POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – The MACU volleyball team had its ups-and-downs, but overall finished the College of the Ozarks Fall Volleyball Classic strong by taking both of the Saturday matches as the Evangels went 3-1 inside Keeter Gymnasium over the weekend.

MATCH ONE / Mid-America Christian vs. Stephens
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 3, Stephens 0 (25-19, 25-14, 31-29)
  • Mid-America Christian (2-1)
  • Stephens (0-2)

TOP PERFOMERS

• Alica Obusekova – 11 Kills, .207 ATK%, 11 Digs
• Lena Stockhammer – 11 Assists, 8 Kills, 7 Digs, 2 Blocks
• Casady McKinney – 16 Assists, 5 Digs
• Ryley Bowden – 11 Digs, 5 Assists

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • Mid-America Christian captured the early momentum by scoring on nine of the first 14 rallies as a Stephens setting error made it a 9-5 MACU advantage.
  • In the 20^th rally, the Stars grabbed the momentum by taking advantage of a pair of Evangels attack errors, a reception error and a trio of kills from Jamie Russell and Macie Trimble to give SC the 14-11 lead.
  • A Stephens setting error on the ensuing rally completely turned the tide of the set as the Evangels strung together a 10-2 run to grab the 21-16 advantage. The Stars were unable to trim into the lead the rest of the way as MACU pulled away with the 25-19 win.
• Set Two
  • MACU opened the set by scoring four of the first five points and Stephens was unable to string a run against the Evangels' side-out scoring before MACU utilized a three-point run featuring kills from Sarah Jones-Stafford and Alica Obusekova to make it a 12-6 lead at the midway point.
  • A Rylee Collins termination on the ensuing rally was unable to stem the tide as MACU countered with five in a row, featuring a pair of Lena Stockhammer slams and a Ryley Bowden ace to stretch the advantage to 17-7.
  • Even though the Stars were able to make a 4-1 run to claw back some of the MACU lead, the Evangels closed out the set by scoring seven of the final 10 points with Miriam Nardi's kill closing out the 25-14 victory.
• Set Three
  • An exhilarating third set was one of massive runs for both teams to start. MACU opened the slate by scoring six of the first nine before a Stephens 6-1 run allowed the Stars to capture a 9-7 edge. The Evangels tallied points on the next four rallies to take the lead back, but in the 30^th rally, SC started a 6-0 streak capped off on a Kiley Smetzer ace to make it a 20-15 Stars lead.
  • After trading the next four points, Mid-America Christian with its backs against the wall valiantly fought back as three Nardi terminations, a Walters kill, an Annabeth Fehrle service ace and a pair of Stephens miscues during the ensuing eight rallies allowed the Evangels to survive two set points, tying it up at 24-all to send the set into extras.
  • Entering into the extra points, Stephens and MACU were able to go toe-to-toe over the next seven side-out points, but with the Stars leading 28-27, the Evangels made their charge. A kill apiece from Fehrle and Walters finally gave MACU the advantage and while the Stars were able to survive another rally, MACU finished out the 4-1 run on a ball-handling error and a Fehrle ace to close out the 31-29 victory.

MATCH NOTES

• Both teams struggled in the attack, but Mid-America Christian was the more effective team in its in-system scoring with 47 kills on a .203 attack percentage while Stephens notched only 31 kills on a .170 clip.
• MACU's attack was balanced across the board with six players finishing with five or more kills as Alica Obusekova was the only Evangel with double-digits with 11 terminations on a .207 hitting rate while notching a double-double with a team-best 11 digs.
• Lena Stockhammer narrowly missed a triple-double as she finished with 11 assists, eight kills and seven digs while Sarah Jones-Stafford was MACU's most efficient hitter with five kills on a .333 hitting clip.
• Casady McKinney led the distribution efforts with 16 assists while Ryley Bowden was the co-leader in the back row with 11 digs.
• With the result, the Evangels won the first ever meeting between the two programs.

