OKLAHOMA CITY -- John Brown sophomore Jessica Meyer was named the Sooner Athletic Conference Hitter of the Year and a trio of other Golden Eagles landed All-Conference accolades, the conference offices announced this past Friday afternoon.
Senior Alyssa Arnold was also named to the first team while sophomore Carly McKinney and senior Beth Brankle landed second-team honors.
Winning the league's hitting efficiency title, Meyer collected her first-career Hitter of the Year honors alongside a first-team nomination. Meyer finished the season hitting .349 (325-102-639) overall and .378 in conference play.
Meyer posted a season-best 16 kills against Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Nov. 7 and hit double-digit kills in 10 of JBU's 16 conference games. She is currently ranked No. 15 in the nation in hitting percentage.
In conference, Meyer also led the team with 46 blocks, averaging 0.87 rejections per set.
Joining Meyer on the first team, Arnold collected her first-career first-team selection after posting a career year. She passed out 619 assists in conference play, averaging 11.7 helpers per set, the highest in the conference.
Named the NAIA's National Setter of the Week once this season, Arnold passed 50 assists or more five time this season, 13 times surpassing the 40-assist mark.
After a first-team selection last season, McKinney returned to the All-Conference ballots, this time on the second team after pacing the John Brown offense with 359 kills and 3.21 kills per set. In SAC play, the numbers were even more impressive as she racked up 189 kills and a 3.57 terminations per set mark.
Defensively, McKinney also registered the second-most digs of any Golden Eagle in conference play with 177 and posted 20 blocks against SAC competition.
Brankle finishes her career a three-time All-Conference selection by notching her second-straight second team appearance. Recording 276 digs and 5.21 digs per set in conference play, Brankle finished in the top five in each category among conference players. Overall, she notched 580 digs and 5.09 scoops per set, good enough for No. 44 and No. 40, respectively, in the nation.
Brankle also finished second on the team with 36 service aces this season and committed just 36 reception errors on 504 total receptions (.929).
Sports on 11/15/2017