SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- After battling through a pesky second set of runs, the John Brown University volleyball team completed its sweep of St. Gregory's (Okla.), marking its 19th sweep of the season, on Tuesday evening (Oct. 31) inside Bill George Arena.
Sophomore Jessica Meyer recorded a match-best 12 kills, three blocks and hit .370 (12-2-27) while middle counterpart sophomore Lindsey Davis hit .417 (7-2-12) and recorded seven kills. Sophomore Carly McKinney added 11 kills, five digs and two blocks in the win.
In an impressive start, senior Karis Buff tied a career-high with nine kills.
While the Golden Eagles (24-6, 12-3 Sooner Athletic) breezed through the first and third sets, hitting .325 in the bookending sets, but struggled to put the Cavaliers away in the second set, allowing SGU to negate a 10-point John Brown lead.
After the visitors pulled within one, 17-16, JBU rallied to six-straight points, followed by a five-point Cavalier rally. Finally a pair of McKinney terminations ended the SGU effort.
"Our match tonight was significant on a couple of different fronts," admitted head coach Ken Carver. "First, it was the culmination of our Dig Pink efforts throughout the month of October; as a team, we wanted to go out and show by the way we played the same grit, resolve and fight that individuals battling breast or any other cancer do on a daily basis.
"Secondly, we are focusing on tuning up our game as we prepare to finish the regular season on Thursday and begin our quest for a postseason championship. Lastly, the team is focused on a goal of maximizing our potential each time we play and not leaving anything out on the court at the end of the match. Offensively, tonight in the first and third sets I felt we did a very good job in being efficient and hitting the zones we needed to with our shots."
With an impressive 24 wins already this season with a guarantee of two more matches yet to be played, the Golden Eagles surpassed any win total over the last decade. With a victory in the regular-season finale, JBU will have amassed 90 wins over the past four seasons.
Senior Alyssa Arnold assisted on 40 of JBU's 48 terminations as the hosts hit .256 (48-14-133) on the evening. Senior Beth Brankle notched a game-high 20 digs while Arnold and junior Bailey Sager each added 11 in the win.
Both Gabby Ware and Courtney Murphy each contributed seven kills in the loss for St. Gregory's (6-12, 6-9).
"On a separate note, on behalf of all of our players, coaches and support staff, I wanted to say a big thank you to all of the family members, friends and fans for their support during the month of October as we attempted to raise funds for breast cancer as well as for the Clarenson family," Carver added. "An extra special shout-out to Elicia Williamson and the JBU Cheerleading team for partnering with us in all of the fundraising activities we did throughout the month. We'll be looking forward to announcing the total dollar amount raised on Thursday evening."
JBU will conclude the regular season on Thursday (Nov. 2) by welcoming Southwestern Christian (Okla.) to Bill George Arena for a 7 p.m. first serve. Seniors Alyssa Arnold, Beth Brankle, Bailei Brown and Karis Buff will be honored prior to the match.
