OKLAHOMA CITY – MACU Volleyball rallied a comeback behind explosive offense after dropping the opening set, in a 3-1 win over Wayland Baptist on Friday night inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 3, Wayland Baptist 1 (16-25, 25-13, 25-13, 25-18)
  • Mid-America Christian (16-10, 12-7 SAC)
  • Wayland Baptist (13-10, 12-7 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Alica Obusekova – 12 Kills, .267 ATK%, 19 Digs, 3 Blocks
• Seyi Atolagbe – 12 Kills, .545 ATK%, 2 Blocks
• Marcela Nalin – 12 Kills, .417 ATK%, 2 Digs
• Madi Trayler – 9 Kills, .273 ATK%, 2 Blocks
• Mia Benson – 8 Kills, .312 ATK%, 3 Blocks, 3 Aces
• Casady McKinney – 28 Assists, 9 Digs, 3 Kills
• Madison Lee – 22 Assists, 8 Digs, 1 Ace
• Ryley Bowden – 19 Digs, 3 Assists, 3 Aces

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • MACU and WBU opened with a competitive set with 12 of the first 14 rallies finished off with kills as the set was tied 7-7. Mia Benson and Marcela Nalin led the attack with a pair of kills each during this stretch.  
  • The Pioneers grew their lead by winning five consecutive points to lead 12-7. The Evangels sprinkled in points, but MACU errors continued to rack up, and consecutive aces from Fade Ogunbade gave Wayland a 20-12 advantage.
  • Another Evangel service error closed out the opening set, as WBU's defense wins the Pioneers the set at 25-16.
• Set Two
  • Much like the first set, the second started with electric offense from both sides as Ryley Bowden fired off consecutive aces to give the Evangels an 8-6 lead. The offense rallied behind Seyi Atolagbe and Alica Obusekova with two terminations apiece in the opening rallies.
  • The Evangels continued to dominate the net as everyone contributed on the offensive side. MACU rallied off seven of eight points to lead 15-9. Obusekova added two more kills, while Madi Trayler joined the offensive show during the stretch.
  • The Evangels ended five consecutive rallies with kills, followed by another ace from Bowden. Casady McKinney chimed in her first kill, while Nalin stayed hot. MACU won 10 of the last 13 rallies to take the second set in commanding fashion as Nalin wins set point at 25-13.
• Set Three
  • A competitive start to the set tied it in the early stages at 6-6. Three more terminations for the Evangels to go along with Benson's first ace during the stretch.
  • MACU found its form again with a huge rally of seven of eight points to explode the third set to 13-7. Nalin continued her stellar night with another kill, while Benson and Trayler came up with a huge block to extend the run.
  • The Evangels rallied off its second stretch of five straight kills in the latter stages of the set as three of them came from Atolagbe to bring MACU to set point. The libero Bowden, an unlikely source for the kill, was the answer to close out the set at 25-13, and to give MACU the lead in the match.
• Set Four
  • Trayler and Atolagbe sparked the offense early with a pair of kills to tie the set up at 6-6. The Evangels responded to another competitive start by going on a monstrous scoring run with seven consecutive points, and nine of 10 rallies to lead 18-10. Four Obusekova hammers during this stretch influenced the attack and opened Benson's attack down the middle.
  • History was made for the MACU Volleyball program as senior Casady McKinney recorded her 3,000^th assist as Alica Obusekova's kill contributed to the program's royalty. McKinney became the second Evangel to eclipse the 3,000 assists milestone.
  • Trayler punctuated another kill to give the Evangels match point, and an attack error from the Pioneers closed out the final set at 25-18.

MATCH NOTES

• MACU finished with a season-high in kills for a four-set match with 58 on a .323 hitting percentage. WBU had 41 kills on .153%.
• For the second time this season, Alica Obusekova, Seyi Atolagbe, and Marcela Nalin all finished with 12 or more kills to lead the Evangel attack. They achieved this feat a few weeks ago on Oct. 15 on the road against Langston in a four-set win.
• Casady McKinney's historic 26^th assist of the night vaulted her into the 3k assist club as she finished with 28 on the night. Madison Lee chipped in 22 assists of her own.
• On the defensive side, Ryley Bowden and Obusekova led the team with 19 digs, while Mia Benson and Obusekova led blocking with three.   

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian stay at home Saturday afternoon and face Oklahoma Panhandle State inside the Gaulke Activity Center for a 1 pm first serve during Senior Night and Homecoming.