Pioneers Win at Evangel

The Basics
Score: MNU 3, Evangel 2
Record: MNU (11-0, 4-0), EU (8-8, 3-2)
Location: Ashcroft Center - Springfield, Mo.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Pioneers survived a furious comeback from Evangel in a 5-set victory on Saturday. The scores of the first two sets were 25-13 and 25-11, but the Valor fought back, winning the next two sets 25-21 and 25-22 to force a fifth. MNU jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the final set, but Evangel fought back to get within 1, but the Pioneers held on to win 15-12.

"Winning is fun!" said head coach Molly Karagyaurov. "11-0 feels good. Playing Evangel at Evangel on a hot afternoon is so tough. I knew it would be a dog fight and wasn't surprised when they came out strong against us in set 3 and challenged us. But I am glad they did! We got better today and that is always the goal.

Individually, Lucie picked a good day to have a killer match on both sides of the ball. Mikayla ended several really tough rallies with her attack and block. Charley stepped up as a team player when we needed her to. Savannah dug the ball well.

I'm proud of the individuals. I'm proud of the team. I'm proud of the program! We will enjoy this one for a bit but then we are back to the training gym to prepare for a really tough week ahead!"

Turning Point
MNU's 6-0 run to start the 5th was too much for Evangel to overcome.

Individual Leaders
Lucie Maceckova hit .368 with 20 kills on 38 attacks and 10 digs. Mikayla Johnson hit .414 with 16 kills and 6 blocks. Savannah Crossland had 25 digs. Katrina Davis had 44 assists and 19 digs. And Ariana Arciniega had 7 kills and 11 digs.

Up Next
The next match is Wednesday at Benedictine (9-4, 3-1) at 7:00.