OKLAHOMA CITY – MACU Volleyball is set to begin a four-match home stand tomorrow night as the Evangels are preparing to host John Brown for a 6 p.m. first serve inside the Gaulke Activity Center before taking on College of the Ozarks at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 13-10 (9-7 SAC)
• Last Match: Won at Central Christian – 3-0 (25-14, 25-5, 25-17) – Oct. 18, 2025 – McPherson, Kan.
• Stat Leaders:
  • Kills: Alica Obusekova (234, 3.08 K/S), Seyi Atolagbe (178, 2.20 K/S)
  • Attack Percentage (%, K-E-A; Min 3 ATK/S): Seyi Atolagbe (.375, 178-29-397), Alica Obusekova (.219, 234-86-677)
  • Assists: Casady McKinney (603, 7.44 A/S), Madison Lee (196, 2.42 A/S)
  • Aces: Ryley Bowden (40, 0.49 SA/S), Casady McKinney (31, 0.38 SA/S)
  • Digs: Ryley Bowden (377, 4.65 D/S), Casady McKinney (220, 2.72 D/S)
  • Receive Percentage (%, RE-R; Min 3 REC/S): Ryley Bowden (.941, 20-339), Sydney Martin (.939, 19-313)
  • Blocks: Mia Benson (56, 0.72 B/S), Seyi Atolagbe (0.60 B/S)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian put together one of its most dominant performances of the season on the road last Saturday as the Evangels cruised to a dominant three-set sweep over Central Christian inside the Holman Fieldhouse on the campus of McPherson College.
  • In that win, MACU held its fifth opponent of the season to a negative hitting percentage, allowing the Tigers to register 20 kills to 21 errors for a -.009 attack rate. Meanwhile, MACU registered 44 kills and committed only 13 hitting miscues for a very sound .284 attack rate.
  • In that victory, freshman middle blocker Seyi Atolagbe registered a three-set career-high 12 kills on a career-high .734 hitting percentage while senior defensive specialist Sydney Martin also came away with a three-set career-high over her four-year MACU tenure, shoveling 18 digs as a 6.0 per set rate.
  • Currently, Mid-America Christian is in the midst of a six-team race trying to claim a spot in the top four and hosting a Sooner Athletic Conference Quarterfinal home match in the next three weeks. At the moment, MACU owns a 9-7 SAC record and currently sits tied for fifth with Oklahoma City behind Oklahoma Panhandle State and Wayland Baptist, who each sit in a tie for third at 10-6. The Evangels will also get the opportunity to face all three foes once the rest of the way for the opportunity to claim one of those top four spots.

SCOUTING REPORT
John Brown (Ark.)

• Record: 8-15 (4-11 SAC)
• Last Match: Lost vs. Nelson (Texas) 3-1 (21-25, 25-10, 25-21, 25-17) – Oct. 18, 2025 – Siloam Springs, Ark.
• Series vs MACU (2007): JBU leads 27-8
• Last Match vs MACU: MACU won 3-1 (25-20, 25-27, 25-18, 25-12) – Sept. 27, 2025 – Siloam Springs, Ark.
• Series Streak: MACU won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Kate Carlson – FR – OH/MB
    • 188 Kills (2.16 K/S), .164 ATK%, 18 Aces (0.21 SA/S), 66 Digs (0.76 D/S)
  • Tessa Burton – SO – S
    • 405 Assists (4.66 A/S), 28 Aces (0.32 SA/S), 116 Digs (1.33 D/S)
  • Paige Addington – FR – DS
    • 352 Digs (4.05 D/S), 29-497 RE-R, .942 RCV%, 50 Aces (0.57 SA/S)
  • Akayla Kador – JR – MB/OPP
    • 63 Blocks (0.74 B/S), 137 Kills (1.61 K/S), .240 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Since winning two of its first three SAC matches, John Brown has struggled mightily in league play, going 2-10 in its last 12 matches with the only wins coming at home against Oklahoma City and Southwestern Christian Oct. 3 and Oct. 4. Most recently, the Golden Eagles suffered a pair of home defeats to the league leaders in Texas Wesleyan and Nelson.
  • The Golden Eagles have especially had a hard time winning on the road this year, owning only a 1-5 record in away contests with the lone win coming against Central Christian on Sept. 12.
  • As a team, John Brown has struggled in the attack in league games, ranking ninth in the conference in kills per set (10.68) and attack percentage (.128) while also struggling on the defensive end, allowing the opposition to hit for a .204 hitting rate. However, the Golden Eagles have been a solid team in-service, ranking fifth in the SAC in aces per set 2.07.
  • JBU is led in the attack by Kate Carlson, tallying a team-high 188 kills on a .164 hitting percentage while Tessa Burton and Taylor Kosmicki will handle the setting duties in the 6-2 setter rotation with Burton notching 4.68 assists per set and Kosmicki notching 4.14 per set.
  • On the defensive side, JBU will be looking to get another strong performance from the reigning SAC Defensive Player of the Week Paige Addington, who is shoveling the fifth-most digs per set in SAC play at 4.42 while Akayla Kador leads the team at the net at 0.74 blocks per set.
  • Even though JBU owns a 27-8 lead in the all-time series, Mid-America Christian is going to be seeking its first regular season series sweep over the Golden Eagles since the 2021 season. When the two sides met up in Siloam Springs on Sept. 27, the Evangels put together one of their best offensive performances of the season, notching 54 kills on a .347 hitting percentage to pull out a solid 3-1 win.

