SILOAM SPRINGS -- A 2-1 advantage heading into the fourth set wasn't enough as the John Brown University volleyball team suffered a five-set loss (25-16, 22-25, 25-19, 21-25, 13-15) to visiting Southwestern A.G. (Texas) on Friday (April 2) night inside Bill George Arena.
The loss broke the Golden Eagles' 15-match winning streak in Siloam Springs, and ended the squad's current five-match winning streak. John Brown (10-3, 6-3 Sooner Athletic) close out the regular season on Saturday (April 3) afternoon with a rivalry contest versus Texas Wesleyan, slated for a 1 p.m. start.
The hosts served up a season-highs with 17 aces and 13.0 blocks, but the visiting Lions (10-6, 6-4) seemed to absorb every John Brown run long enough to respond in kind. SAGU's Alexis Mealer posted a match-high 23 kills, hitting .278, while Riley Burcham passed out 50 assists on the Lions' 59 kills. Ava Meyers also posted a double-double, swatting 11 kills and finishing with 13 digs.
John Brown enjoyed a 12-kill evening from freshman Savanna Riney, as she hit .200 and added five blocks, two of the solo variety. Sophomore Ellie Lampton added a team-high 16 kills and hit .342, adding a pair of aces and three blocks to all-around effort. Freshman Delaney Barnes finished with 11 kills and hit .235 in the loss.
Sophomore Lauren Cloud posted a double-double, scooping 15 SAGU attacks and passing out 24 assists. Sophomore Jillian Blackman patrolled the back line, notching 25 digs.
Junior Jenna Lowery's five aces led the serving effort, while Cloud added four and junior Carrie Ciesla added three.
"While we didn't get the result we had been hoping for tonight against SAGU, everyone was treated to a hard-fought match played by both teams," head coach Ken Carver admitted. "There were times during tonight's match we played with a lot of confidence and aggressiveness and other times when we played a bit too safe and timid. Against teams that are at our level or better, if we're not continuously working to be the more aggressive team from the service line, with our attacks with our block and back row defense, then we're opening the door for extra swings and opportunities to score points that good teams will take full advantage of.
"Tonight's match saw that throughout with both teams making big runs and then the other team fighting to claw their way back into the set. While we did almost everything right to put ourselves in position to win the match, we just fell short. I'm proud of the effort, grit and fight – we'll need the same thing tomorrow and a bit more on a short night's rest against a very talented Texas Wesleyan team."
The Golden Eagles finished the evening hitting .195 (51-20-159) and hit over .215 in four of five sets. The Lions, meanwhile, hit over .300 twice, including a .370 (12-2-27) clip in the fifth, powered by eight Mealer terminations. SAGU's final attack average settled in at .156 (59-32-173).
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