The John Brown University volleyball team was picked to finish fourth alongside Wayland Baptist (Texas) in the Sooner Athletic Conference, per the release of the 2019 SAC Volleyball Coaches' Preseason Poll by the league office on Thursday, Aug. 8.
The Golden Eagles (64 points) are slated to finish behind predicted conference champions, Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas), which garnered 91 total points, but only three first-place votes. Nipping on the Lions' heels were Oklahoma City and Texas Wesleyan at 85 points apiece -- with the Stars landing a league-best six first-place votes; the Rams grabbed the other two first-place votes.
2019 Sooner Athletic Conference Volleyball Coaches Poll
Institution (First place votes)^Points
1. Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) (3)^91
2. Oklahoma City (6)^85
2. Texas Wesleyan^85
4. John Brown^64
4. Wayland Baptist (Texas)^64
6. Southwestern Christian (Okla.)^54
7. Mid-America Christian (Okla.)^51
8. Oklahoma Panhandle State^38
9. Langston (Okla.)^33
10. Science & Arts (Okla.)^22
11. Central Christian (Kan.)^16
While the Lions did not qualify for the NAIA National Championships last season, both Oklahoma City and Texas Wesleyan each made appearances in the Opening Round with OCU advancing to pool play at the final site. Last season, John Brown was slated to finish third, but ended the regular season in the fourth slot, enough to grab one of four quarterfinal hosting bids in the SAC tournament, however upstart Southwestern Christian (Okla.) ended JBU's season inside Bill George Arena. During his five-year tenure, head coach Ken Carver has pieced together a 58-28 mark (.674) in league play, including a single-season best mark at 13-3 (.813) in 2017.
After starting league play last season at 5-1, the Golden Eagles stumbled in consecutive contests in the always-difficult Texas road trip, but rebounded with six more wins over the next seven contests. A four-game skid, highlighted by tough losses to No. 5 Missouri Baptist and No. 3 Columbia (Mo.), interrupted the winning streak as John Brown finished the regular season 3-2 over its last five outings, including another difficult weekend against the Texas two.
The Pioneers tied with JBU at fourth place, while Southwestern Christian (Okla) and Mid-America Christian (Okla.) came in at 54 and 51 points, respectively, to nab sixth and seventh.
Oklahoma Panhandle State, Langston (Okla.), Science & Arts (Okla.) and Central Christian (Kan.) rounded out the final four squads.
Sports on 08/14/2019