FT. WORTH, Texas -- After building momentum and taking a 2-1 lead, the John Brown University volleyball team hit .057 in the final two sets as Texas Wesleyan roared back to take a 3-2 decision (25-22, 23-25, 25-16, 16-25, 7-15) on Friday (Sept. 21) night inside the Sid Richardson Center.
The Rams (9-6, 6-2 Sooner Athletic) maintained its half-game lead over John Brown (5-6, 5-2) in the SAC standings, while recording its fifth-straight win over the Golden Eagles in the all-time series.
JBU falls to 1-1 in five-set matches in 2018.
Freshman Jenna Lowery dug up a career-high 30 attack attempts, leading all players. Junior Megan Beck recorded a double-double, terminating 10 attacks and dishing out a career-high 15 helpers in the loss. Sophomore Taylor Glover added seven kills and four blocks.
As has been the trend this season, junior Jessica Meyer paced the Golden Eagles with 13 kills on 25 attacks and added a trio of blocks.
After the Rams powered out to a 14-7 advatnage in the first set, John Brown pulled within three, 14-11, before taking off on a run. An 8-0 rally that was powered by four TXWES errors and a pair of Lowery aces handed the visitors a 19-15 lead. The Rams would tie the game at 20 apiece, but a trio of errors helped the Golden Eagles grab a 1-0 lead in the match.
Almost mirroring the first frame, Wesleyan build a modest lead midway through the set, but John Brown used a 6-2 response to tie the set at 20-20. After a pair of ties, a JBU service error and a kill from Sasha Robinson tied the match at one apiece.
Four early ties set the stage for a 4-0 Ram run, forcing head coach Ken Carver to call a timeout. Out of the break, the Golden Eagles ripped off a 13-1 streak that stunned the hosts and built a 22-14 lead that wouldn't evaporate. With senior Bayli Reagan serving, five Beck terminations highlighted the rally.
After hitting a match-best .289 (16-5-38) in the third, things slowed down, and quickly, for the visitors.
A fast 9-3 game-opening run ballooned into a 15-6 lead. Another 5-0 rally built an insurmountable 23-10 advantage until four different Golden Eagles provided kills to pull within 24-16. An attack error pushed the match into fifth-set territory.
The fifth opened with a 3-3 tie, which Wesleyan used to take a 6-3 lead. JBU replied with a quick 3-0 run of its own to force a second deadlock. From there, it was all TXWES as the Rams used a 7-0 run to scamper away with the fifth set and the match.
Neither team hit well on the evening, but the Rams used a .423 (12-1-26) effort in the fifth set.
Sasha Robinson turned in a career-best 14 kills for the hosts as she added nine assists and six scoops in the win. Dana Lohrke and Chastiny Brown each collected 10 terminations while Hannah Altman had an all-around effort of 7 kills, 16 assists and 14 digs to earn the double-double.
The Golden Eagles will close out the two-game Texas road trip with a 1 p.m. matchup tomorrow afternoon (Sept. 22) at conference-leading Southwestern A.G. (Texas).
