BETHANY, Okla. -- The John Brown University volleyball team used a huge run in the second set and a display of resiliency in the third as the Golden Eagles finished off a straight-sets victory (25-18, 25-22, 30-28) over Southwestern Christian (Okla.) on Tuesday (Oct. 8) evening inside Pickens-Springer Gymnasium.
Southwestern Christian relied heavily on All-Conference selection Cashlyn Munroe, who launched a match-high 21 kills on 54 swings, but was held under .300 as the Golden Eagles countered with a 16-kill effort from senior Jessica Schultz and a season-best 10 terminations from senior Megan Beck. Both JBU hitters hit over .300 on the match as the visitors finished the three-set outing at a .199 (49-17-161) clip.
"I'm really proud of our performance tonight; we showed a lot of poise in coming back in the second and third sets," head coach Ken Carver said. "During the timeouts I called, our players did a fantastic job taking ownership of the situation, drawing a 'line in the sand' and then coming out and executing at a high level. We hit some clutch serves and took a number of aggressive swings in those moments which illustrated the freedom which our players were playing with.
"Jessica and Jaden did an excellent job in the middle and frustrated SCU's block by how quickly they were attacking. Ellie and Jenna were serving aggressively tonight and locating serves - making it hard on them to find an offensive rhythm. In the end, it was great to start our big week of travel and six matches in five days with a win."
Sporting a narrow one-point lead late in the first, 18-17, a 7-1 rally prompted by a pair of Ellie Lampton aces closed out the first set in favor of the visitors. Terminations from junior Jaden Williams and senior Carly McKinney ended the frame.
The visitors overcame a .137 clip (14-7-51) in the second set, as SCU's 7-1 run turned a 10-6 John Brown lead into a 13-11 advantage for the hosts. JBU battled to stay close, but the gap began to widen to a set-high six points, 21-15. Then, the Golden Eagles mounted a rally that started with back-to-back-to-back terminations from Beck, Schultz and McKinney that was followed by a Beck-Schultz block. The rally continued as JBU built momentum with another Lampton service ace. The host Eagles finally posted a point, but three more McKinney kills and a Jenna Lowery ace ended the set in favor of the visitors as John Brown ended the frame on a 10-1 run.
Both teams put down 20 kills in the final frame that featured 13 ties and five lead changes. A quick 4-0 SCU run broke an 18-all tie and eventually held set point at 24-22. Two errors and a Schultz kill handed JBU the 25-24 lead and match point. The teams traded points back-and-forth for seven rallies until SCU committed an untimely attack error and Williams' kill in the middle from freshman Morgan Fincham ended the match in a 110-minute three-set contest.
Lampton finished the match with a career-high five aces, as the Golden Eagles served up a season-best 11 aces.
Sophomore Carrie Ciesla finished one assist shy of a career high as she passed out 29 assists. Fincham added 12 helpers.
McKinney's 16 scoops led a trio of double-digit diggers as sophomore Jenna Lowery added 14 and freshman Jillian Blackman, 10.
Up Next
JBU will now turn its attention in a quick turn-around to Sooner Athletic leaders, Oklahoma City. John Brown will take on the Stars inside Abe Lemons Arena tomorrow (Oct. 9) at 7 p.m. in a battle of the top two teams in the conference after the first round of league play.