 
MATCH TWO / Mid-America Christian vs. Evangel
SCORE

• Evangel 3, Mid-America Christian 0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-15)
  • Mid-America Christian (2-2)
  • Evangel (4-0)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Alica Obusekova – 8 Kills, 7 Digs
• Casady McKinney – 15 Assists, 9 Digs
• Ryley Bowden – 15 Digs

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • While Evangel was able to jump out to the early 6-3 advantage, Mid-America Christian was able to claw its way back to take an 8-7 lead on an Annabeth Fehrle and Kaylee Harrison assisted block. However, the Valor were able to take it back behind a 7-1 surge with Bella Wakley's termination making it a 14-9 contest.
  • Even though MACU was unable to battle back to take the lead, the Evangels were able to cut it down to a two-point game on multiple occasions, the last coming on a Stockhammer kill to close it to 20-18. Evangel finished out the set by scoring five of the last seven to wrap-up the 25-20 final.
• Set Two
  • The two squads were relatively even through the first 12 rallies, but Evangel was able to control the midway point with a 9-2 surge, making it a 15-8 contest on back-to-back kills by Loran Pritchett.
  • The momentum shifted in MACU's favor starting in the 30^th rally on Pritchett's service error as the Evangels went on a 9-1 run with Madison Lee tying it on a setter dump kill before a Sharayah Seymour attack error put MACU in-front 20-19.
  • After trading the next two points, Evangel wrapped up the set by scoring the final five points by taking advantage of a pair of crucial MACU attack errors to wrap-up the 25-21 final.
• Set Three
  • Evangel robbed MACU of any hopes of stemming the tide of the match in the early going as the Valor rattled off nine-straight points following Pritchett's attack error on the opening rally. The Evangels struggled against the service of Kenna Wise, who tallied three aces in the run before closing it out with a Viviana Sanchez and Deryan Simpson assisted block to make it 9-1.
  • Mid-America Christian tried to fight back at the midway point as four-straight Evangels scores featuring a pair of kills from Alica Obusekova and Kaylee Harrison to go with Obusekova's ace closed it to 13-8. However, the Evangels were unable to knock the EU lead to less than five the rest of the way as the Valor pulled away with the 25-15 win.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian struggled to get the attack going against Evangel as MACU could only muster 28 kills on a .050 attack percentage, however, one bright spot for the Evangels is they were able to hold the Valor to a season-low 35 kills on their lowest attack percentage (.156) of the season.
• Alica Obusekova led MACU's attack with eight kills to go with seven digs, Casady McKinney led the passing efforts with 15 assists and Ryley Bowden led the back-row defense with 15 digs.
• Evangel improved to 4-0 against MACU in the all-time series.

 
MATCH THREE / Mid-America Christian vs. Mission
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 3, Mission 1 (25-17, 25-15, 31-33, 25-17)
  • Mid-America Christian (3-2)
  • Mission (0-7)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Miriam Nardi – 16 Kills, .448 ATK%
• Annabeth Fehrle – 13 Kills, .313 ATK%, 2 Blocks
• Sarah Jones-Stafford – 11 Kills, .647 ATK%
• Casady McKinney – 27 Assists, 8 Digs, 3 Aces
• Madison Lee – 23 Assists, 10 Digs

