OKLAHOMA CITY – MACU Volleyball finished the weekend off with a pair of wins to extend a five-match win streak headed into the latter stages of the regular season with a straight set win over College of the Ozarks on Saturday afternoon inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 3, College of the Ozarks 0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-19)
  • Mid-America Christian (15-10, 11-7 SAC)
  • College of the Ozarks (13-10, 8-9 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Alica Obusekova – 12 Kills, .429 ATK%, 9 Digs, 2 Blocks
• Seyi Atolagbe – 7 Kills, .375 ATK%, 6 Blocks
• Madi Trayler – 7 Kills, .267 ATK%, 2 Blocks
• Casady McKinney – 14 Assists, 8 Digs, 4 Kills, 2 Blocks
• Madison Lee – 10 Assists, 11 Digs
• Ryley Bowden – 16 Digs, 5 Assists, 3 Aces

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • Mid-America Christian jumped out to a dream start with Alica Obusekova's rocket kill igniting an early 5-0 run to start the match. Marcela Nalin continued the Evangel's elite offense to extend the MACU lead to 11-4.
  • College of the Ozarks fought back into the set going on a string of four-point rallies, eventually squaring up the opening set at 15 apiece through Katie Hilton's ace.
  • Out of the timeout, the Evangels rallied four consecutive points, punctuated by another Nalin termination to erupt the MACU crowd. The Bobcats rallied late in the set fighting off two MACU set points to bring the score to 24-23. The Evangels found Obusekova out of the timeout who put the final exclamation point on a highly competitive first set as MACU won 25-23.
• Set Two
  • An identical start to the second set for MACU starting with an Obusekova kill to spark a 5-0 start. The Bobcats found their offense with a termination from Anna Brunner to stop the explosive start for the Evangels.
  • Ozarks fought back into the set with a pair of three-point runs cutting the deficit to 9-7. However, seven of the next eight rallies were won by the Evangels to regain control. Obusekova tallied another kill as MACU led 15-8.
  • The Bobcats showed resiliency with six of the next seven of their own as the Evangel lead was cut back to two at 17-15. However, out of the MACU timeout, Seyi Atolagbe punished a ball stopping the Ozarks' momentum.
  • Mid-America Christian won six consecutive rallies to bring up set point at 24-16 through elite defense and an ace from Ryley Bowden. A service error from the Bobcats gave MACU its final point to take the set 25-18.
• Set Three
  • A competitive start to the set saw both offenses on full display as eight of the first 12 rallies finished with kills at 6-6. MACU opened a gap winning four straight points capped off by another Bowden service ace as the Evangels led 10-6.
  • Obusekova took over the final set stuffing the stat sheet with three terminations in a short span, followed by her first ace of the match to propel the Evangels to a 18-11 advantage. Atolagbe took the roof off the Gaulke Activity Center with a massive block sandwiched between kills, as the Evangels started to run away with the set at 21-11.
  • College of the Ozarks rallied five consecutive through a pair of kills from Anna Brunner cutting the lead down to five at 21-16. However, the Evangels battled late and consecutive errors from the Bobcats closed out the match as MACU won 25-19.

MATCH NOTES

• MACU finished with the edge in kills at 38-30 over College of the Ozarks, and a better hitting percentage at .164% to the Bobcats' .060%.
• It was another statement afternoon for Alica Obusekova who led the Evangels offensively with 12 kills on a .429 ATK%. Freshmen Seyi Atolagbe and Madi Trayler chipped in seven kills of their own on efficient hitting.
• Casady McKinney and Madison Lee split distribution efforts with 14 and 10 assists.
• On the defensive side, Ryley Bowden had 16 digs to lead the back row, while Madison Lee added 11 of her own. Atolagbe led blocking with five assisted and one solo.  

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian stay at home for consecutive home matches as the Evangels face Wayland Baptist Friday night on Oct. 31^st for a 6 pm first serve. Saturday afternoon MACU faces Oklahoma Panhandle State at 1 pm for Homecoming and Senior Night.