Golden Eagles start 2-0
DENVER — The John Brown University volleyball team overcame a difficult hitting performance in game one to defeat Benedictine-Mesa (Ariz.) on Friday. JBU then defeated tournament host Johnson and Wales (Colo.) later in the day to move to 2-0 after day one at the JWU Invitational.
The Golden Eagles hit just .114 percent against Benedictine-Mesa (0-1), but used 20 block-assists, including seven from sophomore Kennedy Shelstead, to take a 3-1 (25-23, 25-27, 25-23, 25-22) win. Senior Molli Pugh stepped up and delivered 11 kills and 15 digs for the double-double, while freshman Carly McKinney, in her first collegiate action, terminated nine kills and added 18 digs. Shelstead and freshman teammates Jessica Meyer and Megan Beck each contributed eight kills in the four-set victory.
After JBU won the first set, 25-23, the Redhawks knotted the match at 1-1 by erasing a 25-24 deficit. In the pivotal third set, when junior Alyssa Arnold launched a service ace to squeak out a 25-23 win.
Tied at 20 in the fourth set, kills from junior Bailei Brown, McKinney and Meyer staved off Mesa in the clinching frame.
Five players posted doubledigit dig totals, led by junior Beth Brankle’s 25. Arnold dug 12 Mesa attack attempts and dished out a team-best 25 assists, while freshman Elisabeth Williams added 21 assists in her college debut.
The Golden Eagle defense held Mesa to 33 errors and just a mere .108 attack percentage.
Offenses started to heat up in the second match against the host Wildcats, and JBU upped its pressure to the tune of .363 percent, limiting the tournament host to an anemic .165 percent.
McKinney posted her first collegiate double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs, including a pair of aces, while Meyer paced all players with 12 kills, hitting a perfect 1.000 percent on the match.
JWU put up a fight in the second set, but John Brown ran away with sets one and three to complete the sweep (25-18, 25-23, 25-16). In the final set of the night, the Golden Eagle offense clicked to the tune of .471 percent (18-2-34).
This time, Williams posted 20 assists while Arnold passed
out 18.
JBU returned to action on Saturday in the tournament against Montana Western and Embry-Riddle (Ariz.). Results were not available at presstime.
The Golden Eagles are scheduled to return to action Friday and Saturday in the Benedictine (Kan.) Invitational in Atchison, Kan. JBU will play host Benedictine (Kan.) at 3 p.m. Friday, and it will play twice on Saturday, first against Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) at 9 a.m. followed by a match against Saint Mary (Kan.) at 1 p.m.