OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Volleyball team will take on the top two teams in the Sooner Athletic Conference to start the second half of league play this weekend. The Evangels open it up with Faculty & Staff Appreciation Night on Friday as the Evangels two-step with Texas Wesleyan at 6 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center before wrapping up the slate on Saturday with a 1 p.m. match against Nelson.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 10-8 (6-5 SAC)
• Last Match: Lost at Wayland Baptist (Texas) – 3-1 (26-24, 25-18, 24-26, 25-20) – Oct. 4, 2025 – Plainview, Texas
• Stat Leaders:
  • Kills: Alica Obusekova (189, 3.10 K/S), Karlee Siegfried (146, 2.35 K/S)
  • Attack Percentage (%, K-E-A; Min 3 ATK/S): Seyi Atolagbe (.355, 131-23-304), Alica Obusekova (.230, 189-64-544)
  • Assists: Casady McKinney (512, 8.00 A/S), Madison Lee (104, 1.63 A/S)
  • Aces: Ryley Bowden (28, 0.44 SA/S), Casady McKinney (25, 0.39 SA/S)
  • Digs: Ryley Bowden (296, 4.63 D/S), Casady McKinney (175, 2.73 D/S)
  • Receive Percentage (%, RE-R; Min 3 REC/S): Kaetlen Schier (.936, 18-283), Sydney Martin (.934, 16-244)
  • Blocks: Mia Benson (48, 0.79 B/S), Seyi Atolagbe (37, 0.58 B/S)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian closed out the first half of conference play with a pair of tough road contests at Oklahoma Panhandle State and Wayland Baptist last weekend, dropping a pair of 3-1 defeats.
  • One of the major areas of emphasis for the Evangels entering the second half will be its play from the service line as MACU combined to score only three aces and committed 13 service errors while its opposition notched 23 aces and just 12 errors, resulting in a 36-15 differential in service scoring last week.
  • Despite some tough results, Mid-America Christian did have some bright spots in each of their matches against OPSU and WBU. In the match against the Aggies, three different Evangels combined to score career-highs in kills as Alica Obusekova (21), Karlee Siegfried (17), and Madi Trayler (10) all turned in career-bests while hitting for a .283 or better clip.
  • Against the Pioneers, the Evangels notched their most team blocks (12.5) since the 2021 campaign when MACU scored 17 blocks in a five-set match against John Brown on Oct. 8 while also getting 13 rejections in a four-setter against the Golden Eagles that very same year on Sept. 1. Mia Benson was the catalyst for MACU's blocking efforts, scoring 11 assisted blocks, the most by a MACU player since Allison Porter put down one solo and 11 assisted in the five-set match against JBU in 2021.

SCOUTING REPORT
Texas Wesleyan

• Record: 14-4 (11-0 SAC)
• Last Match: Won vs. Central Christian (Kan.) – 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-14) – Oct. 4, 2025 – Fort Worth, Texas
• Series vs MACU (2005-): TXWES leads 29-1
• Last Match vs MACU: TXWES won 3-0 (25-18, 26-24, 25-17) – Sept. 13, 2025 – Fort Worth, Texas
• Series Streak: TXWES won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Hanna Rubis – JR – MB/OH
    • 177 Kills (2.72 K/S), .321 ATK%, 18 Aces (0.28 SA/S), 79 Digs (1.22 D/S), 53 Blocks (0.82 B/S)
  • Ruby Rumohr – SO – S
    • 319 Assists (5.23 A/S), 22 Aces (0.36 SA/S), 140 Digs (2.30 D/S)
  • Emily Lewis – SR – DS/L
    • 243 Digs (4.58 D/S), 12-232 RE-R, .948 RCV%, 26 Aces (0.49 SA/S)
  • Sydney Alexander – SR – MB
    • 60 Blocks (0.92 B/S), 153 Kills (2.35 K/S), .387 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Texas Wesleyan is coming off a pair of dominant home three-set sweeps over Langston and Central Christian this past weekend. So far, through 11 SAC matches, the Lady Rams have yet to be challenged by any team in league play as none of their conference matches thus far have gone to five sets.
  • The Lady Rams have been one of the most efficient attacking team during SAC competition thus far, posting the third-most kills per set (12.87) on the second-best hitting percentage (.220). TXWES is one of only three teams hitting above .200 in league play along with Nelson (.226) and MACU (.206).
  • TXWES's ability to score on the defensive end has also helped immensely to the Lady Rams success as they lead the league in blocks per set (2.47), which is resulting in them holding their opponents to only a .116 hitting percentage.
  • The Lady Rams feature two of the best pure attackers in the league in junior outside and middle Hanna Rubis, who is averaging 2.72 kills per set on a .321 attack percentage while the reigning SAC Attacker of the Week senior middle blocker Sydney Alexander is tallying 2.35 kills per set on a league-best .387 hitting clip. Alexander is one of the SAC's best blockers as well, notching the third best per set clip at 0.92.
  • Texas Wesleyan features a 6-2 setter rotation spearheaded by sophomore Ruby Rumohr and junior Lillian Breaux while one of the SAC's best back row defenders in senior libero Emily Lewis is shoveling 4.58 digs per set, ranking third in the league.
  • Mid-America Christian will be looking to put together a better showing the second time around against Texas Wesleyan after the Lady Rams swept the Evangels in Fort Worth on Sept. 13. MACU did put up a tough fight in the second set, but the Lady Rams contained the Evangels attack in the first and third sets. However, MACU has challenged Texas Wesleyan the last two times they have played inside the Gaulke Activity Center, including going to five sets on Oct. 13, 2023.

