PT. LOOKOUT, Mo. -- In the first day of the annual College of the Ozarks (Mo.) Invitational, the John Brown University volleyball team split its matches, first falling in a close four-set matchup with the host Bobcats before immediately taking down Lawrence Tech (Mich.) in four sets on Friday afternoon (Sept. 22) at the Keeter Gymnasium.
Senior Alyssa Arnold matched her career high with 51 assists and sophomore Carly McKinney notched her fifth double-double of the season with 19 kills and a career-best 30 digs, but the Golden Eagles (14-3) were unable to close out the fourth set with a 19-17 lead, hitting just .206 (59-23-175) in the closely-contested matchup.
The Bobcats (15-3) hit .250 in the match (60-17-172) but jumped on JBU early, taking a 2-0 lead behind a .280 (31-7-86) attack. Tied at 20 in the first, the Golden Eagles could close as Ozarks captured five of the final seven points to take the set.
The second set was similar in nature as McKinney and sophomore Jessica Meyer connected on consecutive kills to build a late 24-21 lead. At set point, the Bobcats rattled off five straight to stun JBU, powered by a pair of aces.
In an 0-2 hole, John Brown played the hosts tight, within three points the entire set as neither team could piece together a run. Finally with a 23-21 lead, McKinney and Meyer again connected on kills and an attacking error gave the visitors a set win and a chance to build another comeback in the fourth.
The fourth again showcased a late John Brown lead that would evaporate just before its conclusion as a 19-17 advantage dissipated when C of O scored eight of the set's final nine points, denying JBU a chance to complete the comeback in the fifth.
Junior Bayli Reagan also added a double-double in the loss with 10 kills and 13 digs and Meyer added 14 kills. Sophomore Bailey Sager scooped 18 attack attempts while senior Beth Brankle contributed 17 digs.
"Our match against C of O was a match that was against a team that is almost our mirror image both statistically as well as strategically," head coach Ken Carver admitted. "We played them very close in all four sets, but in the end, they were able to take us out of system in some crucial points in each set and we weren't able to generate the swings we needed to score points.
"We had talked ahead of time that this match would come down to which team was able to maintain their poise and limit the number of unforced errors. While we were right there in each set, they ultimately played just a bit better and more consistently than us."
The Golden Eagles had no time to rest as the back end of its back-to-back matchups had come off a sweep of Wayland Baptist (Texas) before JBU entertained C of O. Despite the setback and lack of rest, Meyer turned in a 13 kill and three-dig performance, hitting .455 (13-3-22) to pace the JBU offense that attacked at a tepid .188 percentage (46-16-160).
The Blue Devils (10-8) made the match difficult on themselves by hitting just .131 (54-30-183), committing 30 attacking errors, 13 service errors and six reception errors.
Brankle turned in a career-best performance, compiling 36 digs while Meyer and sophomore Lindsey Davis controlled the middle. Davis contributed nine kills while Meyer added four blocks in the win.
"As tired as we were coming off the C of O match, I was really pleased with our energy and focus in the first set," added Carver. "The second set we began to show our weariness a bit and we stopped talking and moving as effectively as we did in the first set which allowed Tech to get the second set win. Our team, however, re-focused and had our best offensive output of the night in hitting .462 for the set with only one attack error in the third.
"Beth had a monster defensive effort and ran down numerous deep tips and sold out by going to the floor in order to keep rallies alive for our team. I was really pleased with our team's effort to bounce back immediately after losing to a very good team. Our players, while very tired physically, showed a lot of poise and really leaned into each other to find the strength and energy to secure the split on the first day of the tournament."
There will be little rest for the weary as JBU takes on Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) at 9 a.m. before finishing the six-match with a 1 p.m. tilt with Johnson & Wales (Colo.).
