OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Volleyball team is preparing for its toughest road tests of the regular season as the Evangels will head down to Texas this weekend to take on Nelson and Texas Wesleyan. The Evangels will take on Nelson at 6 p.m. on Friday inside the Sheaffer Center in Waxahachie before heading over to Fort Worth on Saturday to take on Texas Wesleyan for a 1 p.m. first serve inside the Sid Richardson Center.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Last Match: Won vs. Langston (Okla.) – 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-12) – Sept. 6, 2025 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Stat Leaders:
  • Kills: Alica Obusekova (81, 2.45 K/S), Seyi Atolagbe (79, 2.32 K/S)
  • Attack Percentage (%, K-E-A, Min. 3 ATK/S): Seyi Atolagbe (.433, 79-11-157), Mia Benson (.200, 44-20-120)
  • Assists: Casady McKinney (234, 6.88 A/S), Madison Lee (80, 2.35 A/S)
  • Aces: Ryley Bowden (21, 0.62 SA/S), Sydney Martin (15, 0.44 SA/S)
  • Digs: Ryley Bowden (132, 3.88 D/S), Kaetlen Schier (112, 3.29 D/S)
  • Receive Percentage (%, RE-R, Min. 3 R/S): Sydney Martin (.962, 4-106), Ryley Bowden (.951, 6-122)
  • Blocks: Mia Benson (26, 0.76 B/S), Seyi Atolagbe (22, 0.65 B/S)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian dominated all three of its Sooner Athletic Conference opening matches last week, picking up a three-set sweep at Science & Arts on Sept. 3 before picking up a pair of sweeps over Central Christian on Friday and Langston on Saturday.
  • One of the big reasons for MACU's success has been its balance across the board. Last week, the Evangels had three different players average 2.0 or more kills per set and six with 1.0 kills or more kills per set. Alica Obusekova led the way with 22 kills on a .246 hitting percentage while Karlee Siegfried notched 21 kills (2.63 K/S) and Seyi Atolagbe powered down 20 terminations a set on a blistering .422 hitting percentage.
  • Senior setter Casady McKinney is slowly, but surely establishing herself back into a 5-1 setter rotation as she dished out 9.22 assists per set and saw dramatic improvement from the service line, tallying five aces and committed only three errors. The Yukon, Okla. product was also much more involved in the attack, averaging 1.11 kills per set on a .296 hitting percentage on setter dumps.
  • Ryley Bowden and Mia Benson are also starting to establish themselves as defensive leaders for the Evangels as Bowden shoveled 47 digs on a 5.22 per set average while Benson came up with nine blocks on a 1.00 per set average.

SCOUTING REPORT
(RV) Nelson (Texas)

• Record: 4-6 (2-0 SAC)
• Last Match: Won at Southwestern Christian – 3-0 (25-12, 25-10, 25-16) – Sept. 6, 2025 – Bethany, Okla.
• Series vs MACU (2003-): Nelson leads 43-7
• Last Match vs MACU: Nelson won 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-19) – Oct. 12, 2024 – Waxahachie, Texas
• Series Streak: Nelson won 7
• Players to Watch:
  • Mackenzie Smith – JR – OH/OPP
    • 83 Kills (2.31 K/S), .256 ATK%
  • Taylor Cavazos – SR – S
    • 151 Assists (4.19 A/S), 10 Aces (0.28 SA/S), 89 Digs (2.47 D/S)
  • Hailey Nixon – JR – DS
    • 121 Digs (3.36 D/S), .938 RCV%, 9 Aces (0.25 SA/S), 27 Assists (0.75 A/S)
  • Hope Jones – FR – MH
    • 30 Blocks (0.83 B/S), 36 Kills (1.00 K/S), .206 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Nelson opened SAC play with a pair of strong road wins last week, picking up a 3-1 win at Oklahoma City on Friday after bouncing back from an opening set loss before pulling out a dominant three-set sweep at Southwestern Christian on Saturday.
  • The Lions record coming into the weekend is somewhat deceiving as Nelson has battled multiple teams either ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25. So far in SAC play, Nelson ranks fifth in the conference in attack percentage (.207) while tallying the fifth-most kills per set (12.43). Meanwhile, the Lions have been outstanding on the defensive side, holding its SAC opposition last week to only 9.14 kills on a .060 hitting clip.
  • Much like the Evangels, Nelson features a balanced attack with four different players averaging two or more kills per set, headlined by junior outside on opposite hitter Mackenzie Smith, who leads the team with 83 kills on a blistering .256 hitting percentage. The Lions normally run a 6-2, but with junior setter Cassidy Hargesheimer missing last week due to injury, senior setter Taylor Cavazos is leading the charge, leading the team with 151 assists while also being one of the team's leaders in service aces with 10.
  • Hailey Nixon leads the Nelson back row efforts with 121 digs, averaging 3.36 per set while freshman middle hitter Hope Jones lead the blocking efforts with 30 rejections at 0.83 per set.
  • With Nelson being an NAIA volleyball powerhouse, the Evangels will be hoping to snap a seven-match losing streak against the Lions. In their meeting inside the Sheaffer Center, the Evangels lost in straight sets, but were competitive by falling 25-23, 25-20, 25-19. In the losing effort, Alica Obusekova narrowly missed recording a double-double, tallying nine kills on a stellar .350 hitting percentage to go along with 13 digs.

