Mid-America Christian University

OKLAHOMA CITY – MACU Volleyball started strong with an opening set win but was unable to close it out as John Brown took the final three sets to spoil the Evangels' Alumni Night inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Friday evening.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 1, John Brown 3 (25-22, 20-25, 22-25, 19-25)
  • Mid-America Christian (7-6, 3-4 SAC)
  • John Brown (Ark.) (9-7, 5-3 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Seyi Atolagbe: 16 Kills, .667 ATK%, 3 Blocks
• Marcela Nalin: 9 Kills, .250 ATK%, 6 Digs, Block, Assist
• Madi Trayler: 9 Kills, .300 ATK%, 2 Blocks
• Jasmine Liongco: 24 Assists, 8 Digs, Ace  
• Gracelyn Skaggs: 21 Digs, 4 Assists, Ace
• Kristen Straughn: 17 Assists, 5 Digs

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • A competitive start to the opening set saw MACU have the slight early advantage at 7-6 as offense came from Seyi Atolagbe with two kills, as Morgan Cross and Mia Benson added a termination of their own.
  • The Evangels jumped on a quick four-point streak to open an 11-6 lead as once again Atolgabe's offense forced the timeout from John Brown. However, the Golden Eagles responded with three consecutive points to bring the set back tight again.
  • Out of the media timeout, Madi Trayler added her second kill and Mia Benson's service ace gave MACU an 18-14 lead.
  • John Brown pulled within one at 22-21 which resulted in an Evangel timeout. Out of the timeout, Atolagbe pulled the momentum back to the MACU side. Marcela Nalin closed out the opening set with a pair of kills to take the first set 25-22.
• Set Two
  • The second set started scrappy as both teams racked up attacking errors. However, neither team took significant advantage of it as the set opened 8-8. The Golden Eagles were the first to pull away with three straight points to lead 11-8.
  • MACU responded immediately after calling the timeout with three straight of its own with Atolagbe and Nalin being the primary instigators. JBU took a 15-12 advantage into the media timeout.
  • The Evangels were unable to find any momentum after the halfway timeout, as the Golden Eagles pulled away with the second set with a 20-12 advantage. Although MACU pushed back with offense coming from Trayler and Cross, its deficit was insurmountable as John Brown evened it up with a 25-20 set two win.
• Set Three
  • The Evangels stormed out to a 10-4 set three lead with frequent attacking errors coming from the Golden Eagles side. Kaetlen Schier recorded consecutive aces during that stretch as John Brown called a timeout.
  • Out of the JBU timeout, the Golden Eagles won six of the next seven points to pull back within one at 11-10. The Evangels used a timeout in effort to regroup, but the John Brown offense continued to be relentless as the Golden Eagles took their first lead at 17-16.
  • MACU kept it even to the end of the set, Madi Trayler gave the Evangels the 21-20 lead with a big-time hammer. However, JBU dominantly closed the third set with five of the last six points to win 25-22.
• Set Four
  • The Evangels struggled in the early goings of set four as the Golden Eagles' lead grew as large as six at 13-7. MACU made a quick run to pull it to 13-11 as Seyi Atolagbe credited two kills during the run.
  • However, out of the John Brown timeout, the Golden Eagles restored their six-point advantage at 16-11. The Evangels wouldn't go down without a fight as Marcela Nalin pulled the Evangels within two before Gracelyn Skaggs' service ace made it 17-16 JBU.
  • John Brown took full control of the final with a dominant closing stretch and held MACU to just three points in the final 11 rallies as the Golden Eagles closed out the match with a 25-19 set four result.

MATCH NOTES

• MACU ended with more kills than JBU by a 51-49 margin, including the slight edge in attacking efficiency on a .228 ATK% compared to JBU's .210 ATK%. However, the Golden Eagles had 14 service aces and only nine errors, while the Evangels were well below their season average in aces with six, with 15 service errors.  
• Seyi Atolagbe led the Evangels offensively with 16 kills on an impressive .667 ATK%. That is Atolagbe's second best attacking percentage this year, but most efficient with 13+ kills. Marcela Nalin and Madi Trayler both finished nine kills apiece, while Mia Benson and Morgan Cross contributed eight.
• Jasmine Liongco was the leading passer with 24 assists. Kristen Straughn recorded her third highest tally this season with 17 assists.
• On the defensive side, Gracelyn Skaggs led the way with 21 digs, her third highest mark this season; Liongco added seven.
• MACU fell to 3-4 in Sooner Athletic Conference play, seated in seventh place with an important meeting with College of the Ozarks who are currently eighth in the SAC standings up next.  
• Mid-America Christian are now 9-28 all-time against John Brown, which snapped the two-game winning streak the Evangels had over the Golden Eagles after a season sweep last year.

 
UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian closes out the home weekend with a big contest against College of the Ozarks with first serve slated for 1 P.M. on Saturday afternoon inside the Gaulke Activity Center.