Mid-America Christian University Volleyball Set for Senior Night Slate against Science & Arts, John Brown

By Press release submission

Oct 28, 2022

The Mid-America Christian volleyball team is preparing for its final home matches of the regular season as the Evangels will host its Senior Night against Science & Arts at 7 p.m. on Thursday before taking on John Brown in a crucial SAC battle at 1 p.m. on Saturday inside the Gaulke Activity Center.

MACU SEASON REPORT

Record: 15-12 (9-7 SAC)
Last Match: Lost at No. 9 SW Assemblies of God (Texas) – 3-0 (25-9, 25-19, 25-23) – Oct. 22, 2022 – Waxahachie, Texas
Stat Leaders:
- Kills: Lena Stockhammer (294), Miriam Nardi (216), Cloie Mitchell (213)
- ATK%: Vanessa Moreira (.315), Miriam Nardi (.260), Lauryn Walters (.177)
- Assists: Casady McKinney (556), Lena Stockhammer (475), Marlee Hunter (110)
- Aces: Casady McKinney (44), Faith Foutch (38), Sydney Martin (32)
- Digs: Marlee Hunter (544), Sydney Martin (297), Casady McKinney (249)
- Blocks: Vanessa Moreira (48), Sarah Jones (47), Lena Stockhammer (46), Miriam Nardi (46)
Team Notes:
- Despite suffering a pair of road losses last week, Mid-America Christian is coming off a strong showing down in Texas as the Evangels put up a tough fight against No. 24 Texas Wesleyan last Friday and No. 9 SW Assemblies of God on Saturday.
- MACU continues to get strong production out of its back line defense, as sophomore libero Marlee Hunter surpassed an Evangels legend in the MACU NAIA Era record book over the weekend. With 544 digs, Hunter overtook Maegan Plunk (2019) for the fifth-most digs in a single season. The Del City, Okla. native now needs just 54 more digs to catch Camera Broadnax (2016) for fourth on the list.
- With four matches in the regular season, the Evangels will be looking to try and put together a strong finish in conference play. Currently MACU holds a 9-7 mark in SAC play and are fifth in the standings, just a game-back of Oklahoma City and a game ahead of Oklahoma Panhandle State.
- Before the start of the match, Mid-America Christian will honor its two graduating seniors, Cloie Mitchell and Vanessa Moreira.

SCOUTING REPORT

Science & Arts (Okla.)

Record: 8-13 (4-12 SAC)
Last Match: Lost at No. 24 Texas Wesleyan – 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-10) – Oct. 22, 2022 – Fort Worth, Texas
Series vs. MACU (2016-): MACU leads 15-0
Last Match vs. MACU: MACU won 3-1 (22-25, 26-24, 25-12, 25-12) – Sept. 20, 2022 – Chickasha, Okla.
Players to Watch:
- Lariah Allen – SR – OH
  - 221 Kills (3.03 K/S), .142 ATK%, 31 Aces (0.42 SA/S), 218 Digs (2.99 D/S)
- Madison Garcia – JR – S
  - 459 Assists (6.46 A/S), 107 Digs (1.51 D/S)
- Soleil Trejo – JR – DS
  - 253 Digs (3.47 D/S)
- Allison Patak – SR – MB
  - 52 Blocks (0.73 B/S), 79 Kills (1.11 K/S), .089 ATK%
Team Notes:
- Since picking up a thrilling 3-2 win at Southwestern Christian on Oct. 11, Science & Arts has struggled in the last three matches, suffering a three-set sweep at home against Oklahoma City on Oct. 13 before being swept at both No. 9 SW Assemblies of God and No. 24 Texas Wesleyan last weekend.
- A bulk of the USAO offense will run through senior outside hitter Lariah Allen, who is one of just five players in the Sooner Athletic Conference that is averaging more than three kills per set at 3.03 and also ranks ninth in service aces with 31.
- The Drovers have struggled in both the attack and the defense, ranking eighth in the SAC in attack percentage (.128) and second-to-last in the league in digs per set at 15.08.
- The last time the two teams met on Sept. 20 in Chickasha, Okla., the Evangels overcame a slow start. After dropping set one and squeaking out a 26-24 win in set two, the Evangels dominated the final two sets with a pair of 25-12 wins. Cloie Mitchell and Lena Stockhammer came up big in the MACU attack with 15 and 14 kills respectively on a combined .348 hitting percentage.

(RV) John Brown (Ark.)

Record: 19-5 (13-3 SAC)
Last Match: Won vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State – 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-23) – Oct. 22, 2022 – Siloam Springs, Ark.
Series vs. MACU (2007-): JBU leads 27-5
Last Match vs. MACU: JBU won 3-1 (25-15, 17-25, 25-19, 25-11) – Sept. 22, 2022 – Siloam Springs, Ark.
Players to Watch:
- Savanna Riney – JR – OH
  - 323 Kills (3.76 K/S), .275 ATK%, 288 Digs (3.35 D/S), 36 Blocks (0.42 B/S), 29 Aces (0.34 SA/S)
- Lauren Cloud – SR – S
  - 541 Assists (6.29 A/S), 225 Digs (2.62 D/S), 30 Aces (0.35 SA/S)
- Jillian Blackman – SR – L
  - 479 Digs (5.57 D/S), 80 Assists (0.93 A/S), 23 Ace (0.27 SA/S)
- Micah Fouts – JR – OH
  - 61 Blocks (0.76 B/S), 113 Kills (1.41 K/S), .223 ATK%
Team Notes:
- John Brown is coming off a challenging home slate. After battling Wayland Baptist to a 3-2 victory where the Golden Eagles pulled out a 21-19 extra-point set five win on Oct. 21, JBU faced another strong challenge from OPSU on Oct. 22. Even though the Golden Eagles got the sweep, every set was tightly contested as all three were decided by five points or less.
- Leading the JBU attack is arguably the best hitter in the league in junior outside hitter Savanna Riney. Not only does the outside hitter have the most kills (323) and kills per set (3.76) in the SAC, but she is also boasting the conference's third-highest hitting percentage at .275 amongst those that qualify (averaging five attacks a set and competed in 66 percent of games).
- The Golden Eagles are also getting strong production from their back row leader in senior libero Jillian Blackman. The 2021 SAC Defensive Player of the Year currently ranks third in the SAC at 5.57 digs per set with the fourth-highest total at 429.
- Mid-America Christian will be hoping to bounce back against JBU after suffering a tough 3-1 defeat inside Bill George Arena on Sept. 22. The last time MACU played the Golden Eagles inside the Gaulke Activity Center, MACU won a tightly contested affair in getting their own 3-1 win. Lena Stockhammer came up big for MACU win the victory, dishing out 36 assists and putting down five kills on a .500 attack percentage while also playing huge in the defense, recording 13 digs and five blocks at the net.