OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Volleyball team will be home for the first time in three weeks for a pair of crucial Sooner Athletic Conference home matches against College of the Ozarks and John Brown inside the Gaulke Activity Center with all three teams battling for one of the top four spots in the league standings. The Evangels will take on the Bobcats at 7 p.m. on Friday before closing out the weekend against the Golden Eagles at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 14-9 (10-6 SAC)
• Last Match: Lost at Science & Arts – 3-1 (26-24, 25-22, 18-25, 25-23) – Oct. 23, 2024 – Chickasha, Okla.
• Stat Leaders:
  • Kills: Miriam Nardi (234, 3.00 K/S), Alica Obusekova (194, 2.46 K/S)
  • Attack Percentage (%, K-E-A): Sarah Jones-Stafford (.282, 106-26-284), Miriam Nardi (.280, 234-75-567)
  • Assists: Casady McKinney (493, 6.24 A/S), Madison Lee (271, 3.87 A/S)
  • Aces: Casady McKinney (32, 0.41 SA/S), Ryley Bowden (31, 0.39 SA/S), Sydney Martin (31, 0.39 SA/S)
  • Digs: Ryley Bowden (336, 4.25 D/S), Alica Obusekova (259, 3.28 D/S)
  • Receive Percentage (%, RE-R): Miriam Nardi (.936, 7-109), Alica Obusekova (.935, 30-462)
  • Blocks: Sarah Jones-Stafford (63, 0.81 B/S), Miriam Nardi (33, 0.42 B/S)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian is coming off a tough result to close out its five-match road stand on Wednesday as the Evangels suffered their first ever defeat at Science & Arts by a score of 3-1, snapping MACU's 19-match win streak in the series.
  • In the defeat to the Drovers, MACU struggled to get its attack going against the Drovers blocking scheme as USAO finished with 11 team blocks while forcing 30 Evangels attack errors, the second-most for the team in a match this season to finish with a .159 attack percentage.
  • Despite the disappointing outcome, one positive to take away from the loss was that MACU did get some strong production from its two middles in Sarah Jones-Stafford and Natalia Rodriguez. Jones-Stafford finished the match with eight kills on a .316 hitting percentage while also tallying 3.5 points off of two solo and three assisted blocks while Rodriguez put down seven kills on a .263 attack rate.
  • The defeat dropped MACU to fifth in the SAC standings with a 10-6 league mark, just a game back of Oklahoma City in fourth and 1.5 games back of Wayland Baptist in third, but also sit only a game ahead of JBU in sixth and two games ahead of College of the Ozarks and Science & Arts in seventh and eighth.

SCOUTING REPORT
College of the Ozarks (Mo.)

• Record: 12-10 (8-8 SAC)
• Last Match: Lost vs. No. 22 Nelson (Texas) – 3-0 (25-8, 26-24, 25-13) – Oct. 19, 2024 – Point Lookout, Mo.
• Series vs MACU (2021-): MACU leads 4-1
• Last Match vs MACU: MACU won 3-1 (25-22, 24-26, 25-21, 25-10) – Sept. 21, 2024 – Point Lookout, Mo.
• Series Streak: MACU won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Bri Linehan – JR – RS/OH
    • 243 Kills (3.12 K/S), .253 ATK%, 49 Blocks (0.63 B/S)
  • Kamryn Link – SO – S
    • 406 Assists (5.56 A/S), 26 Aces (0.36 SA/S), 169 Digs (2.32 D/S)
  • Mica Chadwell – SR – DS
    • 519 Digs (6.65 D/S), 30 Aces (0.38 SA/S), 68 Assists (0.87 A/S)
  • Bailey Chamberlain – SR – MH
    • 77 Blocks (0.99 B/S), 159 Kills (2.04 K/S), .249 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Currently in the midst of one of their toughest stretches of the season, College of the Ozarks is coming off a tough home weekend where the Bobcats lost a hard-fought 3-1 (25-16, 22-25, 25-20, 25-20) decision to Texas Wesleyan last Friday before No. 22 Nelson came into Keeter Gymnasium and even though COFO kept it close in set two, the Lady Lions ran away with a dominant three-set sweep (25-8, 26-24, 25-13).
  • In their first season in the SAC, College of the Ozarks has been sitting in the middle of the pack of the conference offensively, scoring the sixth-most points per set (15.3) while averaging 11.95 kills per set on the seventh-best hitting percentage (.167). However, the Bobcats have been a solid defensive team this year, allowing their opposition to hit for a .164 while also leading the league in digs (1056) and fourth in total blocks (107).
  • COFO features some high-quality players at the net as junior pin-hitter Bri Linehan has recorded the second-most kills (243) on the third-best kills per set (3.12) in the conference while hitting for a highly effective .253 attack percentage. Brooklyn Crawford has also been a very solid presence at the net, ranking 10^th in the SAC in kills (205, 2.63 K/S) on a squad-leading .273 hitting percentage, the seventh-best clip for all attackers averaging at least one kill per set.
  • Defensively, senior libero Mica Chadwell has been one of the best in the country as her 6.65 digs per set not only leads the SAC, but is the third-highest per set rate in the entire NAIA. The Bobcats blocking has been solid across the entire front of the net, but Bailey Chamberlain has been head-and-shoulders the best blocker up-front for the team with 0.99 per set, the second-best clip in the league.
  • Since first facing each other in 2021, Mid-America Christian has fared well against the Bobcats, holding a 4-1 record against COFO in that time frame. However, the Evangels will be challenging College of the Ozarks for the first time ever inside the Gaulke Activity Center as four of the previous five meetings have come inside Keeter Gymnasium with the first ever meeting falling in Batesville, Arkansas on Sept. 3, 2021. In their previous meeting, MACU picked up a massive road win, defeating the Bobcats 3-1 on Sept. 21 as Miriam Nardi put down a career-best 22 kills on a .356 attack percentage while Casady McKinney dished out 31 assists to go with 12 digs.

