SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The John Brown University volleyball team's perfect season finally came to a close with a 3-2 setback against Peru State (Neb.), but the Golden Eagles (8-1) rebounded in the second match of the day in dominating fashion, sweeping past the St. Louis College of Pharmacy, at The Courts on Friday (Sept. 8) afternoon.
Sopohomore Carly McKinney posted her second double-double of the season with 15 kills and 14 digs against Pharmacy while junior Bayli Reagan added a team-best 11 kills against Peru State. Senior Alyssa Arnold racked up 78 assists across the two matches while senior Beth Brankle led the back-line effort with 31 digs on the afternoon.
"Today's results mirrored our play," admitted head coach Ken Carver. "We struggled some with being consistent on all fronts for longer stretches of time than we would have liked. Some of that had to do with the number of games we've played and the miles we driven over the course of the past two days."
"We weren't as sharp, but the competition at this tournament is definitely a higher caliber so it is a good test for our team."
In the Golden Eagles' five-set loss to PSC (25-23, 14-25, 18-25, 25-18, 11-15), the Bobcats hit at a .263 attack percentage and used five aces from Cristina Viera to total 15 on the match, keeping the JBU receivers on their heels. Down 2-1 in the match and 9-3 in the fourth set, John Brown rallied to a 10-3 run to take a 13-12 lead, prompting a PSC timeout. The break didn't help as the Golden Eagles continued on its run, scoring eight of the next 10 to build a 21-16 lead, ultimately taking the set 25-18.
Three errors allowed the Bobcats (4-4) to build a 5-1 lead in the deciding set, a margin JBU could not overcome. Despite pulling to within three, 13-10, after a PSC error and a block from sophomores Jessica Meyer and Megan Beck, the Bobcats responded by landing two of the next three chances.
JBU hit just .038 in the fifth frame and .164 overall.
Later on, the Golden Eagles took out their frustration on Pharmacy (0-2) by sweeping the Eutectics by scores of 26-24, 25-9, 25-15. While neither team hit particularly well, Pharmacy was limited to a -.039 percentage on the match, while Reagan and Meyer supplied nine and eight kills, respectively, to accompany McKinney's performance.
Twelve attacking errors kept the first set close, and the Golden Eagles responded with committing just 13 offensive errors for the remainder of the match.
Sophomore Lindsey Davis came through in the clutch with a timely termination and a rejection to give John Brown the 1-0 lead. JBU sailed the rest of the way.
"The second and third sets we got dialed in," admitted Carver. "And we were able to a play the majority of our players as well. Alyssa did an excellent job in spreading the ball around and our serving game definitely was more on point in causing a lot of stress on their offense.
"I'm proud of our team's effort and ability to bounce back. We know we didn't play well enough to win our first match and yet we found a way to turn a match that was going to get away into a five-set one that almost allowed us to come back. We showed some good poise in bouncing back and taking care of beating our next opponent in three sets."
JBU's matches tomorrow (Sept. 9) won't be any easier as the Golden Eagles face Bellevue (Neb.) and host Evangel (Mo.). First serves are slated for noon at 4 p.m., respectively.
