SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Senior Erin McIlroy posted a match-high 10 kills and the Golden Eagle defense held visiting Southwestern Christian (Okla.) to a .040 hitting percentage, en route to a second-straight home sweep, this time by a 3-0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-13) score tonight at Bill George Arena.
McIlroy's double-digit kill evening landed the senior her 11th match finishing over 10 kills. Sophomore Audrey Dearien chipped in with seven kills, eight digs and three aces, extending her team-leading total to 40 on the season. Sophomore Melissa Bakke tallied five kills in the winning effort.
John Brown (10-14, 4-3 SAC) threw up four team blocks, led by McIlroy's three rejections. A quintet of Golden Eagles chipped in with a block apiece.
A pair of Dearien aces powered the Golden Eagles to a quick 3-0 lead before the home team found itself up 6-4, early in the first set. A small 5-1 run bolted JBU to an 11-5 lead, courtesy of a trio of SCU errors. Spikes from junior Vanessa Uhrhahn, freshman Molli Pugh and McIlroy increased the lead to 19-10 before Dearien took over with three kills to close out the set, 25-16.
John Brown, up 9-3, pulled away from the visiting Eagles when impressive serving from freshman Shayna Daniels vaulted the Golden Eagles to a 7-0 run, highlighted by four service aces and two assists. Sporting a 21-7 lead, senior Kailey Bain helped end the SCU pushback when the setter's dump landed, allowing JBU to another easy 25-11 win.
Southwestern Christian continued to battle hard to begin the third set, pushing JBU to a 4-3 score until an 8-2 run by the hosts put the game out of contention. Bakke and Pugh tallied kills during the run, but it was miscues by the visitors that fueled the Golden Eagle rally. Enjoying a nine-point advantage (16-7), John Brown received a spike from Uhrhahn to began a 7-5 rally. A pair of Pugh attacks and another from junior Courtney Marshall sealed the third set, 25-13, and the match victory.
The match marked the second-straight time JBU has limited its opponent to a sub-.100 attack percentage. It also signaled an over .350 hitting percentage for JBU for the second-consecutive game. Additionally, the Golden Eagles sent over 10 service aces, landing in double-digit territory for the fourth time in 2013.
Bain and Daniels combined for 31 helpers on the evening, contributing 17 and 14, respectively.
Tori Wallar finished the evening with six kills, a team-high for Southwestern Christian (4-18, 1-6 SAC). Emily Bedford chipped in with seven digs and Jessica Crenshaw dished out eight assists.
John Brown will face a very difficult opponent in No. 21 Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Saturday (Oct. 12) when the squad makes its way to Plainview, Texas for an 11:30 a.m. matchup with the Pioneers (19-3, 5-1 SAC).
