OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Volleyball team will play both its home-opener and Sooner Athletic Conference opener against a pair of top-end teams as the Evangels will play last year's regular season champion Nelson at 7 p.m. on Friday night before challenging the tournament champion Texas Wesleyan at 1 p.m. on Saturday inside the Gaulke Activity Center.

Mid-America Christian will also be running a special promotion this weekend. Anyone that buys a ticket to the women's soccer game at 5 p.m. on Friday will get free admission to the volleyball game at 7 p.m. while anyone who buys a ticket for the volleyball game at 1 p.m. on Saturday will get free admission to the men's soccer game at 3 p.m.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 4-2
• Last Match: Won vs. Avila (Mo.) – 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-16) – Aug. 31, 2024 – Point Lookout, Mo.
• Stat Leaders:
  • Kills: Alica Obusekova (55, 2.75 K/S), Miriam Nardi (53, 2.65 K/S), Sarah Jones-Stafford (35, 1.75 K/S)
  • ATK% (%, K-E-A): Sarah Jones-Stafford (.373, 35-4-83), Annabeth Fehrle (.309, 34-9-81), Miriam Nardi (.226, 53-18-155)
  • Assists: Casady McKinney (109, 5.45 A/S), Madison Lee (65, 4.64 A/S)
  • Aces: Sydney Martin (12, 0.60 SA/S), Casady McKinney (9, 0.45 SA/S), Annabeth Fehrle (7, 0.41 SA/S)
  • Digs: Ryley Bowden (79, 3.95 D/S), Alica Obusekova (63, 3.15 D/S), Sydney Martin (45, 2.25 D/S)
  • Blocks: Lena Stockhammer (10, 0.50 B/S), Sarah Jones-Stafford (10, 0.50 B/S), Annabeth Fehrle (7, 0.41 B/S)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian put together a strong showing at the College of the Ozarks Fall Volleyball Classic last weekend as the Evangels went 3-1 while getting victories over Stephens (Mo.), Mission (Mo.) and Avila (Mo.) while MACU's lone loss came to currently undefeated Evangel (Mo.).
  • A feature of the Evangels attack was a stellar overall balance as six players averaged at least 1.5 kills per set or better while MACU notched 13.92 terminations per set as a team on a .212 hitting percentage. Overall, Alica Obusekova led the MACU attack with 40 kills on a .204 attack percentage while Miriam Nardi also paved the way with 39 kills on a .216 attack rate.
  • Overall, Sarah Jones-Stafford put together one of her finest weekends in her three-year Evangels career as the senior middle blocker tallied 25 kills on an outstanding .423 attack percentage.
  • Two players that were downright outstanding from the service line over the weekend were juniors Casady McKinney and Sydney Martin as both finished with eight aces on a 0.62 per set average. One of MACU's all-time greats from the line, McKinney continued her ascent up the MACU NAIA Era (2007-present) record book as she moved into fifth on the career list with 116 aces, now sitting just four back of MACU great Hanna Foecker (2019-21) for fourth on the sheet. Meanwhile, Martin currently sits in seventh in the book with 109 aces, just two from tying another MACU great in Maegan Plunk (2018-21).
  • One of the bright spots for MACU was the emergence of freshman setter Madison Lee as the Evangels' No. 2 setter in its 6-2 rotation after moving into the spot for the Saturday matches. Immediately, Lee notched her first collegiate double-double with 23 assists and 10 digs in the 3-1 win over Mission before notching a 20-assist, eight-dig effort in the three-set sweep over Avila to close out the tournament.

SCOUTING REPORT
(RV) Nelson (Texas)

