Mid-America Christian University

OKLAHOMA CITY – Facing off against one of the favorites to win the Sooner Athletic Conference in Nelson to open league play, Mid-America Christian struggled both offensively and defensively as the Evangels fell 3-0 inside the Sheaffer Center.
 
SCORE

• Nelson 3, Mid-America Christian 0
  • Mid-America Christian (4-3, 0-1 SAC)
  • Nelson (5-4, 1-0 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Seyi Atolagbe – 10 Kills, .227 ATK%, 2 Blocks
• Katie Stafford – 8 Kills, .375 ATK%, 2 Digs
• Kristen Straughn – 16 Assists, 5 Digs
• Gracelyn Skaggs – 18 Digs, 4 Assists

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • While Mia Benson swung a hot hand in the early going by tallying three kills, Mid-America Christian struggled to slow down Nelson as the Lions seized an early 8-3 advantage through the first 11 rallies.
  • The Evangels managed to go stride-for-stride with multiple side-out points over the next 12 rallies as a Katie Stafford kill up the middle closed the gap to 13-10.
  • However, the Lions utilized a 7-1 run just past the midway point to stretch its advantage before closing out with a 25-16 win.
• Set Two
  • The Lions commanded the early advantage, scoring on 10 of the first 15 rallies before the Evangels managed to chisel away three in a row, two of which coming on kills from Morgan Cross and Seyi Atolage to close it to 10-8.
  • Nearing the halfway point, Nelson rattled off five in a row as Cassidy Hargesheimer's ace made it a 15-8 Lions advantage at the media timeout.
  • After four-straight side-out points, Stafford and Marcela Nalin tallied a kill apiece before a Nelson attack error closed the gap to 17-13.
  • Even though Nelson battled back by scoring four-straight to put the Evangels at the brink at 21-13, Mid-America Christian rallied back with a 9-2 run with Morgan Cross scoring three-straight kills to start it before Jasmine Liongco tallied back-to-back service aces to make it 23-22.
  • Unfortunately, a serve into the net and an attack error stopped MACU's run as Nelson notched the 25-22 win.
• Set Three
  • Mid-America Christian took advantage of a pair of Nelson attack errors and after 12-straight side-out points, back-to-back kills by Nalin and Morgan Cross gave MACU its largest lead of the match at 9-6.
  • Nelson battled back by scoring four in a row to take a brief lead, but MACU answered right back with a run of its own, rattling off three in a row, featuring an Atolagbe termination and a Kaetlen Schier service ace before a Lions attack error made it a 12-10 Evangels' edge at the midway point.
  • Unfortunately, MACU was unable to maintain the momentum going into the media timeout as Nelson scored five of the next six points to seize the 15-13 edge at the break.
  • After trading five-straight side-out points to stay within striking distance, Nelson closed out the match on a strong note, scoring eight of the final 10 points to wrap-up the 25-18 final.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian and Nelson were relatively even in the kill count as the Lions only held a 39-37 advantage in total kills, but errors proved costly as the Evangels committed 23 to only eight for the Lions, resulting in a .120 hitting percentage while Nelson posted an outstanding .320.
• Nelson's blocking scheme also gave MACU some trouble as the Lions finished with seven blocks while the Evangels tallied just three.
• The Evangels also struggled to gain an advantage from the service line, notching five aces and committing five errors while Nelson notched seven aces and made only two miscues from the line.
• Seyi Atolagbe was the lone Evangel to break into double-figures with 10 kills on a .227 hitting percentage while Katie Stafford provided a spark from the middle as well, boasting eight kills on a .375 attack rate.
• Morgan Cross attempted the most swings for MACU, committing only two attack errors in 26 attempts and tallied seven kills on a .192 from the outside.
• Kristen Straughn led the distribution efforts with 16 assists while Gracelyn Skaggs was solid in the back row for MACU, shoveling 18 digs on a stellar 6.0 per set rate.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will have another tough match in its Texas road swing tomorrow as the Evangels head to Fort Worth on Saturday afternoon for a 1 p.m. match against Texas Wesleyan inside the Sid Richardson Center.