FORT WORTH, Texas – The MACU Volleyball team struggled to get the attack going on the road against last year's Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament champion Texas Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon as the Evangels fell in straight sets inside the Sid Richardson Center.
 
SCORE

• Texas Wesleyan X, Mid-America Christian X (25-18, 26-24, 25-17)
  • Mid-America Christian (8-4, 3-2 SAC)
  • Texas Wesleyan (7-4, 4-0 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Alica Obusekova – 13 Kills, .333 ATK%, 3 Digs
• Casady McKinney – 25 Assists, 17 Digs, 3 Kills, 2 Aces
• Ryley Bowden – 17 Digs, 3 Assists
• Seyi Atolagbe – 4 Blocks, 3 Kills, .231 ATK%

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • Even though Mid-America Christian got off to a strong start, scoring four of the first five points, featuring a kill apiece from Marcela Nalin and Casady McKinney, the Lady Rams eventually battled back to tie it at 6-6 on a Hanna Rubis service ace.
  • TXWES went on a 6-2 run to grab the lead at the midway point as a Lillian Breaux ace made it a 13-10 advantage.
  • A block by Seyi Atolagbe and McKinney along with a Mia Benson kill closed it to a one-point game, but the Lady Rams went on a 9-1 streak to seize a commanding 22-13 advantage before eventually holding on for the 25-18 win.
  • MACU struggled in serve receive, as TXWES scored five aces and MACU had sequences where it couldn't get in-system off the serve.
• Set Two
  • It was a back-and-forth battle through the first nine rallies before Texas Wesleyan went on a 7-2 streak as a Lyric Biggiers kill made it an 11-7 TXWES lead.
  • At the start of the second half of the set, the Evangels battled back, utilizing an 8-3 run run as Nalin's kill gave MACU the 17-16 lead.
  • TXWES managed to briefly grab a 22-20 advantage late before the Evangels scored three in a row featuring a McKinney ace to take the one-score lead.
  • Unfortunately, the Evangels were unable to finish late as the Lady Rams scored four of the last five with Hanna Rubis dropping an ace in to wrap-up the 26-24 final.
• Set Three
  • The Evangels and Lady Rams exchanged the lead four times through the first 15 rallies, but a strong 10-3 run by Texas Wesleyan gave it a commanding 17-11 lead on Rubis' termination.
  • Mid-America Christian tried to fight its way back as three Alica Obusekova terminations and a McKinney setter dump kill ignited a 5-1 MACU surge to close the gap to 18-16.
  • However, that was the closest the Evangels could close the gap as Texas Wesleyan closed out the match with a 7-1 run to complete the sweep by a 25-17 final.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian struggled in the attack against Texas Wesleyan's blocking scheme as the Evangels recorded 32 kills and 21 attack errors, nine of which coming off of Lady Rams blocks for a .089 hitting percentage while TXWES turned in 37 kills and 13 miscues for a .198 hitting clip. It was the first time all season that the MACU attack was held to under a .140 hitting percentage in a match this season.
• The Evangels also struggled mightily in serve receive as Texas Wesleyan finished with nine aces while MACU could only muster four against the Lady Rams back row.
• Despite the tough outing offensively, the Evangels got a great performance from senior outside hitter Alica Obusekova as she finished with 13 kills on a .333 hitting percentage to go with three digs on the defensive end.
• Casady McKinney once again posted a double-double, leading the passing efforts with 25 assists and tied a team-high 17 digs while notching two of MACU's four aces on the day.
• Ryley Bowden joined McKinney in the team's back row lead with 17 digs, averaging a solid 5.67 digs per set to go with three assists.
• While the Evangels blocking efforts could only come up with four blocks, Seyi Atolagbe assisted on all four of those rejections while also tallying three kills on a .231 hitting clip.
• After coming away with a three-set sweep at Texas Wesleyan last year, the Evangels were unable to replicate the success as the Evangels couldn't a way to slow down TXWES' big three attackers in Sydney Alexander, Hanna Rubis, and Lyric Biggiers, as the trio finished with a combined 26 kills on a .328 hitting percentage.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will look for the opportunity to dust itself off from the tough weekend as the Evangels return home on Friday to battle crosstown rival Oklahoma City on Friday, Sept. 19. First serve is set for 6 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center.