OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Volleyball team faced a stiff test from Science & Arts through the first two sets, but the Evangels were able to put together two strong late runs before dominating the third set to complete the sweep on inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Wednesday night.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 3, Science & Arts 0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-10)
  • Mid-America Christian (8-6, 4-3 SAC)
  • Science & Arts (6-10, 2-5 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Alica Obusekova – 13 Kills, .522 ATK%, 5 Digs
• Miriam Nardi – 10 Kills, .429 ATK%, 3 Digs
• Casady McKinney – 24 Assists, 3 Digs, 2 Kills
• Ryley Bowden – 17 Digs, 4 Aces

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • After scoring the first two points, Mid-America Christian struggled to slow down the Drovers following an assisted block by Giselle Calderon and Morgan Kobe on a Miriam Nardi as USAO went on to score six of the next seven before eventually carrying an 8-5 advantage off an Alacia Ledoux kill.
  • The Evangels scored four of the next five featuring a trio of kills from Alica Obusekova, Natalia Rodriguez and Annabeth Fehrle to it at 9-9, but the Drovers countered with a 6-1 run of their own to take their largest of the set at 15-10 on a Gisele Calderon termination.
  • MACU swung back with five-unanswered of its own as a setter dump kill in the back-right corner by Casady McKinney tied it back up before the Drovers scored the next two to take back the 17-15 edge.
  • After the two teams battled to a 20-all draw, Stockhammer's left-side slam started a 5-2 MACU run to close out the set as Ledoux's attack error eventually wrapped up the 25-22 final.
• Set Two
  • The two teams exchanged the lead six times through the first 13 rallies, but Science & Arts was able to utilize a 5-1 run heading into the midway point to grab a 10-7 advantage on a Bailey Makahununiu service ace.
  • Following a six-rally tradeoff, Mid-America Christian once again found its stride at the halfway point as three consecutive Obusekova terminations ignited MACU's own 5-1 run to grab a 15-14 edge before the Drovers swung back to take three of the next four to set it at 17-16.
  • However, MACU managed to close out the set in emphatic fashion as the Evangels scored eight of the final 10 points, including a string of six-unanswered capped off on Sydney Martin's set point service ace to wrap-up the 25-19 win.
• Set Three
  • While the Drovers opened the final set by taking two of the first three points, Obusekova's side-out kill ignited a dominant eight-unanswered streak to start the 11-1 surge as three Ryley Bowden service aces helped build MACU's sizable lead before a Morgan Kobe attack error ended the run at 12-3.
  • Science & Arts managed to scrape a few points back by tallying four of the next five points with back-to-back Jadyn Adams-Brown kill closing the gap to 13-7.
  • Stockhammer's slam on the ensuing side-out put an emphatic dagger in the Drovers comeback chances as MACU closed out the match with a 12-3 streak with a stifling defensive effort as back-to-back USAO attack errors wrapped up the 25-10 final

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian put together one of its best matches of the season in the attack as the Evangels notched 42 kills on a .327 attack percentage, while holding USAO to 32 kills on a .117 hitting rate, impressively marking the 12^th consecutive match MACU held an opponent to an under .200 attack percentage.
• Junior outside hitter Alica Obusekova had by far and away her best match as a member of the Evangels as she led all attackers with 13 kills on a blistering .522 attack percentage while Miriam Nardi continued to stay red hot with 10 kills on a .429 hitting clip.
• Casady McKinney led MACU's distribution efforts with 24 assists to go with three digs and a pair of kills while Ryley Bowden paced the Evangels' back row with 17 digs to go with a season-high four aces.
• Even though one of the SAC's most proficient hitters in Sarah Jones-Stafford was held to only two kills on a .250 attack rate, the graduate student middle blocker came up big in defense with four total blocks.
• MACU continued its downright incredible run against Science & Arts as the Evangels have now won all 19 meetings since the two teams started playing each other in 2016 with 15 of those matchups ending in sweeps for MACU.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will be back on the road on Friday as the Evangels brace for another huge road match at crosstown rival Oklahoma City. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. inside Abe Lemons Arena.