Point Lookout, MO - The Lady Cats hosted Mid-America Christian University on Saturday, September 21 following a clean sweep of the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma one day prior.

MACU jumped on the board with two straight aces to start the first set. The Lady Cats responded quickly, however, with a kill by Bailey Chamberlain. After Bri Linehan recorded a kill, the score stood at 2-3. The Lady Cats responded with two straight aces of their own from Mica Chadwell. Christa Duffel and Brooklyn Crawford both recorded kills, and the squads traded points to make the score 7-5. A block by Brooklyn Crawford was followed by a MACU kill as the score remained close. A Grace Hancock kill made the score 10-8 as the Lady Cats looked to hold on to their lead. The Evangels, however, scored two consecutive points to tie it up. Two Christa Duffel kills gave the Lady Cats a three-point lead, with the score standing at 13-10. Duffel recorded yet another kill, and after an attack error by the Evangels, the Lady Cats led 15-11, forcing the Evangels to use their first timeout. Coming out of their timeout, the Evangels gained some momentum, scoring five straight and taking the lead, 16-15. The Lady Cats then used their first timeout to talk it over. A kill by Brooklyn Crawford ended the Evangels’ 6-point run. The Evangels did not let the Lady Cats gain any momentum, however, as they ran the score up to 19-16. The Lady Cats responded with three points of their own, and the set was tied at 19-19 after a Grace Hancock kill. After the Evangels scored three straight to gain a lead, the Lady Cats took their final timeout with the score sitting at 22-19. After a kill by the Evangels, they led the set, 24-20. Two consecutive Bri Linehan kills gave the Lady Cats some life, as they now trailed just 22-24. However, a kill by the Evangels ended set one scoring the 25-22 win.

A Bri Linehan kill kickstarted the second set, but the Evangels quickly responded with three straight. A kill by Christa Duffel tied the set at 3-3. A block by Bailey Chamberlain and Christa Duffel made the score 4-5, but the Evangels responded with a kill and an Evangels ace increased their lead to 8-5. The teams exchanged kills, with Abby Chadwell and Brooklyn Crawford each recording one to keep the deficit to 7-9. Another kill by Abby Chadwell and two blocks, recorded by Bailey Chamberlain and Grace Hancock, as well as Bri Linehan, kept the Lady Cats close at 10-11. The Evangels used their first timeout to try to end the Lady Cat momentum. The Lady Cats came out of the timeout strong, however, and took the lead, 12-11. A timely kill by Bri Linehan kept the Lady Cats in front, 13-12. A block by the Evangels knotted up the score at 13-13. The Lady Cats retook the lead with a Bailey Chamberlain kill, and the Evangels followed it up with a kill of their own. The teams continued to go back and forth as the score remained tied at 15-15. After giving up the lead, Abby Chadwell tacked on another kill to keep it at 16-16. The set stayed close, with another Abby Chadwell kill and blocks by Bailey Chamberlain and Abby Chadwell pushed the score to 18-17. The Evangels were quick to answer, however, with two kills, retaking the lead, 19-18. After a block by the Evangels, the Lady Cats called a timeout, trailing 18-20. After the Evangels scored two more to extend their lead to 22-18, the Lady Cats took their last timeout of the set. The Lady Cats’ timeout gave them some life, as they scored three straight, two coming from kills from Bri Linehan and Bailey Chamberlain. With the Lady Cats fighting back to make the score 22-23, an Anna Howe ace and a Bri Linehan kill gave them the lead, 24-23. The Evangels then took their final timeout of the set, looking to hold on. A Bailey Chamberlain kill, followed by a Bri Linehan kill, gave the Lady Cats the victory in set two at 26-24. The match was tied 1-1 as the Lady Cats looked to continue their momentum into set 3.

An Evangels ace kicked off the third set, and the teams traded points to begin the set tied at 3-3. The Lady Cats were eager to set the tone, however. A Bailey Chamberlain kill and a Brooklyn Crawford kill gave the Lady Cats the a 5-4 lead. The Lady Cats went on a four-point run, taking an 8-4 lead after a Christa Duffel kill, forcing the Evangels to take their first timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Evangels recorded two straight kills, closing the gap to 6-8. Bailey Chamberlain recorded a block to keep the lead at 9-7, but the Evangels recorded a kill to continue to cut their deficit. The Evangels took the lead 10-9 after two Lady Cat attack errors, but Abby Chadwell tied it back up with a kill. The Lady Cats took the lead 12-11 after an attack error by the Evangels. The Evangels scored three straight, however, and it looked like we could have another back-and-forth set as the Lady Cats took their first timeout. With the Lady Cats trailing 12-14, a Bailey Chamberlain kill cut the deficit, but the Evangels scored four straight, boosting their lead to 18-13, as the Lady Cats took their final timeout. A Bri Linehan kill after the timeout gave the Lady Cats some life as they looked to make another strong comeback. An attack error by the Evangels and a kill by Christa Duffel, followed by an Evangels net violation, brought the Lady Cats to within one, as the Evangels took their final timeout leading 18-17. The Evangels scored five straight out of their timeout, extending their lead to 23-17. A Bri Linehan kill ended the Lady Cats’ scoring drought, and they continued to cut into the deficit with a Mica Chadwell ace. Another Bri Linehan kill made the score 20-23, but the Evangels recorded a kill to get to set point. The Evangels ended the set, 25-21, taking a 2-1 lead in the match.

With the Lady Cats looking to take the match to five sets, Kamryn Link led off the set with an ace. The Evangels, however, quickly answered, taking an early lead, 6-1. The Lady Cats ended the Evangels’ streak with a block by Bailey Chamberlain. Following a Lady Cats net violation and attack error, the Evangels led 8-2 as the Lady Cats took their first timeout. After four kills from the Evangels, they led 12-2, forcing the Lady Cats to take their final timeout to regroup and try to apply some pressure. A Bri Linehan kill ended the Evangels’ scoring streak, but the Evangels quickly responded with a kill, extending their lead to 15-3. Christa Duffel recorded a kill to make the score 4-16. Brooklyn Crawford recorded two kills, as the Lady Cats hoped to cut into their deficit. An Evangels serving error followed by a Bri Linehan kill pushed the score to 8-21. After an Evangels serving error and a block by Bri Linehan and Bailey Chamberlain, the Lady Cats trailed 10-24. The Evangels, however, put the Lady Cats away and won the set 25-10. The Evangels won the match, 3-1.

Bri Linehan led the Lady Cats with 16 kills, while Christa Duffel tacked on 9, and Brooklyn Crawford and Bailey Chamberlain tacked on 7. Kamryn Link led the team with 32 assists, and Maddie Michel recorded 12. Mica Chadwell led the defense with 30 digs.

The Lady Cats return to action on Friday, September 26 at Oklahoma Panhandle State University.