Freshman Lampton gives JBU offensive spark
The John Brown University volleyball team finished the opening weekend of Sooner Athletic Conference play with a 3-0 sweep of Southwestern Christian (Okla.) on Saturday afternoon inside Bill George Arena.
Freshman Ellie Lampton posted a breakout performance with a career-high 13 kills while hitting .385 (13-326) as the Golden Eagles (7-3, 1-1 Sooner Athletic) took the match with set scores of 2725, 25-9, 25-17.
“I was pleased at the performance of three of our freshmen who got the nod to start in this afternoon’s match,” head coach Ken Carver said. “Morgan (Fincham) did a good job in running our offense and helped to spark our offense when we got down early in the first and second sets. Ellie hit several shots that truly showcased her athletic potential as an attacker. Sarah (Laaker) had an equally good match offensively, as well and did a good job in moving around her shots when looking to score.”
JBU racked up seven team blocks that limited the Southwestern Christian (2-4, 0-2) offense to a .102 clip (34-21-127) effort. SCU’s Cashlyn Monroe posted 13 terminations in the loss, but was forced into seven errors.
In a balanced effort, seniors Jessica Schultz and Carly McKinney, junior Jaden Williams and freshman Sarah Laaker each terminated seven chances, with Laaker’s output a career-best. The quartet combined for 28 kills and only three attacking errors. Schultz also added a match-best five blockassists.
In the first set, the visitors started on an 8-1 run capped by a Faith Castaneda kill. From that point, the Golden Eagles would go on a 9-2 run, capped by a Laaker kill, to tie the set at 10 apiece. The Golden Eagles would take the lead at 13-12 on a Laaker kill. John Brown would work to its largest lead of the set at five, 20-15. Southwestern Christian responded with a 9-2 run to take the lead at 24-22. The Golden Eagles scored on the next two rallies to tie the set at 24-24, and after Munroe gave the Eagles the 25-24 advantage, JBU responded with a Lampton kill and a Carrie Ciesla ace that iced the set.
The Golden Eagles faced a quick 3-0 hole then took the lead for good at 4-3 on a Schultz kill. JBU created a double-digit advantage at 177, after a Lampton termination, which later ballooned to a 16-point difference on a solo Kinzee Mayo rejection.
The visitors again posted a big lead to kick off the third at 9-2, but JBU retaliated with a 13-5 rally to take the lead for good at 15-14. Shultz’s kill set up match point as JBU finished the contest with a Schultz-Mayo block.
Ciesla handled the bulk of the passing work with 21 assists, but freshman Morgan Fincham stepped in at key moments in the match to reverse the momentum and piled up a career-high 18 helpers. McKinney picked up the bulk of the back-row work with 15 scoops, while sophomore Jenna Lowery added 12. Both McKinney and Lowery served up a pair of aces.
The league slate doesn’t get any easier next weekend as John Brown welcomes Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas), the preseason favorites to win the conference, to Bill George Arena on Friday for a 7 p.m. matchup. On Saturday, JBU will host Texas Wesleyan at 1 p.m.