SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- The John Brown University volleyball team finished the opening weekend of Sooner Athletic play with a 3-0 sweep of Southwestern Christian (Okla.) on Saturday (Sept. 7) afternoon inside Bill George Arena.
Freshman Ellie Lampton posted a breakout performance, posting a career-high 13 kills while hitting .385 (13-3-26) as the Golden Eagles (7-3, 1-1 Sooner Athletic) took the match with set scores of 27-25, 25-9, 25-17.
"I was pleased at the performance of three of our freshmen who got the nod to start in this afternoon's match," head coach Ken Carver noted. "Morgan (Fincham) did a good job in running our offense and helped to spark our offense when we got down early in the first and second sets. Ellie hit several shots that truly showcased her athletic potential as an attacker. Sarah (Laaker) had an equally good match offensively, as well and did a good job in moving around her shots when looking to score."
JBU racked up seven team blocks on the afternoon that limited the Southwestern Christian (2-4, 0-2) offense to a .102 clip (34-21-127) effort. SCU's Cashlyn Monroe posted 13 terminations in the loss, but was forced into seven errors.
In a balanced effort, seniors Jessica Schultz and Carly McKinney, junior Jaden Williams and freshman Sarah Laaker each terminated seven chances, with Laaker's output finishing a career-best. The quartet combined for 28 kills and only three attacking errors. Schultz also added a match-best five block-assists.
In the first set, the visitors started on an 8-1 run capped by a Faith Castaneda kill. From that point, the Golden Eagles would go on a 9-2 run, capped by a Laaker kill, to tie the set at 10 apiece. The Golden Eagles would take the lead at 13-12 on a Laaker kill. John Brown would work to its largest lead of the set at five, 20-15. Southwestern Christian responded with a 9-2 run to take the lead at 24-22. The Golden Eagles scored on the next two rallies to tie the set at 24-24, and after Munroe gave the Eagles the 25-24 advantage, JBU responded with a Lampton kill and a Carrie Ciesla ace that iced the set.
The Golden Eagles would work their way back into the set after facing a quick 3-0 hole and took the lead for good at 4-3 on Schultz kill. John Brown eventually created a double-digit advantage at 17-7, after a Lampton termination, which later ballooned to a 16-point diference on a solo Kinzee Mayo rejection. The hosts would run away with the second set, limiting to the visitors to a -.081 (5-8-37) in the middle frame.
The visitors again posted a big lead to kick off the third at 9-2, but John Brown retaliated with a 13-5 rally to take the lead, for good, at 15-14. Shultz's kill set up match point as JBU finished off the contest with a Schultz-Mayo block to hand the hosts its first league victory of the season.
Ciesla handled the bulk of the passing work with 21 assists, but freshman Morgan Fincham stepped in at key moments in the match to reverse the momentum and piled up a career-high 18 helpers in the victory. McKinney picked up the bulk of the back-row work with 15 scoops, while sophomore Jenna Lowery added 12. Both McKinney and Lowery served up a pair of aces.
Up Next
The Sooner Athletic slate doesn't get any easier next weekend as John Brown welcomes Southwestern A.G. (Texas), the Sooner Athletic preseason favorites to win the conferece, to Bill George Arena on Friday (Sept. 13) night for a 7 p.m. matchup. The following afternoon, JBU will play host to Texas Wesleyan at 1 p.m.