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • The two teams were relatively even through the first 16 rallies, but Miriam Nardi's termination on the 17^th rally jumpstarted a 6-1 Mid-America Christian run that was capped off on kills by Nardi and Lena Stockhammer to make it 14-9 MACU at the midway point.
  • The Patriots were able to keep it within striking distance as a Maddie Rue kill closed it to 21-17, but the Evangels finished the set strong by scoring the final four as an Alica Obusekova kill and two MU attack errors set up Ryley Bowden to win it on her service ace to seal the 25-17 victory.
• Set Two
  • Back-to-back Casady McKinney aces and a Nardi kill set the tone to start set two before Mission fought back to close it to one at 9-8 on Summer Kenney's kill. However, the Evangels all but ruined the Patriots comeback chances starting on the 18^th rally as Annabeth Fehrle's finish allowed MACU to fire off seven-straight points, which included ending the run with four consecutive terminations, three of which by Nardi and one by Sarah Jones-Stafford to make it 16-8.
  • MACU eventually put together another 7-1 run to stretch its lead to as much as 23-11 on Natalia Rodriguez's termination, however, Mission refused to go down by scoring four of the next five while surviving three consecutive set points. The Evangels were finally able to claim the set win though on a mis-hit by Ella Sims to wrap-up the 25-15 final.
• Set Three
  • Mission turned the tables on MACU to start the third set as the Patriots scored the first three points before eventually stretching its lead to as much as four on a Nardi attack error at the midway point to make it 12-8.
  • Mid-America Christian finally found its stride again by scoring six of the next seven as a Stockhammer slam tied it up before Rue miscue gave MACU the 14-13 advantage.
  • With the set all square at 19-all, it appeared the Evangels were going to close it out as two Sydney Martin service aces and an Obusekova kill during a 4-1 run put the Patriots on the ropes at 23-20.
  • What transpired next was an incredible run of volleyball as MU scored four-straight to put it to set point and put MACU on the ropes before the Evangels scored the next two with Fehrle's kill putting the Evangels in set point advantage at 25-24. It was a back-and-forth tug of war with neither team being able to string together the necessary run to win the set until the Patriots took advantage of two crucial Evangels attack errors to score the final three points, wrapping up an incredible 33-31 final to force the fourth set.
• Set Four
  • After surviving Mission's best shot in set three, the Evangels found their mojo once again to start set four, opening by scoring seven of the first nine with Stafford's kill ending the run. However, the Patriots once against fought back to close it a one-point game at 8-7.
  • That was the last challenge the Evangels would see from the pesky Mission squad as Fehrle's finish on the ensuing rally ignited a dominant 12-2 MACU run with three consecutive Mission attack errors putting MACU into the 20-9 lead.
  • Despite being down double-digits, the Patriots tried to put together one last push, scoring five of six points and surviving a few match points to make it 24-17 before Obsusekova and Kaylee Harrison teamed up on a Kenney attack for the match-ending block.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian put together one of its better four-set match stats during the NAIA Era (2007-present) as the Evangels recorded the seventh-most kills in a four-setter with 59 kills on a .283 attack percentage while Mission also posted 53 kills, but hit just .150 against the MACU defense.
• The Evangels impressively had four players finish with double-digit kills as Miriam Nardi led the way with 16 kills on a .448 attack percentage, Annabeth Fehrle chipped it 13 kills on a .313 hitting clip before leaving in the fourth set due to injury. Sarah Jones-Stafford had easily one of the best matches of her MACU career by notching 11 kills on a .647 attack percentage while Alica Obusekova tallied 11 kills on a .200 clip.
• Casady McKinney and Madison Lee not only commanded the setting game, but also both provided a huge spark defensively as McKinney notched 27 assists to go with eight digs while the freshman Lee recorded her first career double-double with 23 assists and 10 digs.
• Ryley Bowden led MACU's back row with 12 digs to join Lee and Sydney Martin with 10.
• As a team, MACU was also strong from the service line with 10 aces, three of which coming off the hand of McKinney.
• Mid-America Christian not only notched its second victory over the Patriots in four days, but also notched its 11^th straight win in the all-time series.

 
MATCH FOUR / Mid-America Christian vs. Avila
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 3, Avila 0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-16)
  • Mid-America Christian (4-2)
  • Avila (2-7)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Alica Obusekova – 10 Kills, .273 ATK%, 18 Digs, 3 Aces
• Miriam Nardi – 10 Kills, .214 ATK%, 3 Digs
• Casady McKinney – 20 Assists, 5 Digs, 4 Aces
• Madison Lee – 20 Assists, 8 Digs

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • It was relatively even through the first 10 rallies as Avila tied it up at 5-5 on a Lena Stockhammer attack error, but Mid-America Christian swung momentum to its side by scoring nine of the next 11 points with Lauryn Walters kill making it a 14-7 MACU lead.
  • Avila made some strong runs to close it back to a two-point deficit on three separate occasions, the last coming on a Maddie Jones service ace to make it a 21-19 game.
  • Mid-America Christian finished out the set by scoring four of the final six, as Miriam Nardi's set point kill closed out the 25-21 win.
• Set Two & Three
  • Stats and video were not available during the final two sets at the time of release.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian was strong in the attack, tallying 47 kills on a .292 attack percentage while holding Avila to just 28 kills on a .179 hitting clip.
• Alica Obusekova put together one of her best matches in her early MACU career as the junior outside hitter notched a season-high 18 digs while recording 10 kills on a .273 attack percentage. Miriam Nardi also helped lead the MACU attack with 10 kills on a .214 hitting clip.
• Overall, five players finished with five or more kills as Lena Stockhammer notched eight on a .250 attack rate, Lauryn Walters battered six kills on a .385 rate and Sarah Jones-Stafford tallied five on a strong .417 clip.
• Casady McKinney and Madison Lee were once again key in the distribution efforts as McKinney notched 20 assists, five digs and a season-best four service aces while Lee also finished with 20 to go with eight digs.
• Ryley Bowden finished with 13 digs in the back row while Natalia Rodriguez finished with three blocks.
• With the result, Mid-America Christian won the first ever meeting between the two programs.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will face a strong challenge to open Sooner Athletic Conference play next weekend as the Evangels host last year's SAC regular season champion Nelson on Friday for a 7 p.m. first serve before then battling the league's tournament champion Texas Wesleyan at 1 p.m. on Saturday inside the Gaulke Activity Center.