OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Volleyball team's stifling defense once again came to play on Saturday afternoon as the Evangels cruised to a three-set sweep over Langston inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 3, Langston 0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-12)
  • Mid-America Christian (8-2, 3-0 SAC)
  • Langston (5-7, 1-2 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Marcela Nalin – 8 Kills, 3 Blocks, 2 Digs
• Mia Benson – 6 Kills, .313 ATK%, 4 Blocks, 4 Digs, 3 Aces
• Seyi Atolagbe – 6 Kills, .316 ATK%, 2 Blocks
• Casady McKinney – 26 Assists, 11 Digs, 2 Aces
• Ryley Bowden – 19 Digs, 6 Assists

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • Mid-America Christian jumped out to a fast start by scoring on seven of the first nine rallies with Alica Obusekova getting her third kill in the run before Langston swung back with a 6-2 run as Ayanna Moore's service ace closed it to a one-point game at 9-8.
  • The Evangels momentarily pulled away with three-unanswered with kills by Marcela Nalin and Karlee Siegfried, but surged back behind a 7-1 surge as Karma Williams kill it up at 13-all.
  • Seyi Atolagbe's side-out kill completely turned the tides as the Evangels strung together a dominant 12-1 run with Casady McKinney tallying a pair of aces in the run before Mia Benson made 23-14 off the block error.
  • The Lions scored the next three to stop the run, but the Evangels finished it out on a Marcela Nalin kill before Moore's attack error on set point closed it out at 25-17.
• Set Two
  • It looked as though MACU might pull away right out of the gate by scoring the first five with Madison Lee ending it on an ace, but Langston hung around before utilizing a four-unanswered run to close it to one at 14-13 on Moore's termination.
  • LU managed to keep it close through the second half before Nalin nailed a kill and Sydney Martin tallied an ace to stretch it to 21-17, forcing a Lions timeout.
  • Langston got a side-out kill from Ianeiah Spears, but MACU scored the final four with Benson getting an ace and Atolagbe powering down a kill to bring it to set point before Atolagbe and Nalin teamed up to block Moore's swing to wrap-up the 25-18 win.
• Set Three
  • Following the first five rallies, the Evangels streaked away by taking advantage of six Langston hitting errors while Nalin notched three kills and Benson bashed a pair of aces during a 13-3 run to seize a commanding 16-5 lead.
  • The Lions managed to get a pair of points back on the MACU advantage over the next eight rallies, but the Evangels swung back with five-straight, featuring kills from Benson, Siegfried, and Nalin to go along with another Martin service ace to make it match point at 24-10.
  • LU survived a few match points before Siegfried finished it out by powering the match-point kill off of a Lions defender to secure the 25-12 victory.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian had a much tougher time in the attack against Langston's outstanding back row, tallying 34 kills with 12 errors for a .177 hitting percentage, but the Evangels defense was just as frustrating to the Lions, holding LU to 26 kills and 27 errors for a -.008 hitting percentage.
• The Evangels also held an enormous scoring advantage from the service line, scoring 10 aces with only six missed serves while Langston notched only one ace with three errors, resulting in a 13-7 scoring edge from the line.
• MACU's offensive balance continues to be one of its biggest strength as five different players finished with at least six kills while Marcela Nalin led the charge with eight terminations while Karlee Siegfried added seven.
• The Evangels continued to be efficient in the middle as Seyi Atolagbe turned in six with a .316 hitting percentage while Mia Benson scored her six kills on a .313 rate.
• Casady McKinney turned in a double-double while leading the distribution efforts with 26 assists while shoveling 11 digs to go with a pair of aces.
• Three players turned in double-digit dig performances with Ryley Bowden leading the charge with 19 shovels on a 6.33 per set average while Madison Lee also recorded 10.
• The Evangels blocking came up with six team blocks as Benson notched four assisted blocks with Nalin tallying three of her own.
• MACU continued its impressive streak against the Lions, as MACU has now won 16 straight meetings against Langston while 15 of those wins are in straight-set victories.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will now prepare for its toughest road challenge of the regular season as the Evangels are set to prepare for some challenging matches at Nelson and Texas Wesleyan next weekend. The Evangels will open the slate in Waxahachie against the Lions with a 6 p.m. first serve on Friday inside the Sheaffer Center.