College of the Ozarks

• Record: 13-8 (8-7 SAC)
• Last Match: Lost vs. Texas Wesleyan – 3-1 (29-31, 25-23, 25-13, 25-19) – Oct. 18, 2025 – Point Lookout, Mo.
• Series vs MACU (2021-): MACU leads 5-3
• Last Match vs MACU: COFO won 3-2 (24-26, 25-14, 18-25, 25-18, 15-12) – Sept. 26, 2025 – Point Lookout, Mo.
• Series Streak: COFO won 2
• Players to Watch:
  • Cora Roweton – JR – OH
    • 235 Kills (2.94 K/S), .180 ATK%, 67 Digs (0.84 D/S), 43 Blocks (0.54 B/S)
  • Audrey Riley – FR – S
    • 375 Assists (4.69 A/S), 19 Aces (0.24 SA/S), 141 Digs (1.76 D/S)
  • Gabby Bozay – FR – DS
    • 187 Digs (2.34 D/S), 16 Aces (0.20 SA/S)
  • Anna Brunner – FR – MH
    • 101 Blocks (1.26 B/S), 146 Kills (1.82 K/S), .344 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Much like the Evangels, College of the Ozarks is currently battling for positioning in the SAC Tournament as they enter the weekend in seventh with an 8-7 league mark. The Bobcats posted two strong showings last weekend at home, upsetting Nelson in five sets before dropping a hard-fought 3-1 decision to SAC leader Texas Wesleyan last Saturday.
  • COFO has been a completely different team at home than on the road this season, owning an 11-2 mark inside Keeter Gymnasium while struggling to find wins on the road, going only 2-6 in true road contests.
  • Ozarks ranks in the middle of the pack in the SAC on the offensive end, knocking down eighth-most kills per set (11.66) on the sixth-best hitting percentage (.187). However, what makes COFO so dangerous is its elite blocking scheme as the Bobcats rank second in the league in blocks per set (2.09).
  • In the attack, the Bobcats like to go to their two outsides in Cora Roweton and Bri Linehan, who are each respectively recording 2.94 and 2.61 kills per set respectively while Linehan is the more efficient of the two hitters at a solid .236 hitting clip. The Bobcats also run a 6-2 setter rotation with Audrey Riley leading the charge at 4.69 assists per set while Kamryn Link is notching 4.35 per clip.
  • On the defensive side, the Bobcats headline the best blocker in the SAC in Anna Brunner, who is rejecting at a league-best 1.26 blocks per set. The Bobcats feature a balanced back row effort with four players averaging at least two digs per set, led by Gabby Bozay at 2.34 shovels per set.
  • Mid-America Christian will be seeking to avenge a heartbreaking loss to College of the Ozarks the last time out when COFO rallied back from a set down to defeat the Evangels in five. MACU found itself in a massive hole, trailing 9-1 in the fifth set to eventually tie it at 11. Unfortunately, MACU couldn't quite keep the momentum rolling as the Bobcats won four of the final five rallies to seal the 15-12 result. In the match, MACU got an incredible performance from Alica Obusekova, who notched 19 kills on a stellar .356 attack rate.