McKinney leads JBU volleyball to sweep
The John Brown University volleyball team, powered by sophomore Carly McKinney’s 24 kills, played three dramatic sets but ultimately came away with a 25-22, 25-22, 28-26 sweep of Southwestern Christian (Okla.) on senior night on Thursday inside Bill George Arena. Hitting at a .451 clip (24-1-51), McKinney’s kill total set a season high, and accompanied 23 digs, registering her the double-double effort. Junior Bayli Reagan also captured a double-double with 12 terminations and 12 digs, as the Golden Eagles battled through 22 hitting errors to finish the night at a .222 attack percentage (58-22-162). Despite being out-attacked by Southwestern Christian (16-10, 8-8 Sooner Athletic), the Golden Eagles (25-6, 13-3) won its fourth in row while ending SCU’s own four-match winning streak. “Tonight’s match was wellplayed between two pretty equal opponents,” head coach Ken Carver noted after his squad finished off a perfect 7-0 regular season at Bill George Arena. “This game came down to poise and execution in crunch time and our team was able to show the grit necessary to pull out all three close sets.
“We struggled tonight to effectively stop either of their outside hitters, but thankfully, we had an equally impressive performance from Carly on the outside that helped counteract them. It took a total team effort and I was happy with our emotion and spirit that we played with tonight.”
For the fourth time this season, senior Alyssa Arnold eclipsed 50 assists, passing around 51 total helpers on 58 Golden Eagle kills. Senior Beth Brankle moved into third all-time in program history with a game-high 23 digs, giving her 1,778 with a few matches remaining. Aliya Higginbotham and Cashlyn Munroe each notched double-digit kills and digs to lead SCU on the night. Higginbotham tallied 16 kills and 18 digs, while Munroe finished with 15 kills and 15 digs in the loss. Finishing the regular season with a 25-6 record, the Golden Eagles clinch the program’s best single-season record in over a decade.
“We’ll definitely enjoy and savor the team’s regular season performance, but will also transition our focus and preparation to what lies ahead for us in the conference tournament” Carver added. “The performance this team has put together this season has been nothing short of phenomenal and something to be celebrated and honored in due time. It is, however, just a prelude to what lies ahead and the opportunity we have to go after an automatic berth into the NAIA National Championships.” The Golden Eagles will now have to wait through the weekend to see how the rest of the conference action plays out to determine who JBU will host in the Sooner Athletic tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday inside Bill George Arena. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
John Brown 3, St. Gregory’s 0 After battling through a pesky second set of runs, the John Brown University volleyball team completed its sweep of St. Gregory’s (Okla.), marking its 19th sweep of the season, on Dig Pink night Tuesday evening inside Bill George Arena. Sophomore Jessica Meyer recorded a match-best 12 kills, three blocks and hit .370 (122-27) while middle counterpart sophomore Lindsey Davis hit .417 (7-2-12) and recorded seven kills. Sophomore Carly McKinney added 11 kills, five digs and two blocks in the win. In an impressive start, senior Karis Buff tied a career-high with nine kills.
Senior Alyssa Arnold assisted on 40 of JBU’s 48 terminations as the hosts hit .256 (48-14-133) on the evening. Senior Beth Brankle notched a game-high 20 digs while Arnold and junior Bailey Sager each added 11 in the win.
Both Gabby Ware and Courtney Murphy each contributed seven kills in the loss for St. Gregory’s (6-12, 6-9).
“On behalf of all of our players, coaches and support staff, I wanted to say a big thank you to all of the family members, friends and fans for their support during the month of October as we attempted to raise funds for breast cancer as well as for the Clarenson family,” Carver added. “An extra special shout-out to Elicia Williamson and the JBU Cheerleading team for partnering with us in all of the fundraising activities we did throughout the month.”