Golden Eagles sweep past Panhandle State
The John Brown University volleyball team moved to 7-1 inside Bill George Arena with a three-set sweep (258, 25-17, 25-15) of Oklahoma Panhandle State on Saturday afternoon.
For the second straight match, the Golden Eagles (21-7, 12-4 Sooner Athletic Conference) held the opposition under .100 attacking as the hosts launched nine service aces and hit nearly .400 in the 60-minute match.
The JBU offense clicked at a .393 (40-7-84) rate, easily its best of the season. The balanced attack featured eight kills from both junior Taylor Glover and senior Jessica Schultz.
“The momentum the team generated with a dominant third set against Wayland Baptist (Friday) night continued into the start of our match today,” head coach Ken Carver said. “We wanted to prevent OPSU from getting any momentum or positive energy going early in this match. They’re a team that thrives on energy and making runs, as we experienced first-hand the last time we played them.
“Our serving continued to be on point today and we were able to not only secure an above-average number of service aces, but more importantly keep OPSU out of system for most of the match. That was of critical importance, especially when Kendra Butler was on the floor. She’s one of the best attackers in the conference and is very hard to defend against when they get her the ball. Due to our players’ locating and serving aggressively, OPSU wasn’t able to get her the ball on a consistent basis. I liked our team’s consistent performance in the face of all of the different lineup variations and substitutions we did this weekend. It’s a blessing to have the depth we do this year and we’re going to continue to need it as we wrap up the regular season and focus on making a deep run into the postseason.”
The Aggies finished the match without a doubledigit terminator, and no individual hit over five kills as the Golden Eagles limited Butler to three kills on only nine total attempts (.111).
The JBU offense was run evenly by sophomore Carrie Ciesla and freshman Morgan Fincham as the pair contributed 15 helpers apiece.
Senior Carly McKinney anchored the back row with eight digs as the hosts needed just 31 scoops in the victory - its second fewest in 2019.
The sweep was the 16th this season for the Golden Eagles as it secured at least a 21-win season for the fifth time in six years with Carver at the helm of the program.
John Brown will embark on its final road trip of the regular season as it will take on Mid-America Christian in Oklahoma City on Friday, Nov. 1, at 4:30 p.m.