272 attack percentage while the Evangels held Central Christian to a season-low 17 kills on a .034 hitting clip.
• Facing one of the best teams in the SAC in service and serve receive, the Evangels outperformed the Tigers in the serving department, tallying 13 aces to just seven errors while the Tigers recorded only five aces and committed five service errors. The 13 reception errors by CCCK marked a season-high while its 36 digs also marked a season-low for the Tigers.
• Lena Stockhammer and Sawyer Franz commanded the MACU attack from the left side as Stockhammer finished with 14 kills on a career-high .462 attack percentage while Franz also notched 14 terminations on her second-highest attack rate of the season at .367 to go with six digs and two aces.
• Ludmilla Souza led the MACU passing efforts with a career-best 34 assists, eight digs, two aces and two kills on a .500 hitting clip.
• Faith Foutch led the Evangels from the service line by tying a career-best five aces. Foutch's last five-ace effort came in a 3-1 victory against Tabor (Kan.) on Aug. 19, 2022 in the MACU/USAO Cruisin' Classic.
• Marlee Hunter guided the back row to 54 digs with a match-high 13 shovels to with a trio of service aces while Annabeth Fehrle and Sarah Jones each tallied three blocks at the net.
• With the victory, the Evangels snapped their three-match losing streak while also avenging a five-set defeat to Central Christian in their last meeting at Jerry Alexander Arena in McPherson, Kansas on Nov. 1, 2022.
• Another win inside the Gaulke Activity Center has stretched MACU's win streak in its home venue to nine dating back to last year while also improving to 6-0 all-time against the Tigers in its home confines.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will be back at home on Saturday afternoon as the Evangels will host Langston (Okla.) for a 1 p.m. first serve inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
• Hosting an Alumni Day match, the Evangels will recognize their alumni between the second and third set before hosting an Alumni Game at 3:30 p.m.