Senior Savanna Riney led all players with 11 kills, but John Brown University volleyball team fell in straight sets to No. 19 Texas Wesleyan (25-20, 25-23, 25-20) on Friday (Sept. 15) evening inside Bill George Arena.
The Rams (10-3, 5-0 Sooner Athletic) didn't feature a single attacker in double-digit termination territory. Still, they used a strong serving effort and early leads in rallies to fend off the late Golden Eagle rallies. Texas Wesleyan has now won six straight against JBU in the all-time series.
Riney, the Sooner Athletic's leading hitter, recorded 11 kills on 33 swings to finish .212. Junior Taylor Golmen was efficient at .350 and eight terminations, while junior Lilly Ruston contributed a season-high seven kills on 25 attempts (.200).
On the night, the Rams out-hit John Brown, limiting the hosts to .163 (39-18-129), as the visitors barely peaked over .200 (43-16-130). TXWES also held an advantage in blocking, 5-2, and took advantage of seven John Brown errors from the service line. While the Rams also committed seven errors, Wesleyan served up seven aces while limiting JBU to just one, a season-low mark.
Junior Emma DeSanti chipped in with a pair of kills from the right side in the third set to accompany 18 assists and six digs, while freshman Sara Welch added 12 helpers.
In the back row, junior Julie Milligan produced 23 digs. Freshman Mia Baedke added 10 scoops in the loss.
The visitors were paced on offense by Hanna Rubis' nine kills and three block assists on defense. Makenna Gantt (19 assists) and Ruby O'Brien (17 assists) nearly split the setting duties equally, while Andrea Malek patrolled the back row to the tune of 26 digs -- a match-best mark.
SAGU 3, JBU 2
John Brown fell to 10-7 overall and 3-3 in conference play after dropping a 3-2 loss to Southwestern Assemblies of God on Saturday at Bill George Arena.
John Brown won the first set 25-23, but the Lions took the next two 25-14, 25-18.
The Golden Eagles rallied to win the fourth set 25-17 and then dropped the fifth set 17-15.
Southwestern Assemblies of God had three players finish with double-digit kills, led by 12 each from Abby Wells and Mackenzie Smith, while Karena Tipton had 11. Riley Burcham had 26 assists and Cassidy Hargesheimer 18. Tessa Glick led with 24 digs, while Hargesheimer had 15 digs.
The Lions (9-5, 6-0) had 22 block assists, led by six from Esther Holtzclaw.
Taylor Golmen and Savanna Riney each had nine kills for JBU. Sara Welch had 22 assists, while Morgan Fincham had 15. Julie Milligan led with 18 digs, while Brittney Ware had 13.
Up next
The Golden Eagles are back in action at 7 p.m. Friday at home against Central Christian (Kan.) and at 1 p.m. Saturday hosting Langston (Okla.).