It's been a hectic last few months for first-year John Brown University head volleyball coach Ken Carver.
Carver was hired by JBU in mid-May after serving as head volleyball coach at Howard Payne University -- an NCAA Division III school in Brownwood, Texas -- for eight seasons.
John Brown University Golden Eagles
2014 volleyball schedule
Date Opponent Time
Aug. 22 vs. St. Thomas (Texas)# 9 a.m.
Aug. 22 vs. Tabor (Kan.)# 3:45 p.m.
Aug. 23 vs. Hastings (Iowa)# 9 a.m.
Aug. 23 vs. Wiley (Texas)# 11:15 a.m.
Aug. 26 vs. Jarvis Christian (Texas) 3 p.m.
Aug. 26 vs. Wiley (Texas) 5 p.m.
Sept. 5 vs. Baker (Kan.)$ 11 a.m.
Sept. 5 vs. Graceland (Iowa)$ 3 p.m.
Sept. 6 vs. Doane (Neb.)$ 9 a.m.
Sept. 6 vs. Morningside (Iowa)$ 5 p.m.
Sept. 9 at Lyon 7 p.m.
Sept. 13 Ozarks (Mo.) 9 a.m.
Sept. 13 Wiley (Texas) 2 p.m.
Sept. 19 at Mid-America Christian (Okla.)* 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 20 at Oklahoma City* 1 p.m.
Sept. 23 at Southwestern Christian (Okla.)* 7 p.m.
Sept. 26 Wayland Baptist (Texas)* 7 p.m.
Sept. 30 St. Gregory’s (Okla.)* 7 p.m.
Oct. 4 Oklahoma Baptist* 11 a.m.
Oct. 10 at Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas)* 7 p.m.
Oct. 11 at Texas Wesleyan* 2 p.m.
Oct. 15 Oklahoma City* 7 p.m.
Oct. 17 Mid-America Christian (Okla.)* 7 p.m.
Oct. 18 Southwestern Christian (Okla.)* noon
Oct. 22 Lyon 7 p.m.
Oct. 25 at Wayland Baptist (Texas)* noon
Oct. 31 at Oklahoma Baptist* 7 p.m.
Nov. 1 at St. Gregory’s (Okla.)* 11 a.m.
Nov. 4 vs. Williams Baptist 5 p.m.
Nov. 4 at Ozarks (Mo.) 7 p.m.
Nov. 7 Texas Wesleyan* 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 8 Southwestern Assemblies of God* noon
# Denotes Oklahoma Baptist Tournament in Shawnee, Okla.
$ Denotes Baker (Kan.) Tournament in Baldwin City, Kan.
* Denotes Sooner Athletic Conference match
Carver and his family -- wife Jill and twin daughters -- were moved into town by early July.
"Since July 1 it's been nothing short of a sprint for me," Carver said.
Even though it's been busy, Carver said he and his family are happy to be a part of the Siloam Springs community.
"It has met our expectations and then some," Carver said. "I'm very happy and pleased to be here."
And there's not much downtime from here on out for Carver or the Golden Eagles volleyball program. Carver and the Golden Eagles volleyball program open the season on Friday at the Oklahoma Baptist Tournament in Shawnee, Okla.
JBU will play twice on Friday and two more games on Saturday. On Friday, the Golden Eagles will play St. Thomas-Houston (Texas) at 11:15 a.m. and then play Tabor (Kan.) at 6 p.m. On Saturday, JBU will play Hastings (Iowa) at 9 a.m. before wrapping up the tournament against Wiley (Texas) at 11:15 a.m.
"I think we're chomping at the bit to see someone other than ourselves in the gym," Carver said, "and I think this weekend will be a good test."
The Golden Eagles have 13 players on this year's roster, a small number that Carver attributed to his taking over the program late in the recruiting process.
JBU, which went 15-19 a year ago under Stacie Johnson, was picked to finish sixth in the Sooner Athletic Conference in a preseason poll of league coaches.
Carver does have some key pieces from last year's team returning as well as a few newcomers.
Junior outside hitter Audrey Dearien (6-foot) had 252 kills and was All-SAC honorable mention. She and junior outside hitter Melissa Bakke (5-11) of Bentonville, who had 201 kills, are expected be a strong combination at outside hitter for the Golden Eagles.
Sophomore middle blocker/outside hitter Molli Pugh (5-10) also had 201 kills and was a second-team All-SAC selection. Pugh and junior Libby Blasingame (6-0) will likely be the Golden Eagles' top players in the middle.
Junior Tiffany Hunnicutt (6-3) and freshman Bailei Brown (5-11) of Siloam Springs could both play on the right side for JBU.
"Bailei has shown a lot of promise on right side," Carver said. "Her block is really solid."
Sophomore setter Shayna Daniels (5-8) also could play on the right side if the Golden Eagles run a two-setter offense and Daniels plays a full rotation.
Daniels dished out 619 assists and a team-high 45 service aces a year ago and was named All-SAC honorable mention.
Freshman Alyssa Arnold (5-9) would be the Golden Eagles' second setter if JBU decides to go with two setters.
"I like how both setters have really come in and grasped the offensive system," Carver said.
On the back row, seniors Kendra Ammons (5-7) and Becca Young (5-6) are both capable of playing the libero position. Freshman Beth Brankle (5-4) of Siloam Springs has also shown promise, Carver said.
"Brankle is very athletic and very quick," Carver said.
The Golden Eagles also have what Carver called "utility players" on the front row in senior Vanessa Uhrhahn of Greenwood and senior Courtney Marshall of Fayetteville.
Uhrhahn (5-11), who can play all three front row positions, had 77 kills and 21 block assists as a junior last season.
Marshall (5-10) will eventually play on the front row but is still recovering from shoulder surgery and will be limited to a back row substitute role or serving specialist until fully recovered, Carver said.
"We could use all 13 players on a daily basis," Carver said. "I'm excited to have the group that we have."
Tuesday's practice marked the eighth day of workouts for the Golden Eagles since returning to campus on Aug. 10.
"We've had a good week's worth of practices so far," Carver said.
The coach said he's been happy with defensive effort and intensity.
"These girls, they go after everything," he said. "There's not a ball that's dropped that didn't have somebody going full speed after it."
Offensively, Carver said the team is still trying to find its chemistry and consistency.
"We've been toying with the lineup," Carver said. "Attack percentage has been up and down."
Carver said he is a big ball-control advocate.
"I'm always going to pick on our serve-receive," he said. "We've really worked hard to make first pass whether it's been on serve-receive or on defense. Those are some areas we need to keep refining and honing a little bit."
Sports on 08/20/2014