SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- The John Brown University volleyball team launched a season-high 16 aces and ran away with a quick three-set sweep of Science & Arts (Okla.) on Wednesday (Sept. 25) night inside Bill George Arena.
Freshman Jillian Blackman and sophomore Jenna Lowery each served up four aces apiece for the Golden Eagles (12-3, 6-1 Sooner Athletic), which have now won six straight.
The victory now sets the scene for a showdown on Saturday afternoon in Murray Sells Gymnasium, as JBU will host Mid-America Christian (Okla.) which is currently tied with John Brown for second in the conference standings with just one loss apiece. The two squads are a half game behind league leader, Oklahoma City, which has yet to drop an SAC match so far this season.
Senior Jessica Meyer secured nine kills and added a pair of blocks, while senior Kinzee Mayo hit .500 with six terminations. Senior Carly McKinney put forward a perfect outing offensively, as she finished the quick match with six kills on six attempts (1.000) and added a match-best 10 scoops.
"Focus. That's the word we've been exhorting our team with this week," noted head coach Ken Carver. "Coming off a long and successful road trip and into our Homecoming week is a perfect recipe for lack of focus. There will be a lot of really cool events with the celebration of our 100th birthday and Homecoming week, but it's also a week where we have two conference volleyball matches.
"Additionally, USAO plays a different style of volleyball that we haven't seen over the past several weeks, so it was even more important for our team to focus on playing the game we want to play at the level we want to play it. Overall, I felt our team did a good job of that. We were aggressive from the service line and utilized some different serves and strategies we haven't done much of this season. I appreciated the fact that our players were bold and attempted to execute those serves and, by in large, we nailed a large majority of those as evidenced by our 16 service aces."
Carver emptied his bench as each player saw the court this evening. This included JBU's three setters as freshman Morgan Fincham and sophomore Carrie Ciesla each passed around 11 assists, while freshman Lauren Cloud added six of her own that helped run the Golden Eagle offense to the tune of .347 (35-10-72).
The Drovers, meanwhile, hit just -.032 (17-19-63) and struggled to get much of any offense going as the JBU gobbled up over half of the opportunities USAO sent over the net.
The John Brown offense saw terminations from ten separate players on the match, also a season best mark.
Up Next
The Golden Eagles will hit an unfamiliar home court on Saturday as JBU will welcome Mid-America Christian (Okla.) to Murray Sells Gymnasium, JBU's home until 2010. First service is scheduled for 3 p.m.
