OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Volleyball team will looking to finish its five-match road stand on a high note on Wednesday night as the Evangels head down to Chickasha, Oklahoma to take on Science & Arts inside the Drover Fieldhouse.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 14-8 (10-5 SAC)
• Last Game: Won at Central Christian – 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-15) – Oct. 19, 2024 – McPherson, Kan.
• Stat Leaders:
  • Kills: Miriam Nardi (231, 3.08 K/S), Alica Obusekova (180, 2.40 K/S)
  • Attack Percentage (%, K-E-A): Miriam Nardi (.289, 231-71-554), Sarah Jones-Stafford (.279, 98-24-265)
  • Assists: Casady McKinney (472, 6.29 A/S), Madison Lee (244, 3.70 A/S)
  • Aces: Ryley Bowden (31, 0.41 SA/S), Sydney Martin (30, 0.40 SA/S)
  • Digs: Ryley Bowden (317, 4.23 D/S), Alica Obusekova (237, 3.16 D/S)
  • Receive Percentage (%, RE-R): Alica Obusekova (.936, 28-436), Miriam Nardi (.933, 7-104)
  • Blocks: Sarah Jones-Stafford (58, 0.78 B/S), Miriam Nardi (31, 0.41 B/S)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian has been playing some stellar volleyball during its road stretch as MACU has went 3-1 with all three wins coming via three-set sweeps and its only loss coming at undefeated Sooner Athletic Conference leader, Nelson. After struggling inside Jerry E. Alexander Arena the last two seasons with each of the last two meetings in the venue coming down to the decisive fifth set, the Evangels had no problem taking down Central Christian this year in its home gym as MACU came away with the 25-17, 25-17, 25-15 win.
  • At the conclusion of Saturday's matches, the Evangels continued to stay "in-the-hunt" for one of the top four seeds in the SAC Tournament as this year's field is one of the most competitive in recent history. At the moment, MACU holds the No. 4 spot with 10-5 league mark, sitting in a tie with the Oklahoma City Stars with MACU holding the tiebreaker after sweeping OCU on the road on Sept. 27. The Evangels are just one game back of Wayland Baptist for the No. 3 seed and two games back of Texas Wesleyan for the second seed. However, the race is close with John Brown being only 1.5 games back and College of the Ozarks being two games back of MACU in fourth.
  • Mid-America Christian has been getting the job done in league play due in-large part to its attack and its sensational defense as MACU ranks third in SAC competition in attack percentage with a .206 rate while the defense has held its opposition to only a .106 hitting clip, which is the second-lowest in the conference only league-leader Nelson (.094).
  • In the win at Central Christian, Sarah Jones-Stafford continued her tear at the net by notching six assisted blocks after tallying four in the three-set sweep at Langston on Thursday. With her last block, Jones-Stafford joined an elite class as she surpassed Mary Burkhead for third on NAIA Era (2007-present) career blocking list, needing just 15 rejections to match Laurel Church (2015-17) for second.

SCOUTING REPORT
Science & Arts (Okla.)

• Record: 10-13 (6-8 SAC)
• Last Match: Won at Central Christian – 3-0 (25-15, 26-24, 26-24) – Oct. 18, 2024 – McPherson, Kan.
• Series vs MACU (2016-): MACU leads 19-0
• Last Match vs MACU: MACU won 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-10) – Sept. 25, 2024 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Series Streak: MACU won 19
• Players to Watch:
  • Jaliyah Cox – JR – OH
    • 190 Kills (2.64 K/S), .207 ATK%
  • Bailey Makahununiu – FR – S
    • 339 Assists (4.52 A/S), 137 Digs (1.83 D/S)
  • Brynlee Birney – FR – DS/L
    • 388 Digs (4.97 D/S), .938 RCV%, 79 Assists (1.01 A/S)
  • Giselle Caulderon – SO – MB
    • 54 Blocks (0.75 B/S), 119 Kills (1.65 K/S), .137 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • In its last match at Central Christian last week, the victory did not come easy inside Jerry E. Alexander Arena but the Drovers managed to grind out a pair of extra-point victories in sets two and three by scores of 26-24 to pull away with the three-set sweep. The Drovers open a busy stretch of matches tonight at Langston as USAO will play four matches over the next five days.
  • The Drovers have struggled in the attack during conference play as Science & Arts is only registering the ninth-best attack percentage in the conference (.120) while the defense is allowing its opposition to hit for a .190 percentage against it. The Drovers are also struggling to score from the service line, holding the second-lowest aces per set rate (1.23) in the conference, however, USAO has done well in the back row by ranking fifth in the SAC in digs per set at 17.19.
  • The USAO attack has been primarily by committee as the Drovers have nine regular players in their rotation averaging more than a kill per set with Jaliyah Cox being the most potent attacker with 190 kills (2.64 per set) on a .207 attack percentage. On the defensive side, freshman libero Brynlee Birney has been outstanding in the USAO back row, ranking fourth in the conference in digs per set (5.15).
  • Mid-America Christian will be seeking to keep its win streak intact against the Drovers. Since the establishment of USAO's volleyball program in 2016, MACU has won all 19 of its previous meetings against the Drovers. The Evangels swept the Drovers in their previous meeting inside the Gaulke on Sept. 25, as Alica Obusekova had one of her best matches as an Evangel, tallying 13 kills on a .522 attack percentage while Miriam Nardi chipped in 10 kills on a .429 clip. In last season's meeting at the Drover Fieldhouse, Mid-America Christian put together one of its best defensive performances of the season, holding USAO to a .000 attack percentage while coming away with the 25-12, 25-15, 25-22 sweep.