FORT WORTH, Texas -- The John Brown University volleyball offensive was limited to below a .150 attack for the sixth time this season as Texas Wesleyan swept its way to a timely victory on Friday evening inside the Sid Richardson Center.
The Rams pieced together a .301 (41-10-103) effort and threw up 7.0 team blocks in the front court to run away with a 25-18, 25-17, 25-19 effort to even the season series with JBU. Both teams earned sweeps on its respective home court. Tiebreakers will likely come into effect at the end of the regular season when determining seeds for the Sooner Athletic tournament.
Juniors Taylor Glover and Jaden Williams paced the Golden Eagle (19-6, 10-3 Sooner Athletic) offensive effort with eight kills apiece, with Williams posting a team-best .400 (8-2-15) efficiency. Senior Megan Beck contributed seven more terminations in the loss.
Tied at 11 in the first set, Wesleyan rattled off an 8-2 run to pull ahead decisively. JBU was only able to pull within four points, four separate times, before the hosts closed out the first set.
An Ellie Lampton kill and a Ram error gave the Golden Eagles a promising 12-7 lead midway through the middle frame, but Wesleyan responded with an 11-4 run that stretched into a an 18-5 rally that included scoring the set's final seven points. JBU hit evenly (11-11-38) in the set.
Another John Brown lead vanished in the third as the Rams turned a one-point deficit into an 11-7 lead via a 7-1 streak. After head coach Ken Carver called a timeout, JBU responded with a 5-2 stretch that pulled the visitors within one, 13-12. Wesleyan countered with its own timeout and proceeded to piece together a 6-1 run to take a 19-13 lead that effectively ended the Golden Eagles' chances at extending the match.
Wesleyan's Arianna Alvarado carried the hosts offensively with a .625 (10-0-16) attacking mark and finished the contest as the only player to pass the double-digit termination plateau. Sydney Charlton frustrated the JBU attack all evening and finished with two solo rejections and a trio of block-assists.
The Rams have now bested John Brown in the Golden Eagles' last five visits to Fort Worth.
JBU was scheduled to wrap up its Texas trip on Saturday at Southwestern Assemblies of God. Results were not available at presstime.
Sports on 10/20/2019