OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Volleyball team overcame a sluggish start to Science & Arts inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Tuesday night, dropping the first set 25-12, but the Evangels made some strong adjustments to win the next three sets to come away with the 3-1 victory.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 3, Science & Ars 1 (12-25, 25-22, 25-15, 25-16)
  • Mid-America Christian (11-10, 7-7 SAC)
  • Science & Arts (12-11, 6-8 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Marcela Nalin – 10 Kills, .222 ATK%, 4 Blocks, 2 Digs
• Seyi Atolagbe – 9 Kills, .348 ATK%, 6 Blocks
• Madison Lee – 19 Assists, 10 Digs, 3 Aces
• Casady McKinney – 18 Assists, 9 Digs, 2 Aces
• Ryley Bowden – 19 Digs, 3 Aces, 2 Assists

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • Science & Arts stormed out to a commanding lead right out of the gate, opening by scoring five of the first six points before utilizing another four-unanswered run just moments later as Brynlee Birney's service ace made it a 9-3 game.
  • The next five rallies came via the side-out before the Drovers again went on a massive 9-1 streak with Jayla Blake and Chloe Conover teaming up to block Ava Johnson's attack to give USAO its largest lead of the set at 20-7.
  • The Evangels tried to battle back by scoring five of the next seven, but the Drovers finished it out by taking the next three rallies as three consecutive MACU attack errors wrapped up the 25-12 final.
  • It was a rough set for MACU's attack as the Evangels recorded only seven kills and eight attack errors for a -.022 hitting percentage while the Drovers hit 13 kills and only four errors for a solid .209 attack rate.
• Second Set
  • It was a back-and-forth tug of war through the first 20 rallies as the two teams traded early 4-1 runs with four more ties down the stretch before Mid-America Christian got some breathing room midway through. Marcela Nalin got it started with a side-out kill before back-to-back Seyi Atolagbe and Madi Trayler terminations brought it to 13-10, forcing USAO to call a timeout.
  • The Drovers scored the first two following the break, but after consecutive side-outs, the Evangels rattled off a 6-1 run as Karlee Siegfried's kill gave MACU its largest lead of the set at 20-14.
  • Science & Arts found a 6-1 surge of its own to close the gap to 21-20, but after four-straight side-outs, the Evangels finished strong as a USAO service error brought it to set point before Seyi Atolagbe finished it off with a kill to draw the match even on the 25-22 result.
• Set Three
  • The Evangels set the tone in the early going, scoring on six of the first eight rallies due to back-to-back Madison Lee service aces. USAO tried to fight back by scoring three of the next four to close it to 7-5, but the Evangels swung back with five in a row as MACU claimed the 12-5 lead at the midway point off a Siegfried slam.
  • After trading the next four, Mid-America Christian nearly put the nail in the coffin by scoring on six of the next seven rallies with Atolagbe and Alica Obusekova teaming up to block Victoria Wright's attack to make it 20-8.
  • The Drovers countered with a six-unanswered surge to cut the deficit in-half at 20-14 on Samantha Perez's termination just one rally after MACU called a timeout to regroup.
  • The Evangels got back on-track to close it out by scoring five of the final six points due to four kills from Nalin, Obusekova, and a pair from Madi Trayler to wrap-up the dominant 25-15 win.
• Set Four
  • Much like the first set, MACU got off to an inauspicious start as the Drovers scored the first four before eventually stretching their lead to 8-2 on a Conover kill.
  • Alica Obusekova's side-out termination jumpstarted an incredible 8-0 run, especially from Atolagbe who powered down four kills to go with an assisted block while her back-to-back terminations gave the Evangels the 10-8 advantage.
  • Science & Arts managed to tie it up at 11-all before the Evangels once again stepped on the gas by scoring eight of the next nine while forcing USAO into committing six attack errors during the sequence and making it a 19-12 advantage.
  • The Drovers tallied the next two before the Evangels ran away with it, taking six of the final eight rallies to ultimately seal the 25-16 victory.

MATCH NOTES

• Much like their earlier season matchup, it was a defensive slugfest between the two sides as the Evangels finished with 45 kills and 19 errors for a .169 hitting percentage and while the Drovers finished with one more kill at 46, USAO hit into 25 miscues for a .134 attack rate.
• Mid-America Christian was the stronger side from the service line, outscoring the Drovers by a 15-11 margin with 10 aces to only four errors while the Drovers notched seven aces and five service miscues.
• MACU's attack was balanced across the board with four players notching eight or more kills. Marcela Nalin led the way with 10 kills on a .222 hitting percentage while Seyi Atolagbe and Madi Trayler notched nine kills while hitting an efficient .348 and .241 clips respectively. Karlee Siegfried rounded out the bunch with eight terminations.
• Madison Lee and Casady McKinney both put together solid nights in the setting department. Lee posted a team-high 19 assists and 10 digs to go with three service aces while McKinney dished out 18 assists and nine digs to go with a pair of aces.
• Ryley Bowden led MACU's back row efforts with 19 digs while Seyi Atolagbe led the front line with a career-high six assisted blocks.
• The win for MACU was a massive one because the Evangels completed the series sweep of the Drovers after coming away with a hard-fought 3-0 win by scores of 25-23, 25-20, 31-29 down in Chickasha on Sept. 3. The victory moves MACU into a tie for sixth in the SAC standings with Oklahoma City and are only two games back of Oklahoma Panhandle State for third.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will have a short turnaround as the Evangels are back in-action on Wednesday night with a short road trip to Langston for a 6 p.m. match inside the C.F. Gayles Field House.