SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- The fourth-seeded John Brown University volleyball team erased late deficits in the first and fourth sets and used timely runs to defeat fifth-seeded Wayland Baptist (Texas) 3-1 in the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday night (Nov. 7) inside Bill George Arena.
The Golden Eagles (26-6) finished a perfect 8-0 in Bill George Arena and with the 26-24, 25-19, 25-27, 25-23 win over the Pioneers (17-12), JBU advances to the semifinal round, hosted by Oklahoma City on Friday night (Nov. 10).
JBU will face the host Stars at 7 p.m. in the squads' third matchup of the season. Each time the home team prevailed in the regular season.
Seven blocks and 76 digs frustrated the WBU offense at times as the visitors hit just .190 (54-23-163) causing 23 attacking errors. The Pioneers would adjust however, as Mallorie Ellis and Megan Sharratt broke open for 17 kills apiece as Ellis completed the double-double with 12 digs.
The Golden Eagles had a response, however, as sophomore Jessica Meyer hit .556 (16-1-27), launching 16 kills and adding three blocks in the four-set victory. Joining Meyer was sophomore Carly McKinney, who captured her 14th double-double of the season, registering 16 kills of her own to accompany 13 digs and a pair of blocks.
Junior Bayli Reagan found double-digit terminations (11) and served four aces, powering JBU to 10 on the evening. Sophomore Lindsey Davis contributed nine kills and a block.
"True to a number of our matches this season, our team was able to execute and show some good poise in tight moments during the course of tonight's match against a much-improved Wayland Baptist team," Carver said after the match in which he improved his quarterfinal record to 3-0 at Bill George Arena. "They played some really good volleyball and significantly cut down on the number of unforced errors they had in comparison to the first time we played them. We did, however, get some very timely serves from Beth (Bjornsen) and Bayli (Reagan) tonight that scored much needed points at crucial times.
"What made the difference for us was a deeper, more balanced offensive performance by our other offensive players tonight. We'll get back in the gym these next two days to prepare for City and a very exciting semifinal match on Friday."
City captured the first seed in the tournament by virtue of a head-to-head win over Southwestern A.G. (Texas) in the regular season, as the teams shared the regular-season crown.
Facing set point in the first set, JBU rattled off five consecutive points, jump-started by back-to-back McKinney kills and fueled by consecutive blocks from Meyer and McKinney. WBU lost the set on an attack error.
The second frame featured a slim JBU lead at 20-19, but three-straight kills from sophomore Megan Beck propelled the hosts to a 2-0 lead by ending the set with five-straight points yet again.
Wayland posted a comeback of its own in the third, forcing ties at 23, 24 and 25 after facing a 23-20 disadvantage. Finally back-to-back Ellis kills kept the visitors' season alive.
Again after ties at 20, 21 and 22, a Davis kill followed by a timely ace from Bjornsen had JBU in line to clinch the contest. The Pioneers extended the set for one more rally, but finally a Reagan kill from the left side ended the match.
Senior Alyssa Arnold kept the JBU offense churning at a .267 clip (63-19-165) with 52 assists. Senior Beth Brankle added a team-best 19 digs as five Golden Eagles recorded double-digit scoops.
