SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- The John Brown University volleyball squad ran away with its seventh-straight victory in sweeping fashion as it bested Mid-America Christian (Okla.) in straight sets on Saturday (Sept. 28) afternoon inside Murray Sells Gymnasium.
The venue was unusual for both teams as the Golden Eagles were forced to play in its auxiliary venue due to homecoming festivities. That didn't deter the hosts as the raucous crowd enjoyed watching JBU's 10th straight-sets victory of the 2019 season.
The squads entered the afternoon in an early-season tie for second place, but senior Jessica Schultz's 10 kills on 13 attempts (.769) and the John Brown offense connecting at a .305 clip (41-12-95) on the afternoon was too much for the visiting Evangels to deal with.
"Today was a great day to celebrate JBU's 100th anniversary and return to the old confines of Murray Sells," head coach Ken Carver said. "On the same court which has seen so much success, I was pleased with the performance of our team and our ability to contribute another small part to the court's history.
"We knew this match was a big opportunity for us to take an important step forward in the conference standings. We were well prepared and came out with an intensity and focus that allowed us to control the match from the very beginning and another near-complete performance."
The JBU (13-3, 7-1 Sooner Athletic) front-line defense frustrated the MACU attackers all afternoon long by posting a team total of 9.0 rejections, including a trio of blocks from Schultz, senior Megan Beck and junior Jaden Williams.
Additionally, the Golden Eagles served up nine aces, led by freshman Ellie Lampton's three. Freshman Jillian Blackman and sophomore Carrie Ciesla added a pair from the line.
Ciesla and freshman Morgan Fincham kept the Golden Eagle offense churning as they passed out 20 and 11 assists, respectively, as the hosts committed just 12 attacking errors on the afternoon. JBU posted a game-high .350 mark (17-3-40) in the second set en route to the win.
The JBU middles were virtually unstoppable as Schultz, Williams and senior Lindsey Clark combined for a .643 attack (18-0-28).
"I like where we're currently at," Carver added. "We're executing at a high level right now, but still training in our practices with a hunger and desire to get better each and every day."
Up Next
JBU will now embark on a 10-match, 28-day road trip that won't see the Golden Eagles return to Bill George Arena until Oct. 18. This Friday, John Brown will take on Langston (Okla.) before heading up to Kansas to face Central Christian the following afternoon.
