Volleyball | 8.12.2019 at 9:00 AM
Oklahoma City, Okla. -- The John Brown University volleyball team was picked to finish fourth alongside Wayland Baptist (Texas) in the Sooner Athletic Conference, per the release of the 2019 SAC Volleyball Coaches Preseason Poll by the league office on Thursday (Aug. 8) afternoon.
* First Place Votes in Parenthesis
| No. |
Institution |
Points |
| 1. |
Southwestern A.G. (Texas) (3) |
91 |
| 2. |
Oklahoma City (6) |
85 |
|
Texas Wesleyan |
85 |
| 4. |
John Brown (Ark.) |
64 |
|
Wayland Baptist (Texas) |
64 |
| 6. |
Southwestern Christian (Okla.) |
54 |
| 7. |
Mid-America Christian (Okla.) |
51 |
| 8. |
Okla. Panhandle State |
38 |
| 9. |
Langston (Okla.) |
33 |
| 10. |
Science & Arts (Okla.) |
22 |
| 11. |
Central Christian (Kan.) |
16 |
The Golden Eagles (64 points) are slated to finish behind predicted conference champions, Southwestern A.G. (Texas), which garnered 91 total points, but only three first-place votes. Nipping on the Lions' heels were Oklahoma City and Texas Wesleyan at 85 points apiece - with the Stars landing a league-best six first-place votes; the Rams grabbed the other two outstanding first-place votes. While the Lions did not qualify for the NAIA National Championships last season, both Oklahoma City and Texas Wesleyan each made appearances in the Opening Round with City advancing to pool play at the final site. Last season, John Brown was slated to finish third, but ended the regular season in the fourth slot, enough to grab one of four quarterfinal hosting bids in the SAC tournament, however upstart Southwestern Christian (Okla.) ended JBU's season inside Bill George Arena. During his five-year tenure, head coach Ken Carver has pieced together a 58-28 mark (.674) in league play, including a single-season best mark at 13-3 (.813) in 2017.
After starting league play last season at 5-1, the Golden Eagles stumbled in consecutive contests in the always-difficult Texas road trip, but rebounded with six more wins over the next seven contests. A four-game skid, highlighted by tough losses to No. 5 Missouri Baptist and No. 3 Columbia (Mo.), interrupted the winning streak as John Brown finished the regular season 3-2 over its last five outings, including another difficult weekend against the Texas two.
The Pioneers tied with JBU at fourth place, while Southwestern Christian (Okla) and Mid-America Christian (Okla.) came in at 54 and 51 points, respectively, to nab sixth and seventh.
Oklahoma Panhandle State, Langston (Okla.), Science & Arts (Okla.) and Central Christian (Kan.) rounded out the final four squads.
Carver welcomes back returns nine letterwinners from last year's squad and will rely on five greenhorns to pick up the slack. Fortunately, the Golden Eagles bring back nearly 80 percent of its offensive output and 70 percent of the defensive effort of 2018. Unfortunately, JBU will be without the services of Elizabeth Williams, whose 518 assists comprised nearly half of all Golden Eagle helpers last year.
One major addition to the lineup is senior Carly McKinney, who returns after redshirting in 2018. The year prior, McKinney produced an All-Conference second team performance, posting 189 kills in conference play to finish with the sixth-most termination in the Sooner Athletic. She also paced the Golden Eagles with 3.2 kills per set. Joining her in the front line will be the Golden Eagles' top terminator from last year, Jessica Schultz. As a sophomore, Schultz was named the SAC's Hitter of the Year and has posted back-to-back All-Conference first team seasons.
Defensively, the Blue and Gold return the Sooner Athletic's Freshman of the Year in Jenna Lowery. While patrolling the back line, Lowery posted 545 digs, averaging 5.1 scoops per set, and finished 36th in the nation in average digs. Sophomores Elizabeth Parrish and Carrie Ciesla each averaged over a dig per set last season.
Ciesla is the lone passing returner for Carver. The sophomore dished out 357 assists last year, splitting time with Williams.
A pair of All-Conference honorable mentions also make their way back for a swan song in Lindsey Clark and Megan Beck. The duo in the middle posted 74 and 52 blocks, respectively, finishing second and third on the team while putting down 170 and 145 terminations.
John Brown kicks off the 2019 campaign with a pair of tournaments before making its Bill George Arena debut on Sept. 6. This Wednesday (Aug. 14), the Golden Eagles make its way out to Fullerton, Calif. to take part in Hope International's Summer Slam before competing in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference's Fall Fling in Hutchinson, Kan. from Aug. 23-24. The only other non-conference matches will take place in October in Des Moines, Iowa, where JBU will take on a handful of teams in the Grand View (Iowa) tournament.