Nelson (Texas)

• Record: 12-8 (10-1 SAC)
• Last Match: Won vs. Langston (Okla.) – 3-0 (25-11, 25-15, 29-27) – Oct. 4, 2025 – Waxahachie, Texas
• Series vs MACU (2003-): Nelson leads 44-7
• Last Match vs MACU: Nelson won 3-0 (27-25, 25-15, 25-22) – Sept. 12, 2025 – Waxahachie, Texas
• Series Streak: Nelson won 8
• Players to Watch:
  • Mackenzie Smith – JR – OH/OPP
    • 176 Kills (2.44 K/S), .266 ATK%, 35 Blocks (0.49 B/S)
  • Taylor Cavozos – SR – S
    • 346 Assists (4.81 A/S), 23 Aces (0.32 SA/S), 188 Digs (2.61 D/S)
  • Hailey Nixon – JR – DS
    • 222 Digs (3.42 D/S), 14-252 RE-R (.944 RCV%)
  • Olivia Todd – FR – MH
    • 44 Blocks (0.65 B/S), 74 Kills (1.09 K/S), .288 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Nelson closed out the first half of SAC play with a pair of home three-set sweeps over Central Christian and Langston. A battle-tested Lady Lions team that went 2-7 in non-conference play against high-quality competition, Nelson has been prepared for league competition as it sits second in the SAC standings with a 10-1 mark.
  • The Lady Lions have been ferocious in the attack during league play, posting the best hitting percentage (.226) along with the second-most kills per set (12.97). As stellar as Nelson's offense has been, the Lady Lions have also been sound on the defensive end, giving up a .131 hitting percentage while shoveling the third-most digs per set (18.48) and blocking the sixth-most rejections per set (1.63).
  • The Nelson attack has been incredibly balanced with five players averaging more than two kills per set, being even more balanced of late after Addison Standley returned to the lineup after missing nearly a month due to injury. Junior outside hitter Mackenzie Smith has paced the attack with 176 kills, averaging 2.44 kills per set on a solid .266 hitting percentage from the outside.
  • Taylor Cavozos and Cassidy Hargesheimer have split the setter duties in the 6-2 rotation while Hailey Nixon has led an extremely balanced back row with 3.42 digs per set while eight regular players are shoveling at least one dig a set.
  • Mid-America Christian is looking to shift its tough luck against Nelson in the recent series as the Lady Lions have won the last eight meetings since 2022. In last year's meeting inside the Gaulke Activity Center, the Evangels played the Lady Lions close, winning the first set 25-20, but Nelson went on to win three nail-biter sets by scores of 25-23, 25-21, 25-21 to come away with the 3-1 win on Sept. 6, 2024. In their previous meeting in Waxahachie, the Evangels were putting together some massive scoring from the middle as Mia Benson and Seyi Atolagbe combined for 19 kills on a .500 hitting percentage. However, MACU struggled to find scoring from its pin hitters as Nelson pulled out the 27-25, 25-15, 25-22 win.