MARSHALL, Mo. -- The John Brown University volleyball squad began the weekend with a straight-sets win over Columbia (Mo.), but suffered setbacks in its final trio of contests in Missouri Valley's Viking Invitational (Aug. 29-30) inside the Burns Athletic Center.
The Golden Eagles will now enter Sooner Athletic action with a 4-4 record, facing Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Friday night (Sept. 5) inside Bill George Arena at 6 p.m.
After dispatching the Cougars in three (25-17, 25-22, 25-23), the Blue and Gold fell to Grand View (Iowa) in three (20-25, 19-25, 18-25), William Woods (Mo.) in four (25-22, 22-25, 18-25, 21-25) and Stephens (Mo.) in relatively quick fashion (16-25, 19-25, 23-25).
"I was proud of how our players competed against a higher level of competition this weekend," head coach Ken Carver pointed out after a second weekend of tournament play. "We took some important steps forward in our growth and maturation, and opening with a straight-set sweep over Columbia was a very promising start and a quality win early in the season.
"I was especially pleased with the vast improvement our front row players showed, and we did another nice job from the service line in keeping pressure on our opponents. There was good learning and adjustments being made, but we needed to execute those adjustments quicker and more consistently. With fewer errors, several sets and even matches could have gone our way."
Freshman Clara Hyke led the Golden Eagles with 35 terminations on the weekend, averaging 2.69 kills per set, while senior Emma-Kate Schaefer contributed 27 kills on 76 swing (2.08 kills per set).
Freshman Taylor Kosmicki and sophomore Tessa Burton shared the setting duties and passed out 70 and 54 helpers, respectively.
On defense, junior Akayla Kador posted nine solo blocks and a trio of assists, averaging nearly a block per set (0.92), and freshman Paige Addington patrolled the back line to the tune of 36 digs across 13 sets (2.77 digs per set).
Sophomore Mallory Jury served up eight aces and a .930 percent efficiency from the line, and Kosmicki added another seven aces at an impressive .957 percent rate.
FOLLOW THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Don't miss a minute of the latest action surrounding JBU Athletics by following the Golden Eagles on Twitter (@JBUathletics), Instagram (@JBUathletics) and Facebook (/JBUathletics). Catch every Golden Eagle home game and select away games on the SAC Sports Network, available online or for download on your favorite streaming device.
