OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Volleyball team will be looking to send six seniors out on a high note for their Senior Night match as the Evangels will face off against crosstown rival Southwestern Christian at 7 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center.

The senior ceremony will take place immediately before the start of the match as the Evangels will honor the following seniors: Ryley Bowden, Annabeth Fehrle, Sarah Jones-Stafford, Miriam Nardi, Lena Stockhammer and Lauryn Walters.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 15-10 (11-7 SAC)
• Last Match: Lost vs. John Brown (Ark.) – 3-2 (20-25, 27-25, 15-25, 25-20, 15-12) – Oct. 26, 2024 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Stat Leaders:
  • Kills: Miriam Nardi (257, 2.99 K/S), Alica Obusekova (216, 2.48 K/S)
  • Attack Percentage (%, K-E-A): Miriam Nardi (.279, 257-82-627), Sarah Jones-Stafford (.266, 119-32-327)
  • Assists: Casady McKinney (534, 6.14), Madison Lee (291, 3.73)
  • Aces: Sydney Martin (38, 0.44 SA/S), Casady McKinney (36, 0.41 SA/S)
  • Digs: Ryley Bowden (383, 4.40 D/S), Alica Obusekova (280, 3.22 D/S)
  • Receive Percentage (%, RE-R): Alica Obusekova (.933, 33-495), Sydney Martin (.919, 28-344)
  • Blocks: Sarah Jones-Stafford (71, 0.83 B/S), Miriam Nardi (36, 0.42 B/S)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian will be looking to bounce back from a tough loss on Saturday as John Brown battled back from a set down and six points down in set four to steal a 3-2 victory inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
  • Despite suffering the loss, one positive MACU could take away from the match was that it had its best performance of the season from the service line, finishing with a season-high 14 aces, just one shy of matching its all-time best against a Sooner Athletic Conference foe.
  • Within SAC competition, Mid-America Christian has been one of the best attacking and back row defenses in the league as MACU's .206 team hitting percentage ranks as the third-best clip while the Evangels as a team are shoveling the most digs per set at 18.25 while holding opponents to the second-lowest attack clip in the conference at .117.
  • The Evangels have multiple players that are quickly climbing up MACU's NAIA Era (2007-present) record books as Sarah Jones-Stafford needs just two more blocks to move into second on MACU's career list with Laurel Church (228, 2015-17), Casady McKinney needs only one more ace to move into second on the career service aces list with Hannah Luedtke (144, 2013-15).

SCOUTING REPORT
Southwestern Christian

• Record: 5-18 (3-15 SAC)
• Last Match: Won vs. Langston – 3-2 (21-25, 25-17, 19-25, 25-15, 15-7) – Oct. 26, 2024 – Bethany, Okla.
• Series vs MACU (2003-): MACU leads 24-11
• Last Match vs SCU: MACU won 3-0 (25-21, 25-11, 25-19) – Sept. 28, 2024 – Bethany, Okla.
• Series Streak: MACU won 3
• Players to Watch:
  • Paige McGee – JR – OPP
    • 176 Kills (2.26 K/S), .176 ATK%, 113 Digs (1.45 D/S)
  • Faith DeSouza – GR – S
    • 347 Assists (4.45 A/S), 73 Kills (0.94 K/S), .096 ATK%, 24 Aces (0.31 SA/S), 184 Digs (2.36 D/S)
  • Lotta Lischka – SO – DS
    • 237 Digs (3.39 D/S), .873 RCV%, 16 Aces (0.23 SA/S)
  • Alondra Esparza – JR – OH
    • 36 Blocks (0.49 B/S), 132 Kills (1.78 K/S), .131 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Southwestern Christian is coming off back-to-back home win this past weekend as the Evangels swept Central Christian in straight sets on Friday before battling back to win a five-set thriller against Langston on Saturday.
  • Scoring has been a challenge for the Eagles in Sooner Athletic Conference play this season as SCU ranks second-to-last in the league in points per set (11.7) while ranking 10^th in both kills per set (9.40) and attack percentage (.093). Defensively, Southwestern Christian has not fared much better, ranking dead last in the conference in blocks per set (0.99) while the back row is shoveling just the 10^th-most digs at 15.12 per set.
  • SCU's attack has primarily run through the trio of Paige McGee, Alondra Esparza and Brianna DeVries, who are combining to score 5.63 kills per set, but have struggled to find consistency in the attack with a collective .151 hitting percentage. Graduate student setter Faith DeSouza is one of the most experienced setters in the SAC, entering Tuesday's match dishing out 4.45 assists per set while also being solid on the defensive end, shoveling 2.36 digs per set.
  • Mid-America Christian has been particularly good against Southwestern Christian in the recent series as MACU has won 11 of the last 12 meetings since the 2019 season. When the two teams met inside Pickens-Springer Gym at SCU back on Sept. 28, the Evangels overcame a slow offensive start in the opening set to come away with a dominant three-set sweep. Miriam Nardi and Annabeth Fehrle were particularly great in the match with Nardi notching 10 kills on a .471 attack rate and Fehrle finishing with nine kills at a blistering .727 clip.