OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU volleyball team will face a pair of top-tier Sooner Athletic Conference teams this week as the Evangels host John Brown for Hispanic Heritage Night at the Gaulke Activity Center for a 7 p.m. first serve on Wednesday before heading uptown on Thursday night to battle Oklahoma City inside Abe Lemons Arena at 6 p.m.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 10-7 (6-2 SAC)
• Last Match: Won at Wayland Baptist (Texas) – 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-21) – Sept. 23, 2023 – Plainview, Texas
• Stat Leaders:
  • Kills: Sawyer Franz (207, 3.51 K/S), Lena Stockhammer (185, 3.14 K/S), Sarah Jones (104, 1.76 K/S)
  • ATK% (K-E-A, %): Sawyer Franz (207-77-558, .233), Sarah Jones (104-43-276, .221), Lena Stockhammer (185-82-531, .194)
  • Assists: Casady McKinney (446, 7.82 A/S), Ludmilla Souza (156, 3.80 A/S)
  • Aces: Casady McKinney (24, 0.42 SA/S), Marlee Hunter (24, 0.41 SA/S), Two Tied (18)
  • Digs: Marlee Hunter (273, 4.63 D/S), Sawyer Franz (149, 2.53 D/S), Sydney Martin (114, 1.93 D/S)
  • Blocks: Sarah Jones (41, 0.69 B/S), Annabeth Fehrle (25, 0.42 B/S)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian accomplished a first since the 2019 season last weekend as the Evangels picked up wins at both Oklahoma Panhandle State (3-1) and Wayland Baptist (3-0). In the win over the Pioneers, the Evangels put together one of their best road performances of the season, sweeping WBU in dominant fashion, 25-14, 25-15, 25-21.
  • As a result of the two big road wins, freshman outside hitter Sawyer Franz was awarded with the SAC Attacker of the Week for the second straight week after tallying a career-high 20 kills in the win at OPSU and finishing with 33 kills overall on a .265 attack percentage.
  • In the win over the Pioneers, junior libero Marlee Hunter reached a milestone as she notched her 1000^th career dig at Mid-America Christian, becoming only the fourth Evangel in the NAIA Era (2007-present) to reach the career achievement.
  • The victory over the Pioneers also allowed the Evangels to keep pace with Oklahoma City for a tie for third in the SAC standings at 6-2. The slate of matches will be huge for MACU as John Brown sits just behind the Evangels and Stars with a 5-3 league mark while Thursday's match could determine the No. 3 team in the league.
  • On Wednesday night, Mid-America Christian will be celebrating Hispanic Heritage Night. On the evening, MACU will have a food truck where the first 125 fans will receive a voucher for free tacos from the truck while MACU student Maria Puente Semanario will perform a Peruvian dance between the second and third sets.2-

SCOUTING REPORT
John Brown (Ark.)

• Record: 12-7 (5-3 SAC)
• Last Match: Won vs. Langston (Okla.) – 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-13) – Sept. 23, 2023 – Siloam Springs, Ark.
• Series vs MACU (2007-): JBU leads 24-6
• Last Match vs JBU: MACU won 3-1 (16-25, 26-24, 25-18, 25-23) – Oct. 29, 2022 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Series Streak: MACU won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Savanna Riney – SR – OH
    • 212 Kills (3.12 K/S), .258 ATK%, 24 Aces (0.35 SA/S), 88 Digs (1.29 D/S), 27 Blocks (0.40 B/S0
  • Morgan Fincham – SR – S
    • 323 Assists (5.13 A/S), 18 Aces (0.29 SA/S), 105 Digs (1.67 D/S)
  • Julie Milligan – JR – DS
    • 323 Digs (4.89 D/S), 32 Aces (0.48 SA/S)
  • Erin Mullins – JR – MB
    • 60 Blocks (0.92 B/S), 107 Kills (2.15 K/S), .262 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • John Brown is coming off a pair of dominant home three-set sweeps over Central Christian and Langston to improve to 12-7 overall on the season with a 5-3 mark in Sooner Athletic Conference play.
  • The Golden Eagles enter Wednesday night's match as the top hitting team in the SAC, hitting a league-best .203 attack percentage while also boasting a league-high 12.63 kills per set. JBU is also one of the best serving teams in the conference, leading the conference with
  • JBU features one of the top outside hitters in the conference in Savanna Riney. The senior outside leads the SAC in total kills (212) and also ranks in the top three in qualifying hitting percentage (.259, 3^rd). The Golden Eagles attack also features the most efficient hitter in the conference in Taylor Golmen, who is smashing 2.03 kills per set on a .329 attack percentage.
  • Even though JBU holds a 24-6 lead in the all-time series, MACU has fared well in the recent series by winning three of the last four meetings. The last time the two teams met in the Gaulke Activity Center on Oct. 29, the Evangels rallied back from a set down to win the final three sets to come away with a pivotal 3-1 victory that helped MACU lock up one of the top four seeds in the SAC Tournament last year.

Oklahoma City

• Record: 7-6 (6-2 SAC)
• Last Match: Won vs. Central Christian – 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-17) – Sept. 23, 2023 – Oklahoma City
• Series vs MACU (2006-): OCU leads 32-4
• Last Match vs MACU: MACU won 3-1 (25-27, 25-21, 25-20, 25-17) – Oct. 11, 2022 – Oklahoma City (Abe Lemons Arena)
• Series Streak: MACU won 2
• Players to Watch:
  • Ruby Kelley – JR – MB
    • 140 Kills (3.18 K/S), .216 ATK%, 148 Digs (3.36 D/S), 50 Blocks (1.14 B/S), 17 Aces (0.39 SA/S)
  • Natalie Adams – FR – S
    • 369 Assists (8.39 A/S), 18 Aces (0.41 SA/S), 103 Digs (2.34 D/S), 23 Blocks (0.52 B/S)
  • Kaitlyn Dunlap – SO – DS/L
    • 181 Digs (4.11 D/S), .934 RCV%, 15 Aces (0.34 SA/S)
• Team Notes:
  • Oklahoma City will enter Thursday night's matchup either a half-game ahead or a half-game back of Mid-America Christian for third in the SAC standings as the two squads are currently tied with a 6-2 conference mark while the Stars hold a 7-6 record overall. Last week, the Stars dominated Langston and Central Christian in a pair of three-set sweeps.
  • The Stars will enter the match as the league's fifth-best hitting team with a .154 team attack percentage, but feature one of the top defenses in the conference that are averaging a SAC-best 2.13 blocks per set while also being one of the best in the league in serve receive percentage at .931.
  • OCU is led by one of the best all-around players in the conference in junior middle blocker Ruby Kelley. Entering the match, Kelley is notching 3.18 kills per set on a solid .216 hitting clip while also ranking first in the SAC in blocking with a 1.14 per set average. Her teammate Rylee Steward sits right behind her in the blocks category at 1.05 per set. The Stars also feature the league's leading setter as freshman Nicole Adams has dished out 369 assists on an 8.39 per set rate.
  • Even though the perennial NAIA powerhouse program has a commanding 32-4 lead in the all-time series, Mid-America Christian has won three of the last four matches over the last two seasons. Last year, the Evangels completed a program first as MACU swept the season series against the Stars for the first time in program history.