John Brown (Ark.)

• Record: 10-14 (9-7 SAC)
• Last Match: Lost vs. (RV) Texas Wesleyan – 3-2 (25-15, 25-19, 21-25, 14-25, 15-12) – Oct. 19, 2024 – Siloam Springs, Ark.
• Series vs MACU (2007-): JBU leads 26-7
• Last Match vs MACU: JBU won 3-1 (17-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-17) – Sept. 20, 2024 – Siloam Springs, Ark.
• Series Streak: JBU won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Savanna Riney – SR – OH
    • 237 Kills (2.72 K/S), .211 ATK%, 25 Aces (0.29 SA/S), 98 Digs (1.13 D/S), 39 Blocks (0.45 B/S)
  • Emma DeSanti – SR – S
    • 363 Assists (4.78 A/S), 151 Digs (1.99 D/S)
  • Julie Milligan – SR – L
    • 455 Digs (5.23 D/S), .945 RCV%, 50 Aces (0.57 SA/S)
  • Erin Mullins – SR – MB
    • 110 Blocks (1.26 B/S), 161 Kills (1.85 K/S), .189 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • John Brown enters the weekend battling through a challenging part of its schedule as the Golden Eagles have suffered three-straight losses, including a pair of hard-fought home defeats to No. 22 Nelson and Texas Wesleyan. In Saturday's match against the Lady Rams, JBU battled back from two sets down to force a fifth set, but a late run by TXWES handed the Golden Eagles a tough 3-2 defeat.
  • Entering Friday night's match at USAO, the Golden Eagles are one of the best scoring teams in the SAC, averaging 16.5 points per set while also registering the fourth-best hitting percentage in league play at .192. John Brown has also been solid on the defensive end during league play, holding its opposition to a .142 hitting percentage.
  • JBU features one of the best all-around players in the conference in senior outside hitter Savanna Riney, who is hitting for a 2.72 kills per set on a .211 attack percentage while senior middle Taylor Golmen has also been highly productive with 2.30 kills on a .281 hitting rate.
  • On the defensive side, the Golden Eagles feature a pair of studs in their front and back rows as senior libero Julie Milligan is posting the second-best digs per set clip in league play at 5.53 while senior middle Erin Mullins has been by far and away the best attack stuffer in the conference with her 1.35 blocks per set rate being 0.32 points higher than the second-best blocker in the SAC.
  • Mid-America Christian will be looking to keep its trend of splitting the season series with the Golden Eagles over the last two years after JBU won the previous meeting inside Bill George Arena back on Sept. 20. In that 3-1 defeat, the Evangels got off to a strong start by defeating JBU 25-17 in the opening set, but John Brown found its stride over the final three sets to rally for the win.