OKLAHOMA CITY – Coming off its toughest road stretch of the season, the MACU Volleyball team will be seeking to get back on the winning track this weekend as the Evangels prepare to host a pair of crosstown rivals inside the Gaulke Activity Center. MACU will open the slate against Oklahoma City at 6 p.m. on Friday before seeing Southwestern Christian at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 8-4 (3-2 SAC)
• Last Match: Lost at (RV) Texas Wesleyan – 3-0 (25-18, 26-24, 25-17) – Sept. 13, 2025 – Fort Worth, Texas
• Stat Leaders:
  • Kills: Alica Obusekova (103, 2.64 K/S), Seyi Atolagbe (91, 2.28 K/S)
  • Attack Percentage (%, K-E-A; Min 3 ATK/S): Seyi Atolagbe (.418, 91-12-189), Mia Benson (.196, 58-28-153)
  • Assists: Casady McKinney (292, 7.30 A/S), Madison Lee (82, 2.05 A/S)
  • Aces: Ryley Bowden (23, 0.58 SA/S), Casady McKinney (17, 0.43 SA/S)
  • Digs: Ryley Bowden (169, 4.23 D/S), Kaetlen Schier (125, 3.13 D/S)
  • Receive Percentage (%, RE-R; Min 3 R/S): Ryley Bowden (.942, 9-154), Kaetlen Schier (.942, 10-172)
  • Blocks: Mia Benson (28, 0.70 B/S), Seyi Atolagbe (27, 0.68 B/S)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian had a tough road swing down in Texas last weekend, as the Evangels had to battle the top two teams in the Sooner Athletic Conference in Nelson and Texas Wesleyan. While the Evangels had some brighter moments on the road swing, the Evangels were unable to come away with any set wins as the Evangels dropped a pair of 3-0 decisions.
  • For the second time this season, MACU had two players reach career milestones in the same match as Casady McKinney and Ryley Bowden each tallied their 1000^th career dig. The Evangels currently have three players with 1000 career digs after Sydney Martin notched her 1000^th shovel in a match against Friends back on Aug. 21.
  • Despite the offensive struggles, junior outside Alica Obusekova paced the Evangels with 22 kills, averaging 3.67 kills per set on a sound .234 hitting percentage. The Bratislava, Slovakia native was especially on-fire against Texas Wesleyan, as she turned in a team-high 13 kills on a .333 attack rate.
  • In leading MACU's back row efforts, Ryley Bowden was outstanding while earning SAC Defender of the Week honors. Last weekend, Bowden averaged an astonishing 6.16 digs per set, tying a season-high 20 digs against Nelson. It was the third time in her MACU career she notched 20 or more digs in a three-set match in her career, tallying 21 apiece last year at Oklahoma City on Sept. 27 before doing it again on Nov. 9 at Wayland Baptist (Texas).

