OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Volleyball team is ready for its shortest road trip of the regular season this weekend as the Evangels head uptown to take on Oklahoma City at 6 p.m. inside Abe Lemons Arena on Friday night before breaking over to Bethany for a 1 p.m. match inside Pickens-Springer Gymnasium on Saturday at Southwestern Christian.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 8-6 (4-3 SAC)
• Last Match: Won vs. Science & Arts (Okla.) – 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-10) – Sept. 25, 2024 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Stat Leaders:
  • Kills: Miriam Nardi (151, 3.08 K/S), Alica Obusekova (113, 2.31 K/S)
  • Attack Percentage (%, K-E-A): Sarah Jones Stafford (.341, 66-9-167), Natalia Rodriguez (.330, 39-7-97)
  • Assists: Casady McKinney (299, 6.10 A/S), Madison Lee (166, 3.86 A/S)
  • Aces: Casady McKinney (19, 0.39 SA/S), Ryley Bowden (19, 0.39 SA/S), Sydney Martin (19, 0.39 SA/S)
  • Digs: Ryley Bowden (211, 4.31 D/S), Alica Obusekova (166, 3.39 D/S)
  • Receive Percentage (%, RE-R): Alica Obusekova (.936, 17-267), Ryley Bowden (.926, 21-282)
  • Blocks: Sarah Jones-Stafford (31, 0.65 B/S), Miriam Nardi (21, 0.43 B/S)
• Team Notes:
  • In its brief return home, Mid-America Christian put together one of its most dominant offensive performances of the season as the Evangels recorded 42 kills on a .327 attack percentage, its second-highest hitting clip of the season in a three-set sweep over Science & Arts on Wednesday night.
  • In the win, the Evangels got an invigorated performance from junior outside hitter Alica Obusekova. After entering the match with just a .113 attack percentage, the Slovakian outside put together by far and away her best contest as a member of the Evangels as she finished with a match-high 13 kills on a .522 hitting percentage.
  • Pin-hitter Miriam Nardi continued to add on to her already impressive senior campaign with her 10-kill performance as she finished the match with a .429 attack rate to boost her season-total to .274, which ranks as the sixth-highest rate in the SAC amongst players averaging at least five swings per set. Nardi moved into a tie for the league lead in total kills in the conference with JBU's Savanna Riney with 141 terminations on the third-highest per set rate at 3.08.
  • Since Science & Arts started its volleyball program in 2016, Mid-America Christian has put together an impressive 19-0 record against the Drovers while sweeping 15 of the 19 meetings.

SCOUTING REPORT
Oklahoma City

• Record: 6-7 (6-1 SAC)
• Last Match: Won at Langston – 3-0 (31-29, 25-10, 25-18) – Sept. 21, 2024 – Langston, Okla.
• Series vs MACU (2006-): OCU leads 32-6
• Last Match vs MACU: MACU won 3-1 (23-25, 25-11, 25-18, 25-13) – Nov. 2, 2024 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Series Streak: MACU won 4
• Players to Watch:
  • Ruby Kelley – SR – RS/MB
    • 85 Kills (3.54 K/S), .253 ATK%, 72 Digs (3.00 D/S), 28 Blocks (1.17 B/S), 13 Aces (0.54 SA/S)
  • Natalie Adams – SO – S
    • 258 Assists (5.73 A/S), 12 Aces (0.27 SA/S), 97 Digs (2.16 D/S)
  • Kaitlyn Dunlap – SR – DS/L
    • 150 Digs (4.05 D/S), 28 Assists (0.76 A/S), 10 Aces (0.27 SA/S)
  • Rylee Steward – SR – MB
    • 35 Blocks (0.78 B/S), 105 Kills (2.33 K/S), .255 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Since starting out the season 0-6 in non-conference play, Oklahoma City has caught fire against Sooner Athletic Conference competition as OCU is 6-1 against league foes thus far. Even though OCU faced a tough test against Langston in the opening set on Saturday, eventually grinding out a 31-29 win, the Stars ran away with the next two sets to complete the sweep with the 25-10 and 25-18 victories.
  • After missing the first six matches of the season due to injury, OCU has been getting stellar play out of its star middle and right-side Ruby Kelley. Perhaps one of the best all-around players in the conference, Kelley has amassed an outstanding 3.54 kills per set on a .253 attack percentage while also averaging 3.00 digs per set and 1.17 blocks her set to go with an outstanding 0.54 aces per set from the service line.
  • Since the start of SAC play, OCU ranks third in the conference in kills per set (13.42) on the second-best hitting percentage (.218). The Stars have also been downright stellar on the defensive end, leading the league in digs per set (18.29), third in blocks per set (2.23) and are holding their opponents to just an .081 hitting percentage in league games.
  • Even though OCU holds a 32-6 lead in the all-time series against MACU since 2006, the Evangels have fared much better in the recent series as Mid-America Christian has won the last four meetings and five of the last six since the 2021 season.

Southwestern Christian

• Record: 3-10 (1-6 SAC)
• Last Match: Lost at Central Christian – 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-13) – Sept. 21, 2024 – McPherson, Kan.
• Series vs MACU (2003-): MACU leads 23-11
• Last Match vs MACU: MACU won 3-0 (25-18, 25-10, 25-13) – Oct. 7, 2023 – Bethany, Okla.
• Series Streak: MACU won 2
• Players to Watch:
  • Paige McGee – JR – RS
    • 100 Kills (2.22 K/S), .177 ATK%, 79 Digs (1.76 D/S)
  • Faith DeSouza – GR – S
    • 208 Assists (4.73 A/S), 46 Kills (1.05 K/S), .095 ATK%, 13 Aces (0.30 SA/S), 95 Digs (2.16 D/S)
  • Lotta Lischka – SO – DS
    • 123 Digs (2.93 D/S), 11 Aces (0.26 SA/S)
  • Alondra Esparza – JR – OH
    • 20 Blocks (0.48 B/S), 79 Kills (1.88 K/S), .164 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • After opening the season by winning two of its first three matches, Southwestern Christian has struggled to get things going in SAC play as the Eagles have lost nine of their last 10 matches with the lone win coming in a five-set victory at Langston on Friday. In that match, SCU battled back from two sets down to get the win inside C.F. Gayles Arena.
  • SCU has struggled in the attack against SAC competition as the Eagles rank third-to-last in attack percentage (.109) while scoring only 12.4 points per set. Meanwhile, the Eagles defense has primarily struggled in their net play as SCU is averaging a league-low 0.98 blocks per set while also tallying the third-fewest digs per set at 14.83. As a team, SCU's defense is allowing its opposition to hit .221 against it.
  • Even though SCU has been challenged both offensively and defensively, the Eagles feature one of the most experienced setters in the conference in Faith DeSouza. The grad student distributor is leading the team at 4.73 assists per set and does frequently attack on setter dumps, averaging 1.05 kills per set.
  • While MACU owns a 23-11 record against the Eagles since the 2003 season, the Evangels have been particularly great against SCU since the 2019 campaign as MACU has won 10 of the last 11 meetings. Last season, Mid-America Christian swept both matchups against Southwestern Christian, getting a 25-18, 25-10, 25-13 victory inside Pickens-Springer Gymnasium in their last meeting on Oct. 7, 2023.