Texas Wesleyan

• Record: 5-4 (2-0 SAC)
• Last Match: Won at Oklahoma City – 3-1 (23-25, 27-25, 25-11, 25-23) – Sept. 6, 2025 – Oklahoma City
• Series vs MACU (2005-): TXWES leads 28-1
• Last Match vs MACU: MACU won 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-22) – Oct. 11, 2024 – Fort Worth, Texas
• Series Streak: MACU won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Hanna Rubis – JR – MB/OH
    • 91 Kills (2.68 K/S), .308 ATK%, 19 Blocks (0.56 B/S), 29 Digs (0.85 D/S)
  • Ruby Rumohr – SO – S
    • 167 Assists (4.91 A/S), 14 Aces (0.41 SA/S), 79 Digs (2.32 D/S)
  • Emily Lewis – SR – DS
    • 98 Digs (4.45 D/S), .953 RCV%, 7 Aces (0.32 SA/S), 25 Assists (1.14 A/S)
  • Sydney Alexander – SR – MB
    • 27 Blocks (0.79 B/S), 76 Kills (2.24 K/S), .359 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Texas Wesleyan opened SAC competition on a strong note last week, pulling out a dominant sweep over Southwestern Christian before grinding out a hard-fought 3-1 win at Oklahoma City inside the Freede Center on Saturday afternoon.
  • Between its SAC openers, the Rams notched the highest hitting percentage of all league teams with a .242 while averaging the second-most kills per set at 13.43. Defensively, TXWES is outstanding as well, holding its opposition to only .095 hitting on a 9.29 kills per set average.
  • The Rams are led in the attack by the reigning SAC Attacker of the Week in Hanna Rubis, who is posting 2.68 terminations per set on a .308 hitting percentage while also being a solid blocker as well with a 0.56 per set average. Ruby Rumohr and Lillian Breaux will split the setting duties in the 6-2 rotation while Rumohr is one of the team's leaders from both the service line (0.41 SA/S) and back row (2.32 digs per set).
  • After missing the first few matches of the year, Emily Lewis has been big in the back row for the Rams, averaging 4.45 digs per set while posting a solid .953 receive percentage while Sydney Alexander has been a star for TXWES in the middle, blocking 0.79 attacks per set while ranking second on the team in kills at 2.24 on a team-best .359 hitting clip.
  • Even though Texas Wesleyan leads the all-time series, Mid-America Christian picked up its first ever win against the NAIA powerhouse last season. When the Evangels walked into the Sid Richardson Center on Oct. 11, 2024, the Evangels walked out with a thrilling three-set sweep after winning all three sets by a score of 25-22. In that win, Miriam Nardi posted 12 kills on a .300 attack percentage while the MACU defense held the Rams to only a .100 hitting clip for the match.