OKLAHOMA CITY -- Finishing its two-day swing through Oklahoma City, the John Brown University volleyball team couldn't sweep the weekend slate of contests as No. 18 Oklahoma City defeated the Golden Eagles 3-1 (25-14, 25-15, 19-25, 25-14) inside Abe Lemons Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The 18th-ranked Stars (13-3, 4-0 SAC) took control of the Sooner Athletic Conference lead with the win, serving up 13 aces and hitting more than .200 percent in each of the three sets it took from John Brown (11-5, 3-1 SAC).
The Golden Eagles, limited to a negative hitting percentage in two of the four frames, attacked at a mere .008 clip, led by nine kills from senior Molli Pugh. Freshman Jessica Meyer contributed five terminations, two aces and five block-assists in the loss.
The Stars limited JBU's Carly McKinney to just two kills, but McKinney posted a team-leading 16 digs on the defensive end, matched by junior Beth Brankle of Siloam Springs.
Freshman Elizabeth Williams dished out 14 assists on 25 of JBU's kills.
Manon Soraru and Marijana Bjelobrk each went on a tear, notching 16 and 14 kills, respectively. Dani Chase dug a match-high 23 scoops while Sanja Vojnovic dished out a match-best 42 assists on 43 OCU kills.
The Golden Eagles returned to action on Tuesday to host Crowley's Ridge, who made the trip across the state from Paragould. Results were not available at presstime.
JBU will be back in action for a Sooner Athletic Conference match at 7 p.m. on Friday against Texas Wesleyan in Bill George Arena.
Sports on 09/21/2016