PLAINVIEW, Texas -- The Golden Eagles produced four double-digit kill efforts, but after a five-set outing the night before, the offense never found rhythm as the John Brown University volleyball team fell in four sets (18-25, 20-25, 25-22, 15-25) to Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Saturday (March 13) afternoon inside the Hutcherson Center.
Sophomore Ellie Lampton finished off 11 kills, while freshmen Delaney Barnes and Savanna Riney each posted a consecutive 10-kill effort, but the Golden Eagles (5-2, 4-2 Sooner Athletic) as a team could only muster a .093 clip (47-30-182) as the Pioneers (13-3, 6-0) remained undefeated on the conference season – winning its 13th straight match – and ending a seven-match losing streak to JBU.
"This afternoon boiled down to one team that was fresh, energized and played efficiently and one team that was dealing with the after-effects of a long match and short recovery from the previous night," head coach Ken Carver noted. "Give Wayland full credit for the win – they were very effective offensively from all areas of the court. Our block struggled to consistently get our hands over the net quick enough.
"Still, I'm proud of the effort in spite of the various challenges faced. While we started slow, by the end of the first set through the fourth, I felt we played good enough volleyball to be in each set. While we didn't play consistently well enough to win today, I feel we processed our loss and what we need to do better moving forward. We'll be looking to make those changes come Monday."
JBU's most efficient attacker was freshman Micah Fouts, as she turned in a .429 clip (10-1-21) on the afternoon and added four block-assists, accounting for half of the visitors blocking effort.
Sophomore Lauren Cloud dished out 20 assists for the third consecutive match, while sophomore Jillian Blackman scooped up 24 Pioneer attacks in the loss.
Amber Daniel led all players with 19 kills as she fueled the Pioneers' .242 effort (52-15-153). Kellie Kozak added 10 terminations. The duo combined to hit .500 (29-1-56) as Daniel finished off the double-double with 16 digs.
The Golden Eagles will return home and rest for one day before traveling to Langston, Okla. to take on the Lions' on Monday (March 15) evening. JBU will then return to Siloam and welcome Williams Baptist (Ark.) to Bill George Arena the following night for non-conference volleyball action.
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