GOODWELL, Okla. – Seeking its first win inside Anchor D Arena in four years, the MACU volleyball team was able to snap its three-match losing streak inside the venue on Friday night as the Evangels pulled out a 3-1 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 3, Oklahoma Panhandle State 1 (25-20, 25-21, 16-25, 25-20)
  • Mid-America Christian (9-7, 5-2 SAC)
  • Oklahoma Panhandle State (3-8, 2-5 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Sawyer Franz – 20 Kills, .231 ATK%, 12 Digs
• Ludmilla Souza – 24 Assists, 14 Digs, 2 Aces
• Marlee Hunter – 23 Digs, 7 Assists
• Sarah Jones – 6 Blocks, 7 Kills, .130 ATK%

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • Mid-America Christian opened the match on-fire, scoring the first six points before eventually stretching the advantage to 13-3 on a Sawyer Franz left-side termination.
  • The Aggies put together a five-unanswered run midway through to close the gap to five, but MACU managed to stretch it back out to eight following a Sarah Jones and Lena Stockhammer assisted block and a Jones kill to make it a 16-8 game.
  • MACU eventually pushed the edge out to 10 once again at 20-10 following an attack error by Ava Newby, but the Aggies once again went on a strong 9-3 run to close the gap to four on Bryanna Rosario's kill.
  • However, MACU finished the set by scoring on two of the next three with a Kaylee Harrison kill before Stockhammer ended two rallies later on a kill off the OPSU block to seal the 25-20 victory.
• Set Two
  • The Evangels got off to a slow start in set two as Oklahoma Panhandle State jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before MACU eventually rallied to take its first lead of the set on a Rosario attack error to make it 10-9.
  • The Aggies briefly grabbed the advantage back with back-to-back points before MACU went on a 9-3 run capped off on Franz service ace to make it a 19-14 game.
  • OPSU rallied back behind a 6-1 surge to draw it even at 20-all, but Mid-America Christian finished strong, scoring five of the final six as Franz fired a smash off an OPSU defender to secure the 25-21 win.
• Set Three
  • MACU got off to a very tough start to set three, giving up the first six points as the Aggies stretched their lead out to 12-3 on a Sydney Carey service ace at the midway point.
  • Mid-America Christian struggled to build any momentum in the second half, but the Evangels did manage to close the gap to six at after scoring three unanswered to set the score to 21-15.
  • However, the Aggies didn't allow MACU to climb any closer as the Aggies scored on four of the final five rallies to close out a 25-16 set three win to cut the Evangels' set lead in half.
• Set Four
  • The Evangels recaptured the momentum to start the fourth set, scoring the first four points before a Sydney Martin ace gave MACU a five-point edge at 6-1.
  • MACU maintained a three-point cushion until the Aggies strung together four in a row to take its only lead of the set at 11-10 on an assisted block by Mia Sanchez and Cami Kenny's attack.
  • After making the move of putting Faith Foutch at the right side instead of her defensive position in the back row, the strategic maneuver paid off as the 5-3 utility jumpstarted an 8-2 MACU streak with a pair of kills before Lauryn Walters terminated from the right side to bring the score to 18-13.
  • The closest the Aggies were able to cut into the MACU advantage was 21-18 off of back-to-back by Taylore Alsaid, but the Evangels finished strong with its sideout scoring as four of the final six went MACU's way before Foutch capped the match with her third kill of the night.

MATCH NOTES

• It was tough sledding in the attack for both squads as Mid-America Christian tallied 54 kills on a .148 attack percentage, but the Evangels were able to hold Oklahoma Panhandle State to only 33 terminations at an .082 hitting clip, the Aggies' third-lowest attack rate of the season.
• Coming off SAC Attacker of the Week honors, Sawyer Franz continued to perform at a very high level as the freshman outside tallied a career-high 20 kills on a .231 attack percentage while also recording her fifth double-double of the year with 12 digs.
• Senior setter Ludmilla Souza also turned in a double-double of her own, dishing out a team-high 24 assists to go with 14 digs and a pair of service aces.
• Marlee Hunter led the back row defensive efforts with 23 digs, averaging an efficient 5.8 digs per set while Sarah Jones provided a challenge for the Aggies at the net with a career-best six blocks to go with seven kills in the attack.
• Since the two teams started playing each other in 2008 and after Oklahoma Panhandle State won three of four meetings between Nov. 6, 2020 and Sept. 3, 2022, the Evangels have taken the lead in the all-time series with their third straight win over the Aggies.
• The victory allowed MACU to stay in lock step for third place with Oklahoma City and Wayland Baptist in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings at 5-2.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will be seeking to keep its No. 3 spot in the SAC standings on Saturday afternoon as the Evangels will trek down to Plainview, Texas for a 1 p.m. match against Wayland Baptist inside the Hutcherson Center.