PLAINVIEW, Texas -- Senior Megan Beck paced the well-balanced Golden Eagle offense with eight kills as the John Brown University volleyball team swept past Wayland Baptist (Texas) for the first time since 2015 on Saturday evening inside the Hutcherson Center.
Beck's outing came at a .438 clip (8-1-16), while senior Jessica Schultz added seven terminations at a .467 mark (7-0-15) allowing JBU (11-3, 5-1 Sooner Athletic) to sprint to the straight-sets victory 25-15, 25-18, 26-24.
Sophomore Carrie Ciesla posted a double-double while running the JBU offense to the tune of 11 assists and 12 digs. She also added a pair of aces in the victory.
"I was really pleased at how we came out and played with much more focus and urgency tonight," head coach Ken Carver said, referencing Friday night's five-set thriller at Oklahoma Panhandle State. "Last night served as a teachable moment for our team, and we responded in a very positive way and played the level of volleyball we expect of ourselves.
"I felt we executed in all facets of the game during the first two sets. We passed well, which allowed us to run our balanced offense efficiently, and defensively we kept Wayland's offense very much in check during the course of the first two sets. Our sense of poise and focus was on display -- primarily when the third set was tied. I believe our team is developing in each other and our ability to push through and succeed even when the scores are close or we find ourselves in a hole."
In the decisive set, the Golden Eagles trailed late, 24-23, until senior Carly McKinney's kill evened the score coming out of a JBU timeout. The deadlock prompted a Wayland Baptist timeout, but it was to no avail with freshman Lauren Cloud serving. The freshman setup senior Lindsey Clark for a kill and then she served up a match-clinching ace -- allowing the visitors to escape the western road trip unscathed and remain in a tie for second place in the SAC standings.
In the first two sets, John Brown ran away with double-digit leads including a 19-9 lead in the first and a 16-6 lead in the second, respectively.
McKinney and senior Kinzee Mayo added seven and six kills apiece.
The visitors finished the contest hitting .197 (39-15-122) and limited the Pioneers to a mere .050 or lower in the first two sets as the hosts finished at a .066 (35-26-137) mark.
The Golden Eagles will return home for two matches at home during Homecoming Week. JBU will welcome Science and Arts (Okla.) to Bill George Arena on Wednesday before playing host to Mid-America Christian (Okla.) inside Murray Sells Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
Sports on 09/25/2019