• Record: 4-4
• Last Match: Lost vs. (RV) College of Idaho – 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-20) – Aug. 31, 2024 – Waxahachie, Texas
• Series vs MACU (2003-): NU leads 41-7
• Last Match vs MACU: NU won 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-14) – Oct. 14, 2023 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Series Streak: NU won 5
• Players to Watch:
  • Lilly Hanna – GR – MH/RS
    • 75 Kills (2.50 K/S), .403 ATK%, 20 Blocks (0.67 B/S)
  • Cassidy Hargesheimer -  SO – S
    • 154 Assists (5.13 A/S), 13 Aces (0.43 SA/S), 54 Digs (1.80 D/S)
  • Tessa Glick – SR – L/DS
    • 142 Digs (4.73 D/S), 11 Aces (0.37 SA/S)
• Team Notes:
  • Nelson (formerly Southwestern Assemblies of God) is coming off some mixed results from its host tournament the Texas Two-Step last weekend as the Lady Lions went 2-2 in its home classic. While NU was able to pull off an impressive 3-2 victory over No. 21 Montana Tech and Ave Maria, the Lady Lions suffered a pair of defeats to No. 13 Oklahoma Wesleyan and College of Idaho.
  • Much like MACU, Nelson features a balanced offensive attack that is led by senior outside Bailee Alexander (76 kills, 2.53 per set) while graduate student middle Lilly Hanna, an All-SAC Second Team honoree a season ago is not only notching 75 kills (2.50 per set), but his hitting for a blistering .403 attack percentage.
  • The Lady Lions also return All-SAC Second Team honoree Tessa Glick from last season as the senior libero the contest averaging 4.73 digs per set while sophomore setters Cassidy Hargesheimer and Taylor Cavazos command the attack by averaging a combined 9.43 assists per set.
  • Mid-America Christian will be seeking its first win against Nelson since 2021 as the Lady Lions have won the last five meetings. In their last meeting inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Oct. 14, the Evangels gave NU a challenge in the opening set before eventually falling 25-23 as the Lady Lions ended up taking the next two by scores of 25-17 and 25-14.
    • Note: Nelson's Stats & Record are as of Wednesday, Sept. 4. Nelson will play at Science & Arts on Thursday night.

Texas Wesleyan

• Record: 4-4
• Last Match: Won vs. Texas A&M-Texarkana – 3-1 (31-33, 25-15, 25-16, 25-22) – Aug. 31, 2024 – Waxahachie, Texas
• Series vs MACU (2005-): TWU leads 27-0
• Last Match vs MACU: TWU won 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 20-25, 25-13) – Nov. 10, 2023 – Waxahachie, Texas
• Series Streak: TWU won 27
• Players to Watch:
  • Hanna Rubis – SO – OH
    • 78 Kills (2.60 K/S), .211 ATK%, 24 Blocks (0.80 B/S)
  • Makenna Gantt – SR – S/OH
    • 76 Kills (2.24 K/S), .224 ATK%, 64 Assists (2.37 A/S), 46 Digs (1.70 D/S), 14 Blocks (0.52 B/S)
  • Ruby O'Brien – SR – S
    • 189 Assists (6.30 A/S), 12 Aces (0.40 SA/S), 61 Digs (2.03 D/S)
  • Sydney Alexander – JR – MB
    • 26 Blocks (0.87 B/S), 73 Kills (2.43 K/S), .225 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • After getting off to a 1-4 start to the 2024 season, Texas Wesleyan had a strong bounce-back at the Texas Two-Step hosted by Nelson last weekend. After opening the classic with a 3-0 defeat to the College of Idaho, the Rams won three-straight matches with a 3-1 victory over Ave Maria (Fla.), a 3-1 win over No. 21 Montana Tech and a 3-1 result over Texas A&M-Texarkana to wrap-up the event.
  • A team ranking second in the SAC in kills per set (13.13), a bulk load of the Texas Wesleyan scoring will likely come from Hanna Rubis, Makenna Gantt and Sydney Alexander, all of which are average at least 2.24 kills per set. Helping lead the Lady Rams offensive charge is All-SAC First Team setter Ruby O'Brien, who enters the match averaging 6.30 assists while solidly shoveling 2.03 digs per set.
  • After graduating the SAC Player of the Year libero Andrea Malek, the TWU back row has been very much delegated by committee with four players averaging two or more digs per set. Sophomore defensive specialist Makenna Dillow has led the charge with 99 digs on a 3.30 per set average. However, the bread and butter of the Lady Rams defense lays in their front row blocking, ranking second in the SAC in blocking at 1.95 per set with Alexander tallying the top mark at 0.87 per set.
  • Mid-America Christian will be seeking its first ever win against the powerhouse volleyball program. However, the Evangels came dangerously close to getting their first win last season. In their last meeting inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Oct. 13, MACU went toe-to-toe with Texas Wesleyan by battling the Lady Rams to five sets before eventually falling in a 3-2 defeat. When the two squads met again in the SAC Tournament Semifinal, Mid-America Christian once again gave TWU a hard-fought battle but once again fell 3-1 to the eventual SAC Tournament Champions.