SCOUTING REPORT
Oklahoma City

• Record: 3-7 (0-4 SAC)
• Last Match: Lost at Wayland Baptist – 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-23) – Sept. 13, 2025 – Plainview, Texas
• Series vs MACU (2006-): OCU leads 33-8
• Last Match vs MACU: OCU won 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-23) – Nov. 12, 2024 – Gaulke Activity Center (SAC Quarterfinal)
• Series Streak: OCU won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Grace Smallwood – SO – OH/DS
    • 141 Kills (3.35 K/S), .164 ATK%, 134 Digs (3.35 D/S), .947 RCV%
  • Natalie Adams – JR – S
    • 377 Assists (9.43 A/S), 28 Kills (0.70 K/S), .160 ATK%, 8 Aces (0.20 SA/S), 87 Digs (2.18 D/S)
  • Kaylie Marshall – JR – OH
    • 132 Digs (3.30 D/S), .947 RCV%, 111 Kills (2.78 K/S), .145 ATK%
  • Marina Kalajdzic – SR – OH/MB
    • 29 Blocks (0.81 B/S), 48 Kills (1.33 K/S), .276 ATK%
• Team Notes:
  • Oklahoma City has had a brutally difficult start to SAC play as the Stars dropped a pair of home matches against Nelson and Texas Wesleyan two weeks ago before going on the road and losing a pair of challenging matches at Oklahoma Panhandle State and Wayland Baptist last week.
  • The Stars have been challenged in the attack through those first four SAC matches as OCU ranks ninth in the conference with a .114 hitting percentage and eighth in kills per set at 11.73. Meanwhile, the Stars defensively are allowing their opposition to hit for a .174 average on an 11.45 termination per set rate.
  • OCU has also been challenged to score from the service line, ranking third-to-last in service aces at 1.40 per set while ranking in the middle of the pack in serve receive at 1.86 reception errors or set.
  • Leading the OCU attack is Grace Smallwood, who is posting the highest kills per set rate in the conference at 3.53 to go with the most overall kills at 141. On the setting side of things, Natalie Adams is the SAC leader in assists per set (9.43) and overall assists (377).
  • On the defensive side, the Stars back row has been by committee between Smallwood (134, 3.35 D/S), Kaylie Marshall (132, 3.30 D/S), and Katelyn Stephenson (121, 3.27 D/S) all leading the way in digs with each recording more than three digs per set. Marina Kalajdzic has been the team's best blocker this season with 29 rejections, ranking fifth in the SAC at 0.81 per set.
  • While the Evangels have had some recent success against the Stars since 2022, winning six-straight regular season matches, OCU played spoiler to MACU in the SAC Tournament last year. In the SAC Quarterfinal inside the Gaulke on Nov. 12, the Stars played one of their best matches of the season as they came away with a three-set win against the Evangels, handing MACU its first ever SAC Tournament loss inside its home venue.

Southwestern Christian (Okla.)

• Record: 0-7 (0-4 SAC)
• Last Match: Lost at Oklahoma Panhandle State – 3-0 (25-20, 25-5, 25-9) – Sept. 13, 2025 – Goodwell, Okla.
• Series vs MACU (2003-): MACU leads 25-11
• Last Match vs MACU: MACU won 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-23) – Oct. 29, 2024 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Series Streak: MACU won 4
• Players to Watch:
  • Emery Hulme – JR – OH/RS
    • 39 Kills (1.77 K/S), .055 ATK%, 33 Digs, 1.50 D/S, .940 RCV%
  • Megan Graham – SR – S
    • 99 Assists (4.50 A/S), 5 Aces (0.23 SA/S), 46 Digs (2.09 D/S)
  • Ana Flavia – SO – DS/L
    • 76 Digs (3.45 D/S), .962 RCV%
• Team Notes:
  • It has been a tough year so far for the Southwestern Christian volleyball team as it enters its match at Science & Arts on Friday with a 0-7 record with a 0-4 mark in SAC play. The Eagles have had a tough time keeping matches competitive as SCU has only won one set on the year thus far.
  • The Eagles have had an especially rough time in the attack, as they rank eighth-to-last in the entire NAIA in kills per set (6.64) on the sixth-lowest hitting percentage (.017). SCU has also had a tough time scoring from the service line, averaging the second-lowest aces per set in the NAIA at 0.68.
  • Defensively, the Eagles have also been troubled as they are allowing their opposition to average 14.18 kills per set on a .270 hitting percentage. A lack of blocking has played a major factor in that result as the Eagles are rejecting only 0.59 attacks per set, which is also the fifth lowest in the NAIA.
  • Emery Hulme is the only player on the team that is recording more than 1.5 kills per set as she has tallied a team-high 39 kills on a .055 hitting percentage. Megan Graham primarily handles the setting duties, averaging 4.50 assists per set while Ana Flavia leads the SCU back row efforts with 76 digs, shoveling at a 3.45 per set rate and posting a solid .962 receive percentage.

Since the 2019 season, Mid-America Christian has had a ton of success against the Eagles as MACU has won 12 of the last 13 meetings. In their last meeting inside the Gaulke back on Oct. 29, 2024, the Evangels cruised to a dominant three-set sweep, being tested in only the third set with the 25-13, 25-16, 25-23 win.