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A short-handed Mid-America Christian volleyball team struggled in the attack against one of the top teams in the country as the Evangels fell in straight-sets to No. 24 Texas Wesleyan inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Saturday afternoon.

 

SCORE

• Texas Wesleyan 3, Mid-America Christian 0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-15)
  • Mid-America Christian (9-6, 3-3 SAC)
  • Texas Wesleyan (11-2, 6-0 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Lena Stockhammer – 7 Kills, 10 Assists, 6 Digs
• Vanessa Moreira – 6 Kills, .250 ATK%
• Casady McKinney – 14 Assists, 6 Digs
• Marlee Hunter – 17 Digs, 2 Assists

MATCH SUMMARY

• Set One
  • Texas Wesleyan jumped out to a fast start, utilizing four-point and three-point rallies to claim a 13-7 lead at the midway point.
  • MACU briefly closed the gap to three behind three straight Lena Stockhammer kills to make it a 15-12 game, but the Lady Rams surged back with a 5-1 run of their own to stretch the lead out to 20-13.
  • The Evangels swung back by taking four of the next five behind an Annabeth Fehrle kill and block, a Lauryn Walters kill and a Marlee Hunter service ace to close to 21-17, but TWU scored the final four points to secure the 25-17 win.
  • The Lady Rams were aggressive in the attack right out the gate, recording 18 of their 25 points off kills on a .326 attack percentage while the Evangels were held to only 11 kills on a .195 clip.
  • Despite the offensive struggles, Stockhammer had a strong set with four kills on a .400 hitting clip while MACU struggled to slow down the tandem of Kendal King and Lauran Richards, who combined for 10 kills on a .400 attack percentage.
• Set Two
  • TWU commanded a strong early advantage against Mid-America Christian scoring on 11 of the first 15 rallies.
  • The Lady Rams slowly grew its lead out to as large as eight at 15-7 before the Evangels chipped their way back. A Sarah Jones and Walters assisted block ignited a three-unanswered surge as two more Walters kills brought the deficit down to five.
  • After seven straight sideouts, MACU went on a strong run as a Vanessa Moreira kill ignited a 7-2 streak before Ryley Bowden's service ace tied it up at 20.
  • Texas Wesleyan put the Evangels' backs against the wall by scoring four straight to bring it to game point at 24-20, but MACU survived the first three game points on a kills by Walters and Jones before the two teamed up to block Malia Linton's attack, bringing the score to 24-23.
  • Just when it looked like the Evangels were going to force a tie, the officials called a kill glanced off the MACU block for Richards to end the set at 25-23.
  • Despite suffering the loss, MACU was able to outperform Texas Wesleyan in the attack, finishing with 14 kills on a .227 hitting clip while the Lady Rams were held to 13 kills on a .146 attack rate.
  • One area where Texas Wesleyan was able to make up the difference was from the service line and in passing as MACU committed four service errors and two ball-handling errors in the set while TWU kept it clean from the line and in the passing attack.
  • Moreira played a big impact in the MACU attack in the second frame, notching five kills on an .833 attack percentage.
• Set Three
  • Mid-America Christian was immediately put with its backs against the wall in the second set as the Lady Rams took a commanding 14-5 lead into the midway point of the set.
  • Seven unanswered during a 9-1 run for TWU gave the Lady Rams their largest lead of the match at 23-8.
  • The Evangels didn't go down without a fight as MACU rattled off five in a row to close it back to single digits at 23-14, but TWU scored two of the final three points wrap-up the 25-15 final.
  • While MACU defensively was able to limit Texas Wesleyan to only 13 kills on a .150 attack percentage, the Evangels struggled mightily in the attack as Mid-America Christian turned in just five kills on a -.054 rate in the final set.
  • Cloie Mitchell was the lone Evangel record multiple kills with a pair on a .222 percentage while King tallied five more kills on a .444 clip for the Lady Rams.

MATCH NOTES

• Texas Wesleyan led the attack with 44 total kills on a .206 attack percentage while the Evangels could only muster 30 kills on a .131 rate for the match.
• Mid-America Christian out-blocked Texas Wesleyan with six blocks to just four for the Lady Rams while Sarah Jones led the net effort with a season-high five assisted blocks.
• Six different Evangels recorded three or more kills in the match as Lena Stockhammer led the way with seven kills to go with 10 assists and six digs.
• Vanessa Moreira boasted the highest attack percentage for MACU with six kills on a .250 attack rate while Lauryn Walters also turned in eight points off six kills and four assisted blocks.
• Casady McKinney led the passing efforts with 14 assists to go with six digs while Marlee Hunter led the back row defense with 17 digs.

Original source can be found here