OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Volleyball team will host a huge Homecoming match for its final regular season home match on Friday as the Evangels welcome crosstown rival Oklahoma City for a Red Out Night at 7 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 16-10 (12-7 SAC)
• Last Match: Won vs. Southwestern Christian (Okla.) – 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-23) – Oct. 29, 2024 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Stat Leaders:
  • Kills: Miriam Nardi (271, 3.04 K/S), Alica Obusekova (216, 2.40 K/S)
  • Attack Percentage (%, K-E-A): Miriam Nardi (.281, 271-88-652), Natalia Rodriguez (.256, 95-28-262)
  • Assists: Casady McKinney (549, 6.10 A/S), Madison Lee (305, 3.77 A/S)
  • Aces: Casady McKinney (39, 0.43 SA/S), Sydney Martin (39, 0.43 SA/S)
  • Digs: Ryley Bowden (396, 4.40 D/S), Alica Obusekova (287, 3.19 D/S)
  • Receive Percentage (RE-R): Alica Obusekova (.933, 34-510), Sydney Martin (.919, 29-359)
  • Blocks: Sarah Jones-Stafford (72, 0.81 B/S), Miriam Nardi (36, 0.40 B/S)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian put together a dominant performance in its Senior Night match against Southwestern Christian on Tuesday night as the Evangels swept Southwestern Christian following two dominant sets and grinding out a hard-fought set three to finish it out.
  • In that victory, seniors Miriam Nardi, Lena Stockhammer and Lauryn Walters were huge in the MACU attack. The highly experience trio combined to register 28 kills for a .350 htting percentage. Nardi paced the Evangels with a match-high 14 kills on a .320 attack rate, Stockhammer bashed her seven kills on a blistering .636 clip while Walters notched seven on a solid .250.
  • MACU's setter tandem of Casady McKinney and Madison Lee's ability to score from the service line also continues to play a major factor as both setters each notched three aces while the Evangels scored nine aces as a team in the win. McKinney's outing allowed her to continue climbing MACU's NAIA Era (2007-present) career service aces list as her 146^th career ace allowed her to move into second on the list, sitting just five away from matching Kaylie Walker (2018-21).
  • Friday night's match is a pivotal one as the Evangels are trying to stay in-the-hunt for a top four spot in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings. Currently, the Evangels are just a half-game back of Wayland Baptist for fourth and two games back of Oklahoma City in third. With the Evangels playing both programs in the last two weeks of the regular season, MACU has the opportunity to control its own destiny and capture one of the spots.

SCOUTING REPORT
Oklahoma City

• Record: 14-11 (14-5 SAC)
• Last Match: Won at Science & Arts – 3-1 (25-9, 20-25, 25-22, 25-20) – Oct. 30, 2024 – Chickasha, Okla.
• Series vs MACU (2006-): OCU leads 32-7
• Last Match vs MACU: MACU won 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-22) – Sept. 27, 2024 – Oklahoma City (Abe Lemons Arena)
• Series Streak: MACU won 5
• Players to Watch:
  • Ruby Kelley – SR – OPP/MB
    • 245 Kills (3.71 K/S), .306 ATK%, 35 Aces (0.35 SA/S), 174 Digs (2.64 D/S), .945 RCV%, 63 Blocks (0.95 B/S)
  • Natalie Adams – SO – S
    • 507 Assists (5.83 A/S), 29 Aces (0.33 SA/S), 171 Digs (1.97 D/S)
  • Grace Smallwood – FR – OH/DS
    • 286 Digs (3.40 D/S), .961 RCV%, 179 Kills (2.13 K/S), .115 ATK%, 25 Aces (0.30 SA/S)
  • Rylee Steward – SR – MB
    • 77 Blocks (0.89 B/S), 192 Kills (2.79 K/S), .262 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Since suffering a pair of sweep defeats at Nelson and Texas Wesleyan during the first weekend of October, Oklahoma City has been on a bit of a roll, winning seven of its last eight matches with the only defeat being a 3-2 loss at Wayland Baptist on Oct. 19.
  • The Stars have been one of the strongest scoring teams in SAC play this season, averaging the third-most points per set (16.8) on the fourth-most kills (12.56) and the fifth-best hitting percentage (.188). Meanwhile, OCU's defense has been one of the best in conference play, allowing only 9.53 kills per set on a .118 hitting percentage.
  • For the Evangels to be successful, they'll need find a way to stop one of the best all-around volleyball players in the SAC in Ruby Kelley. The senior right side and middle blocker enters the contest as the league-leader in kills per set (3.71) and second in attack percentage (.306) while also by far and away leading the conference in overall points per set by nearly a full point (4.8).
  • Even though Oklahoma City is 32-7 all-time against MACU, the Evangels have had the Stars number as of late, winning the last five meetings as well as six of the last seven meetings. In their previous matchup inside Abe Lemons Arena back on Sept. 27, MACU held the Stars to their fifth-lowest attack percentage in a SAC match (.127) while the Evangels had three players (Miriam Nardi, Alica Obusekova, Lena Stockhammer) finish with double-digit kills to come away with the three-set sweep.