OKLAHOMA CITY – History was made inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Saturday afternoon as MACU Volleyball head coach Holly McKamie notched her 100^th career win with the Evangels as MACU completed a three-set sweep over Langston.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 3, Langston 0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-20)
  • Mid-America Christian (6-5, 2-2 SAC)
  • Langston (2-11, 1-4 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Miriam Nardi – 10 Kills, 4 Blocks
• Sarah Jones-Stafford – 6 Kills, .462 ATK%, 4 Blocks
• Casady McKinney – 20 Assists, 7 Digs
• Madison Lee – 10 Digs, 8 Assists
• Alica Obusekova – 7 Kills, 6 Digs, 3 Aces

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • The two squads were relatively even through the first 19 rallies, but Miriam Nardi's sideout kill ignited an eight-unanswered Evangels run as Sarah Jones-Stafford and Nardi teamed up to block Alycia Shaw's swing to double-up their lead at 18-9.
  • Later in the set, Langston put together a strong 6-1 surge as Ashaqwaye Thomas' ace closed it to a 23-18 contest.
  • However, a setting mistake by Lianna Payton brought it to set point before Annabeth Fehrle finished it with the service ace to wrap-up the 25-18 win.
• Set Two
  • The Evangels caught fire right out of the gate by scoring on the first six rallies before extending their lead to double-digits following a four-point run midway through the set. Kills apiece for Madison Lee and Lena Stockhammer as well as an assisted block by Natalia Rodriguez and Lee preceded Alica Obusekova's ace to make it a commanding 14-4 MACU advantage.
  • Langston scored on six of the next eight rallies to eventually whittle it down to a 16-10 game, but MACU quickly regained command with a 4-1 run of its own as kills by Obusekova, Stafford and Nardi brought the lead to 20-11.
  • The Lions were unable to bring any more fight the rest of the way as Stafford's solo rejection at the net wrapped up the 25-15 win.
• Set Three
  • It was a back-and-forth battle through the first 11 rallies before Fehrle's strong finish jumpstarted a 6-1 surge that doubled-up the MACU lead to 12-6 at the midway point.
  • Later in the set, the Evangels continued to build to their overwhelming advantage as another 6-1 run allowed MACU to take an overwhelming 22-12 advantage.
  • Just when it looked like the match was all but over following Obusekova's ace to bring it to match point, Langston rallied behind the serve of McThomas as she tallied three aces in a five-point run to close it to 24-20.
  • Finally, the Evangels were able to put the contest away when Lee set up Fehrle for the match-winning kill down the right sideline to wrap-up the victory.

MATCH NOTES

• With the victory, Holly McKamie improved her fifth-year collegiate coaching record to 100-58 (.633) while posting 19 or more victories in each of her first four seasons at the helm, including MACU's first 30-win season (2021) since joining the NAIA in 2007.
• Mid-America Christian controlled the net by finishing with 39 kills on a .240 attack percentage while the defense clamped down on Langston, holding the Lady Lions to just 25 kills on an .040 hitting clip.
• One of the big reasons for MACU's success on defense was due to its presence at the net, forcing eight team blocks, the second-highest total in a single match this season and the most its recorded in a three-set match since sweeping Southwestern Christian on Aug. 31, 2023.
• MACU's attack balance was solid once again with five Evangels finishing with at least five kills while Miriam Nardi was the lone player in the match to reach double-digits with 10 kills to go with four assisted blocks for 12 points.
• Alica Obusekova put together another well-rounded match with seven kills in the attack and six digs in the back row to go with a team-high three service aces.
• One of the leading attackers in the Sooner Athletic Conference, Sarah Jones-Stafford continued to hit the ball at an excellent clip with her six kills coming on a .462 percentage and also notched four total blocks.
• Madison Lee narrowly missed the double-double with a team-high 10 digs to go with eight assists while Sydney Martin also finished with 10 digs as well.
• The win allowed MACU to get to .500 in SAC play as well as above .500 overall with a 6-5 overall mark.

UP NEXT

• In wrapping up its five-match home stand, Mid-America Christian will be back on the road next week for a pair of tough matchups as the Evangels head to Siloam Springs, Arkansas on Friday, Sept. 20 for a 7 p.m. first serve against John Brown inside Bill George Arena.