OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Volleyball team will be looking to get back on-track in its return to Sooner Athletic Conference play this weekend as the Evangels host Central Christian for a 7 p.m. first serve inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Friday before wrapping up the weekend at 1 p.m. on Saturday against Langston.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 4-5 (0-2 SAC)
• Last Match: Lost vs. Sterling (Kan.) – 3-1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-23, 25-23) – Sept. 11, 2024 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Stat Leaders:
  • Kills: Miriam Nardi (95, 2.97 K/S), Alica Obusekova (72, 2.59 K/S), Lena Stockhammer (53, 1.71 K/S)
  • Attack Percentage (%, K-E-A): Sarah Jones-Stafford (.348, 45-6-112), Miriam Nardi (.264, 95-29-250), Annabeth Fehrle (.173, 44-22-127)
  • Assists: Casady McKinney (186, 5.81 A/S), Madison Lee (106, 4.08 A/S)
  • Aces: Sydney Martin (14, 0.44 SA/S), Casady McKinney (13, 0.41 SA/S), Ryley Bowden (13, 0.41 SA/S)
  • Digs: Ryley Bowden (141, 4.41 D/S), Alica Obusekova (119, 3.72 D/S), Sydney Martin (78, 2.44 D/S)
  • Receive Percentage (%, RE-R): Ryley Bowden (.952, 9-189), Alica Obusekova (.943, 10-176, Sydney Martin (.890, 18-163)
  • Blocks: Sarah Jones-Stafford (15, 0.47 B/S), Natalia Rodriguez (11, 0.65 B/S), Lena Stockhammer (11, 0.34 B/S)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian faced off against Sterling in a tightly-contested contest inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Wednesday night with three of the four sets being decided by 25-23 scores. However, MACU came up on the short end of two of those sets as the Evangels fell to the Warriors, 3-1.
  • While MACU was able to finish with more kills than Sterling (52-43), the Evangels struggled against SC's blocking scheme as the Warriors forced MACU into 40 attack errors on a .065 hitting percentage with 18 of those miscues coming off blocks.
  • Despite the Evangels' offensive struggles, one big bright spot for MACU's attack was the play of senior right-side hitter Miriam Nardi, who finished just one kill shy of her career-high with 19 kills on a very strong .389 attack percentage.
  • MACU's back row put together a solid outing defensively by shoveling 89 digs, the second-most in a match so far this season while limiting Sterling to just a .172 attack percentage. Overall, the Evangels have had one of the better back row defenses in the NAIA in the early season as MACU currently second in the Sooner Athletic Conference and ranks 19^th in the country in digs per set (18.13).

SCOUTING REPORT
Central Christian (Kan.)

• Record: 0-9 (0-3 SAC)
• Last Match: Lost vs. Langston (Okla.) – 3-1 (28-26, 20-25, 25-19, 25-19) – Sept. 10, 2024 – McPherson, Kan.
• Series vs MACU (2011): MACU leads 14-1
• Last Match vs MACU: MACU won 3-2 (22-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-27, 18-16) – Oct. 19, 2023 – McPherson, Kan.
• Series Streak: MACU won 2
• Players to Watch:
  • Amanda Dotter – SR – OH
    • 98 Kills (3.27 K/S), .101 ATK%, 46 Digs (1.53 D/S), .951 RCV% 9 Blocks (0.30 B/S)
  • Zoe Smith – JR – S
    • 120 Assists (4.00 A/S), 11 Aces (0.37 SA/S), 43 Digs (1.43 D/S)
  • Nattelynn Burns – FR – L/DS
    • 83 Digs (2.96 D/S), .978 RCV%, 25 Assists (0.89 A/S)
  • Emmi Burris – FR – MB
    • 14 Blocks (0.50 B/S)
• Team Notes:
  • Central Christian has gotten off to a rough start to the 2024 season as the Tigers are currently seeking their first win. CCCK enters Friday night's contest with an 0-9 record and are 0-3 in SAC play after suffering a 3-1 home defeat to Langston on Tuesday night.
  • On the whole, the Tigers have struggled to find points in the attack as CCCK is averaging just 8.17 kills per set while posting a league-low .003 attack percentage. Most of Central's offense has come from its two outsides in Amanda Dotter and Sydney Jones, who have combined to tally 163 of the Tigers' 245 kills while also battering the team's two highest attack percentages at .101 and .113.
  • Junior setter Zoe Smith will lead the Tigers distribution efforts as she is averaging 4.00 assists per set and is very solid from the service line with 11 aces while freshman Nattelynn Burns leads a balanced back row with 83 digs (2.96 per set) while the Tigers have six players averaging at least a dig per set.
  • Mid-America Christian has dominated the all-time series since the two teams started facing each other in 2011 as the Evangels have won 14 of their first 15 meetings with the Tigers. MACU has been particularly good at home against Central, going 6-0 and have not lost a set at home in the series. Last time they played inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Sept. 15, 2023, MACU survived a scare in the first set when CCCK grabbed a 24-23 lead, but won four of the next five to capture the 27-25 win before dominating the next two sets, 25-12 and 25-13.

Langston (Okla.)

• Record: 2-9 (1-2 SAC)
• Last Match: Won at Central Christian – 3-1 (28-26, 20-25, 25-19, 25-19) – Sept. 10, 2024 – McPherson, Kan.
• Series vs MACU (2014-): MACU leads 14-3
• Last Match vs MACU: MACU won 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-8) – Oct. 17, 2023 – Langston, Okla.
• Series Streak: MACU won 13
• Players to Watch:
  • Lauren Collier – SR – OH/RS
    • 43 Kills (1.87 K/S), .090 ATK%, 7 Blocks (0.30 B/S)
  • Meagan Anderson – SO – S
    • 98 Assists (5.16 A/S), 19 Kills (1.00 K/S), .239 ATK%, 37 Digs (1.95 D/S), 7 Aces (0.37 SA/S)
  • Leah McCall – SO – DS/L
    • 109 Digs (4.04 D/S), .951 RCV%, 10 Aces (0.37 SA/S)
  • Karma Williams – SO – OH/RS
    • 16 Blocks (0.70 B/S), 32 Kills (1.39 K/S), .113 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Opening SAC play with five-straight road matches, Langston picked up its first road win of the season at Central Christian on Tuesday when the Lady Lions went into Jerry E. Alexander Arena and came away with the 3-1 victory. After grinding out a hard-fought 28-26 win in the opening set, the Tigers claimed set two 25-20. However, Langston closed out the match by taking the final two sets by 25-19 scores.
  • LU is another squad entering the match that is struggling in the attack as the Lady Lions rank second-to-last in the SAC in hitting percentage (.060) while posting the fewest assists per set in the league at 6.19. However, Langston is very balanced in its attack as six players are averaging at least a kill per set.
  • The Lady Lions are a team that has struggled in serve receive with LU entering the weekend with 90 reception errors on an .871 receive percentage. It will be going up against a MACU team that is one of the best in the SAC in-service as the Evangels are averaging 1.88 aces per set.
  • Mid-America Christian is currently on a 13-match win streak over Langston dating back to when the Lady Lions joined the SAC in 2016. Impressively, MACU has only lost one set to LU during the immaculate run. Last season, the Evangels came away with a 25-17, 25-16, 25-10 win over LU inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Sept. 16 before completing the series sweep with the 25-14, 25-13, 25-8 win at Langston on Oct. 17.