SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Using a balanced attack, after shaking off some early rust, the John Brown University volleyball team moved within one game of .500 with a 3-0 sweep (25-19, 25-15, 25-10) of Randall (Okla.) on Tuesday (Sept. 26) night inside Bill George Arena
Originally scheduled against Bacone (Okla.), the Warriors were unable to field a volleyball team this season, so Randall (8-10) jumped in at the eleventh hour.
"I wanted to express my thanks to coach Mike Freeman and his players for adding us to their schedule to replace one of the matches we lost," head coach Ken Carver admitted. "Coach Freeman and I both wanted to provide an additional opportunity for our respective teams to play and learn, so I am very grateful to him and his team for agreeing to come up and play us."
An 8-0 mid-set rally for the Saints handed the visitors a 13-9 lead in the first, but the Golden Eagles (6-7) continued to battle.
A trio of terminations from sophomore Taylor Glover and junior Jessica Meyer helped pull the hosts back into the lead, 16-15. The Randall errors began to pile up, adding fuel to the JBU fire, as Bayli Reagan and Megan Beck kills sealed the first set.
"We struggled to find our rhythm until the latter stages of the second set and finally played at our level during the entire third set," Carver added. "Randall was a very scrappy defensive team and kept a number of hard driven balls in play to deny our team a higher offensive output until the third set.
"Our team also struggled to limit our unforced attacking errors during the first set which caused us to get off to a slow start. By the time the match was over, the majority of our hitters finished with attack efficiencies we would like to see. I felt our defensive effort was there tonight and we were able to handle Randall's offensive tempo, which is a bit different we are used to playing against."
The JBU attack efficiency improved as the match continued, and in the second set the hosts began to find its form.
Randall was limited to a .018 attack over the final two sets as John Brown pulled away easily. In the third and final set, Reagan paced the host attack by terminating five attempts as the Golden Eagles peaked by hitting .485 (18-2-33). An early 10-2 lead ballooned into a 17-4 as JBU ran away in the third.
Reagan and Meyer led the Golden Eagles with nine kills each while Reagan added eight and a trio of service aces as John Brown served up eight from the service line.
Junior Elizabeth Williams added a double-double, 17 assists and 10 digs, and got into the offensive action, dumping three kills in the second set.
John Brown continues its busy week on Friday (Sept. 28) at Bill George Arena by hosting Central Christian (Kan.) in a 7 p.m. match. The Golden Eagles will then host Langston (Okla.) at 1 p.m. on Saturday in the Lions' first trip to Siloam Springs as a full Sooner Athletic member.
