OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Volleyball team will be holding a Blackout Night inside the Gaulke Activity Center for its midweek match against rival Science & Arts as the Evangels host the Drovers for 7 p.m. first serve on Wednesday.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 7-6 (3-3 SAC)
• Last Match: Won at College of the Ozarks (Mo.) – 3-1 (25-22, 24-26, 25-21, 25-10) – Sept. 21, 2024 – Point Lookout, Mo.
• Stat Leaders:
  • Kills: Miriam Nardi (141, 3.07 K/S), Alica Obusekova (100, 2.17 K/S)
  • Attack Percentage (%, K-E-A): Sarah Jones-Stafford (.346, 64-9-159), Natalia Rodriguez (.325, 32-6-80)
  • Assists: Casady McKinney (275, 5.98 A/S), Madison Lee (154, 3.85 A/S)
  • Aces: Casady McKinney (18, 0.39 SA/S), Sydney Martin (17, 0.37 SA/S)
  • Digs: Ryley Bowden (194, 4.22 D/S), Alica Obusekova (161, 3.50 D/S)
  • Receive Percentage (%, RE-R): Alica Obusekova (.936, 16-249), Ryley Bowden (.929, 19-269)
  • Blocks: Sarah Jones-Stafford (27, 0.60 B/S), Miriam Nardi (20, 0.43 B/S)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian is coming off a strong road win on Saturday as the Evangels went into Point Lookout, Missouri and pulled away with a 3-1 victory over SAC newcomer College of the Ozarks.
  • In the victory, the Evangels put together a dominant fourth set as MACU out-hit the Bobcats by a .484 to -.033 margin in attack percentage and 17-5 in kill differential for the 25-10 set victory.
  • Miriam Nardi led the MACU attack efforts with a career-high 22 kills on a .356 hitting clip. So far this season, Nardi is putting up career-best hitting marks as she ranks second in the SAC in total kills (141) as well as third in kills per set (3.07) while hitting for a .265 attack percentage, the fifth-best rate for players with more than 100 attack attempts this season.
  • Casady McKinney is also coming off a solid weekend as a whole as the junior setter put together back-to-back double-doubles in the contests at John Brown and COFO. In the defeat at JBU, McKinney dished out 19 assists to go with 11 digs while dishing out a season-high 31 assists along with 12 digs to go with three service aces.

SCOUTING REPORT
Science & Arts (Okla.)

• Record: 6-9 (2-4 SAC)
• Last Match: Lost at John Brown – 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-16) – Sept. 21, 2024 – Siloam Springs, Ark.
• Series vs MACU (2016): MACU leads 18-0
• Last Match vs MACU: MACU won 3-2 (25-16, 24-26, 22-25, 25-15, 15-13) – Oct. 3, 2023 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Series Streak: MACU won 18
• Players to Watch:
  • Jaliyah Cox – JR – OH
    • 104 Kills (2.26 K/S), .170 ATK%
  • Bailey Makahununiu – FR – S
    • 203 Assists (4.51 A/S), 87 Digs (1.93 D/S)
  • Brynlee Birnley – FR – DS/L
    • 230 Digs (4.79 D/S), 20 RE
  • Giselle Caulderon – SO – MB
    • 35 Blocks (0.76 B/S), 73 Kills (1.59 K/S), .153 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Science & Arts is coming off a tough weekend in western Arkansas and southern Missouri as the Drovers were swept at College of the Ozarks on Friday before being swept in straight sets at John Brown on Saturday.
  • The Drovers have struggled in the attack this season as USAO ranks ninth in the SAC in attack percentage at .128 while notching 11.08 kills per set as a team. USAO has not fared much better defensively as the Drovers are allowing the opposition 11.60 kills on a .169 hitting clip while ranking third-last in the league in blocks per set at 1.27.
  • Since losing their star middle Samantha Perez just four matches into the season, the Drovers have relied heavily on junior outside Jaliyah Cox to provide most of the scoring in the attack as she is the lone player averaging more than two kills per set (2.26) on a .170 attack percentage. On the defensive side, freshman defensive specialist Brynlee Birnley has led the back row efforts with 230 digs (4.79 per set) while sophomore middle Giselle Caulderon has been by far and away the most effective middle blocker with 35 rejections (0.76 blocks per set).
  • Since the establishment of the USAO volleyball program in 2016, Mid-America Christian will be seeking to keep its winning streak against the Drovers intact as MACU has won all 18 meetings thus far. However, the last time the two teams met inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Oct. 3, 2023, the Evangels survived one of their toughest tests ever from the Drovers. After falling behind two sets to one, MACU rallied to dominate the fourth set before coming away with the thrilling 15-13 in in set five on Miriam Nardi's match-winning kill.