SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- The offense hit .277 (42-11-112) and the Golden Eagles racked up 13 service aces, leading to the John Brown University volleyball team's sweep (25-13, 25-15, 27-25) of Southwestern Christian (Okla.) on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 4) inside Bill George Arena.
John Brown (8-11, 4-7 Sooner Athletic) improved to 4-1 on the year when hitting over .200 and recorded its 12th-consecutive win over Southwestern Christian (0-14, 0-11), which remained winless on the season.
"It was great to wrap up our portion of Homecoming weekend with a straight-set sweep of Southwestern Christian," head coach Ken Carver said after closing the homestand with a pair of wins. "We came out strong and played even better in the second set, hitting at a .457 efficiency. To SCU's credit, they regrouped and played a very competitive third set, which put us in some challenging spots. Similar to last night, though, each time we found ourselves behind or having given up three match points, our players showed poise and executed when we needed them to.
The visitors struggled through the first two sets, accumulating just eight terminations and a negative hitting percentage (-.016). The Blue and Gold, meanwhile, found an offensive groove that resulted in a .347 offensive mark through the first two periods – concluding in runaway scores.
The third set, however, had 11 ties and six lead changes scattered throughout, including three match points for the hosts. SCU showed resolve, however, riding three John Brown attack errors and an ace to take a 25-24 lead. The hosts responded with a quick 3-0 run, fueled by an error, an ace from freshman Paige Addington and, finally, a Reese Montgomery kill in the middle to finally close out the match.
"Tessa and Taylor did another excellent job running the offense, and our hitters turned in another very solid performance," Carver added. "Part of our game plan was to get our middles more swings, and Akayla and Reese really made the most of those opportunities. While I liked the number of aces we were able to score this afternoon, we were also back in double-digit errors, so we still need to do a better job of staying aggressive but under control in that part of the game.
"Our back-row defense put together another outstanding effort, digging tough shots from all over the court and at different tempos, and delivering in-system digs that helped us score in transition. We'll look to take these two wins and the momentum on the road as we work to get back into the conference playoff mix in the second round of conference play."
Addington finished the afternoon with 19 digs and a 13-of-14 effort (.929) in serve-receive. Junior Akayla Kador handed in another fine defensive effort at the net, racking up three blocks, including one solo.
Montgomery dominated in the middle, hitting .474 and cleaning up with 10 kills to lead the Golden Eagle offense. Freshman Clara Hyke smacked nine kills on 26 swings (.231), while Kador finished errorless with eight kills on 11 attempts (.727).
As usual, sophomore Tessa Burton (16) and freshman Taylor Kosmicki (21) shared the setting responsibilities, combining for 37 assists.
The Golden Eagles return to action for its longest trip of the Sooner Athletic schedule, first taking on Oklahoma Panhandle State on Friday night (Oct. 10) at 6 p.m. inside Anchor D Arena before clashing with Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 11) at high noon at the Hutcherson Center. Both matches will be simulcast on the SAC Sports Network and the Urban Edge Network.
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