Mid-America Christian University

GOODWELL, Okla. – The MACU Volleyball team snapped its three-match losing streak with one of its best performances of the season inside Anchor D Arena on Friday night as the Evangels swept Oklahoma Panhandle State 25-14, 25-22, 25-20.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 3, Oklahoma Panhandle State 0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-20)
  • Mid-America Christian (5-4, 1-2 SAC)
  • Oklahoma Panhandle State (2-4, 2-1 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Seyi Atolagbe – 12 Kills, .750 ATK%, 2 Blocks
• Mia Benson – 10 Kills, .364 ATK%, 6 Digs
• Marcela Nalin – 8 Kills, .208 ATK%
• Jasmine Liongco – 17 Assists, 7 Digs
• Kristen Straughn – 14 Assists, 4 Digs
• Gracelyn Skaggs – 19 Digs, 4 Assists, 3 Aces

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • Oklahoma Panhandle State opened the match with all of the momentum, scoring five of the first six points to seize the early 5-1 advantage on a setting error.
  • A powerful Seyi Atolagbe side-out swing on the ensuing rally jumpstarted the Mid-America Christian attack, rattling off seven in a row as Marcela Nalin's kill gave MACU the 8-5 edge.
  • After three-straight side-outs, a kill up the middle by Katie Stafford ignited a 10-3 Evangels run with back-to-back Madison Lee service aces set the score to 19-10.
  • OPSU did score three kills in a row to close the gap to three, but the Evangels finished it out by scoring six of the final seven points as Gracelyn Skaggs tallied the set point service ace to wrap-up the 25-14 win.
• Set Two
  • The Evangels opened the second set strong, scoring five of the first seven as Atolagbe's termination made it an early 5-2 MACU edge.
  • Even though OPSU scored three of the next four to close the gap to one, a Nalin termination and Aggies attack error allowed the Evangels to stretch the lead back to 8-5.
  • In the 18^th rally, Oklahoma Panhandle State caught fire, rattling off an 8-1 run to seize a 16-11 advantage Guiula Beatriz Silva service ace out of the media timeout.
  • Nalin finally ended the bleeding for MACU, scoring a kill to start a 7-1 run as Ava Johnson put the Evangels back in-front with an ace to make it 18-17.
  • Even though OPSU took a brief 21-20 lead on a Marielle Gonzalez kill, Mid-America Christian finished strong, scoring five of the final six points as back-to-back Atolagbe kills brought it to set point before an OPSU attack error sealed the 25-22 win.
• Set Three
  • Once again, MACU started out well, winning four of the first five rallies before utilizing a four-unanswered run heading into the 13^th rally, as Benson's kill gave the Evangels the 9-4 lead.
  • Heading into the midway point, OPSU caught fire, rattling off seven straight points as Tanner Robinson's termination made it a 12-10 Aggies advantage.
  • However, MACU rallied back big time before the media timeout, going two-for-one with OPSU over the next nine rallies before scoring four in a row on three consecutive kills by Atolagbe, Nalin, and Benson followed by a Skaggs ace set the Evangels' edge to 20-15.
  • Even though the Aggies countered by scoring four in a row, closing the gap to 20-19 on Sofia Trevino's dig-kill, the Evangels closed out the setter side, scoring five of the final six points as Benson powered the match-point kill to seal the 25-20 victory.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian overcame a tough time in the attack in the third set, finishing with 38 kills and 10 errors for a .277 hitting percentage while Oklahoma Panhandle State notched 37 kills with 17 miscues for a .168 rate.
• The service line played a massive factor in the match as the Evangels scored 10 aces with only one error while the Aggies posted seven aces with eight miscues for an 18-8 scoring differential. It is the first time the Evangels reached double-digit aces while committing just one error since scoring 15 aces with one miscue against Texas College on Sept. 9, 2013.
• The Evangels attack was spearheaded by sophomore middle blocker Seyi Atolagbe, who powered down a match-high 12 kills on a career-high .750 hitting percentage to go along with a pair of block assists for 13 points.
• Sophomore outside hitter Mia Benson also recorded her third career double-digit kill match, putting down 10 kills on stellar .364 hitting percentage.
• MACU got some solid production from its right-side hitters as Marcela Nalin tallied eight kills for .208 attack rate while Madi Trayler posted five kills on a .308 clip to go along with two block assists.
• Jasmine Liongco led the distribution efforts with 17 assists to go with seven digs while Kristen Straughn posted 14 assists with four shovels
• Gracelyn Skaggs continued to wrack up the dig numbers in MACU's back row as she shoveled 19 digs for an outstanding 6.33 per set rate while scoring three service aces as Madison Lee also posted three aces as well.
• With the win, MACU improved to 14-9 all-time against Oklahoma Panhandle State including winning eight of the last nine meetings.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will be seeking to stay hot when it travels down to Plainview, Texas on Saturday for a 1 p.m. first serve against Wayland Baptist inside the Hutcherson Center.