OKLAHOMA CITY – A team that was struggling to get the attack going over the last few weeks, the MACU Volleyball team found its stride in a big way to snap its three-match losing streak as the Evangels earned their first Sooner Athletic Conference victory of the season behind
Lena Stockhammer's season-high 10-kill effort in a 3-0 sweep over Central Christian inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Friday night.
SCORE
- Mid-America Christian 3, Central Christian 0 (25-9, 25-17, 25-12)
- Mid-America Christian (5-5, 1-2 SAC)
- Central Christian (0-10, 0-4 SAC)
TOP PERFORMERS
MATCH SUMMARY
- Set One
- Central Christian started off fast by scoring four of the first six points before Mid-America Christian found its stride following Miriam Nardi's sideout kill. The Evangels quickly gained the lead and started pulling away by rattling off nine-straight points with Annabeth Fehrle's kill making it an 11-4 MACU advantage.
- A self-inflicted mistake on a service error didn't put a damper to the MACU run as the Evangels scored 12 of the next 14 to take a commanding 23-7 following kills apiece for Fehrle, Lauryn Walters and Nardi before a CCCK attack error.
- CCCK was unable to overcome the overwhelming MACU lead as the two teams traded the final four points with Lena Stockhammer scoring the set-point kill to wrap-up the 25-9 win.
- Set Two
- The second game started out with another hot start for the Evangels, headlined by two wonderful plays:
- First, an incredible return by junior Alica Obusekova on an attempted spike found the hardwood for a point.
- On the ensuing point, Stockhammer drove a kill onto the floor for a 14-6 Evangel lead.
- Stockhammer prompted another Tiger timeout with her sixth kill, putting Mid-America Christian on top 22-13. After a 4-2 run from Central Christian, Mid-America Christian's Natalia Rodriguez put the game away with her first kill of the night on set-point to wrap-up the 25-17 win.
- Set Three
- Mid-America Christian had no trouble putting themselves in position to notch their third sweep of the season. The Evangels wasted no time in establishing a 9-4 lead.
- Obusekova found her footing while attacking down the right side of the Tigers defense – notching three kills in as many attempts.
- The Evangel's first Sooner Athletic Conference victory was sealed when Nardi and Rodriguez teamed up over the net to send Central Christian's attack right back at them.
MATCH NOTES
- MACU hitters came to play against Central Christian. The Evangels as a team tallied 38 total kills on a season-best .408 attack percentage while holding the Tigers to only 18 kills and forced 20 attack errors for a -.026 hitting clip.
- Overall, Lena Stockhammer paced a balanced Evangels attack that featured three players with at least six kills, turning in her first double-digit kill effort of the season with 10 on a .421 hitting percentage.
- Alica Obusekova turned in a stellar all-around offensive and defensive performance with eight kills on a .467 attack rate with a team-high seven digs to go with two blocks.
- Evangel freshman Madison Lee set a new collegiate career-high in aces – notching four in the sweep to go with eight assists and six digs.
- History favored the Evangels coming into the match. MACU entered the contest with a 14-1 series lead over the Tigers in women's volleyball and kept its undefeated streak intact at home against CCCK. Its last loss came way back in November of 2022 on the road in a 3-2 defeat.
UP NEXT
- Mid-America Christian will be back in-action on Saturday as the Evangels close out their five-match home stand against Langston. Opening serve is slated for 1 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
