The John Brown women's volleyball team opened up Sooner Athletic Conference play last Tuesday and were swept out of Bill George Arena by visiting Oklahoma City 3-0 (25-20, 25-8, 25-21).
Seniors Melissa Bakke and Audrey Dearien each posted 10 kills in the match to lead all players. Sophomore Beth Brankle led all JBU players with 11 digs while sophomore Alyssa Arnold dished out 26 assists in the loss. Dearien and senior Libby Blasingame combined for John Brown's lone block of the evening.
The Stars (5-3, 1-0 SAC) led for the vast majority, but the Golden Eagles (10-4, 0-1 SAC) stayed close in sets one and three. However a -.185 hitting percentage in the second frame allowed the visitors to run away with the set in JBU's most lopsided set score of the season. JBU hit an impressive .423 percent in the first set and again hit well in the third with a .273 percent to finish the match at a .174 percent clip (31-16-86).
John Brown had a difficult time stopping the OCU trio of Stefani Nell, Jami-Rae Renwick and Tori Leisure. Nell and Renwick each contributed a team-high eight kills while Leisure finished with seven. The balanced City offense hit at a .473 percent rate (40-5-74) and posted a match-best .524 percent hitting mark in the second set. Dani Chase paced the OCU back line with 11 digs and Hannah Mitchum notched a match-high 28 assists in the victory.
John Brown played at No. 21 Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Saturday. Results were not available at presstime.
Sports on 09/20/2015