OKLAHOMA CITY – Much like the men's soccer team earlier in the evening, the No. 4 seed MACU Volleyball team will also be welcoming in fifth-seeded Oklahoma City for its Sooner Athletic Conference Quarterfinal match at 8 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Tuesday night.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 19-10 (15-7 SAC)
• Last Match: Won at Wayland Baptist – 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 27-25) – Nov. 9, 2024 – Plainview, Texas
• Stat Leaders:
  • Kills: Miriam Nardi (301, 3.01 K/S), Alica Obusekova (239, 2.37 K/S)
  • Attack Percentage (%, K-E-A): Miriam Nardi (.288, 301-91-729), Sarah Jones-Stafford (.251, 135-41-375)
  • Assists: Casady McKinney (604, 5.98 A/S), Madison Lee (349, 3.79 A/S)
  • Aces: Casady McKinney (47, 0.47 SA/S), Sydney Martin (42, 0.42 SA/S)
  • Digs: Ryley Bowden (452, 4.48 D/S), Alica Obusekova (308, 3.05 D/S)
  • Receive Percentage (%, RE-R): Alica Obusekova (.934, 39-595), Sydney Martin (.929, 30-420)
  • Blocks: Sarah Jones-Stafford (80, 0.80 B/S), Miriam Nardi (41, 0.41 B/S)
• Team Notes:
  • Playing in a must-win game where the winner would get a home match in the SAC Quarterfinal, Mid-America Christian was able to avenge a five-set loss to Wayland Baptist in a big way inside the Hutcherson Center on Saturday as MACU went into the venue and came away with a hard-fought three-set sweep over the Pioneers.
  • In the win, MACU put together a downright balanced attack behind its 47 kills with five players recording five or more kills, led by Lena Stockhammer with 13 terminations on a .265 attack percentage while Alica Obusekova notched 11 kills on a .242 rate. Junior setter Casady McKinney played a major factor in the result with her setting and attacking as she along with Madison Lee finished with 18 assists and nine digs, but also finished with five kills on a .556 hitting percentage on setter dump attempts.
  • With the result, MACU has now won 15 or more games against SAC competition three times in the last four years as well as finished third or better in each of the last two years, finishing in a tie for third with John Brown in this year's league play. Over the last four years, Mid-America Christian has won the third-most SAC matches at 57, averaging 14.25 league victories per season. The only two other teams that have won more over that stretch are league powerhouses Nelson (77, 19.25) and Texas Wesleyan (72, 18.00).
  • Tuesday night's matchup marks the third-straight year the Evangels will host a SAC Quarterfinal match. MACU hosted its first ever SAC quarter on Nov. 8, 2022 and picked up a three-set sweep over Oklahoma Panhandle State while MACU got a 3-1 win in last year's SAC quarter over Wayland Baptist on Nov. 7, 2023.

SCOUTING REPORT
Oklahoma City

• Record: 14-14 (14-8 SAC)
• Last Match: Lost vs. No. 20 Nelson (Texas) – 3-1 (25-8, 25-20, 16-25, 27-25) – Nov. 9, 2024 – Oklahoma City (Abe Lemons Arena)
• Series vs MACU (2006-): OCU leads 32-8
• Last Match vs MACU: MACU won 3-2 (13-25, 25-17, 25-23, 21-25, 15-8) – Nov. 1, 2024 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Series Streak: MACU won 6
• Players to Watch:
  • Ruby Kelley – SR – OPP/MB
    • 274 Kills (3.51 K/S), .297 ATK%, 37 Aces (0.47 SA/S), 198 Digs (2.54 D/S), .940 RCV%, 79 Blocks (1.01 B/S)
  • Natalie Adams – SO – S
    • 584 Assists (5.90 A/S), 33 Aces (0.33 SA/S), 194 Digs (1.96 D/S)
  • Grace Smallwood – FR – OH/DS
    • 321 Digs (3.34 D/S), .962 RCV%, 210 Kills (2.19 K/S), .122 ATK%, 29 Aces (0.29 SA/S)
  • Rylee Steward – SR – MB
    • 83 Blocks (0.84 B/S), 211 Kills (2.13 K/S), .249 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Despite coming up on the short end of a pair of home losses to the top two finishers in the SAC in Texas Wesleyan and No. 20 Nelson, the Stars put up two pretty tough fights in a 3-0 loss to the Lady Rams and a 3-1 defeat to the Lady Lions. However, after entering the weekend as the No. 3 team in the SAC, the two losses proved to be detrimental to the Stars as they fell to the No. 5 seed in the SAC Tournament.
  • Oklahoma City is led by a heavy contender for the SAC Player of the Year honor in senior opposite and middle Ruby Kelley, who finished league play as the conference's leader in kills per set (3.51) with the third-highest hitting percentage (.297), second-best blocks per set (1.01) and sixth-best service ace per set clip (0.47).
  • In the attack, OCU ranked fifth in kills per set (12.28) on the fifth-best attack percentage (.181) while being very strong on the defensive end, ranking third in the conference in blocks per set (2.03) and holding its opposition to just a .130 hitting clip in league play. The only three teams that posted better defensive hitting percentage numbers in the conference were Nelson (.082), Texas Wesleyan (.116) and MACU (.119).
  • Even though Oklahoma City has dominated the all-time series between the two programs, Mid-America Christian has seen its fair share of success against the Stars since 2022 as MACU has won the last six meetings. When the two teams last met just two weeks ago, the Evangels and Stars battled back-and-forth in a five-set grinder inside the Gaulke Activity Center, however, MACU was able to seize control the match midway through the final set, outscoring OCU 8-2 over the final 10 rallies to secure the 15-8 win for the program's first five-set victory of the season.