JBU volleyball drops second straight match at SAGU

WAXAHACHIE, Texas — After gutting out a tough first-set victory, the John Brown University volleyball team fell in four sets (2426, 25-21, 25-17, 26-24) on Saturday evening at Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) inside the Sheaffer Center.

Senior Jessica Schultz posted a team-high 10 terminations, hitting .318 (10-3-22), but the Golden Eagles (19-7, 10-4 Sooner Athletic) hit just .142 (4221-148) on the match as the Lions evened the season series. Both teams claimed victory on their respective home court.

John Brown faced a late 21-13 deficit in the first frame, but a startling 11-2 rally tied the score at 23 apiece. Back-to-back kills from senior Megan Beck gave the Golden Eagles set point at 25-24, and a SAGU attack error allowed the visitors to claim a resounding first-set victory.

Southwestern Assemblies of God hit nearly .300 in both second and third sets to quickly turn the tables to capture a 2-1 advantage in the match.

A kill from junior Jaden Williams, followed by a pair of SAGU errors, helped the Golden Eagles pull even at 20-20 late in the fourth set. The squads traded points until freshman Ellie Lampton put down her fifth termination of the match and a Lion attack error handed John Brown set point, 24-23, and a chance to continue the match to a fifth set.

The Lions responded after a John Brown service error returned the ball back to the hosts with an ace to grab match point. A final SAGU block ended the match.

Beck posted nine terminations in the loss, while Glover contributed seven terminations.

JBU posted a season-best 22 block-assists, paced by Schultz’s six and five apiece from Williams and senior Carly McKinney. McKinney added 15 scoops in the back court.

SAGU featured four players in double-digit kill territory, lead by Alex Mealer’s 18. Ava Meyers added 16 of her own.

The consecutive losses push the Golden Eagles back to fourth place in the SAC standings with three weeks left in the regular season. Four of JBU’s final six matches will go down inside Bill George Arena down the stretch.

Up Next

JBU will finish its season series with Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Friday (Oct. 25) evening inside Bill George Arena at 7 p.m.. The Golden Eagles will then turn around and welcome Oklahoma Panhandle State to Siloam Springs in a matinee affair the following day, scheduled to start at 1 p.m.