WAXAHACHIE, Texas – Coming off one of its biggest wins in program history on Friday night, Mid-America Christian battled hard against Sooner Athletic Conference leader Nelson, but the Evangels were unable to withstand the Lady Lions late runs in every set as MACU fell in straight-sets inside the Sheaffer Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
SCORE

• Nelson 3, Mid-America Christian 0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-19)
  • Mid-America Christian (12-8, 8-5 SAC)
  • Nelson (19-4, 13-0 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Alica Obusekova – 9 Kills, .350 ATK%, 13 Digs
• Natalia Rodriguez – 7 Kills, 5 Digs
• Madison Lee – 10 Assists, 3 Digs
• Ryley Bowden – 14 Digs, 4 Assists, 2 Aces

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • After getting off to a slow start that saw Nelson score four of the first five, Mid-America Christian found its stride following Alica Obusekova's side-out kill from the left side as the Evangels put together a 9-2 run to grab a 10-6 advantage near the midway point, forcing the Lady Lions to call a timeout.
  • The Evangels maintained their four-point edge until Nelson went a strong run starting in the 25^th rally as the Lady Lions went on a 9-2 run to grab a 19-16 lead.
  • Mid-America Christian rattled off three in a row to tie it back up at 19-all and again at 20-20 on a Natalia Rodriguez kill, but the Lady Lions tallied three in a row again before surviving another late MACU push to hold on for the 25-23 win.
• Set Two
  • Mid-America Christian came out the momentum right out of the gate, tallying scores on the first four rallies with kills from Casady McKinney, Sarah Jones-Stafford and a Sydney Martin service ace before Nelson took advantage of a Bailee Alexander terminations and a pair of MACU mishits to make it 4-3.
  • The Evangels once again got back on-track, quickly building their lead back out to four before eventually growing it to six after a 4-0 run featuring a pair of Miriam Nardi kills and two NU attack errors made it 17-11.
  • Following a Makenzie Smith side-out kill, Nelson ended the match on an incredible 11-1 run to put MACU's backs against the wall following the 25-20 defeat.
• Set Three
  • It was tightly contested through the first 15 rallies, but a three-unanswered push by Nelson off of an Alexandra Bonnet kill and back-to-back Madison Petten service aces allowed the Lady Lions to get some breathing room at the midway point at 11-7.
  • The Evangels managed to cut it to a three-point game on a pair of occasions early in the second half of the set, but another 4-1 Lions run put MACU in-trouble with a 19-13 deficit, forcing head coach Holly McKamie to call a timeout.
  • MACU was unable to gain any ground on the Lady Lions the rest of the way as Nelson closed out the match with a 25-19 win.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian struggled to get its attack in-rhythm against Nelson's feisty defense as the Evangels were held to only 31 kills on a .110 attack percentage. However, MACU was also relatively strong on the defensive end in its own right, limiting the Lady Lions to only 39 terminations on a .144 attack percentage.
• The Evangels struggled in the service game as the Evangels notched just four aces and committed 11 service errors while Nelson scored seven aces against MACU.
• Alica Obusekova led MACU's attacking efforts with nine kills on a .350 attack percentage while narrowly missing out on the double-double after tallying 13 digs on the defensive end.
• Madison Lee dished out a team-high 10 assists while Ryley Bowden led the back-row efforts with 14 digs
• While the Evangels battled closely against the top-rated team in the SAC in the three-set match, MACU dropped its seventh-straight to the defending conference champions.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will continue its five-match road stand on Thursday as the Evangels will head up to Langston, Oklahoma for a 7 p.m. match against Langston inside C.F. Gayles Arena.