MCKINNEY LEADS SIX PLAYERS ON ALL-CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL LIST
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- Freshman Carly McKinney has been named to the All-Sooner Athletic first team list while juniors Beth Brankle and Alyssa Arnold took home second team accolades in the year-end honors, the conference office announced Friday (Nov. 11).
McKinney finished the season hitting .230 percent in conference matches, finishing 10th among the SAC's leading hitters, while averaging 2.7 kills per set. Making her a dual-threat, McKinney also averaged 3.8 digs per set, landing her 12th in the conference. The outside hitter finished the conference season with 10 double-doubles (kills-digs) and also recorded 34 aces in conference play.
McKinney's most impressive performance of the season came against Texas Wesleyan, recording a season-best 20 kills and 11 digs on Sept. 23.
Arnold and Brankle return to the All-Conference list in consecutive seasons as Arnold also landed second team honors in 2015 while Brankle was named to the honorable mention squad.
Arnold finished SAC play with 357 assists in John Brown's 6-2 scheme, while also recording 185 digs, finishing third on the team. The setter passed out 5.3 helpers in SAC games, landing her ninth on the conference passing list. Arnold dished out more than 20 assists in nine of 18 conference contests, while eclipsing the 30-assist plateau a pair of times against Southwestern Christian (Okla.) and St. Gregory's (Okla.), on Oct. 8 and 13, respectively.
Brankle anchored the Golden Eagle back line to the fifth-best digs per set performance (18.4) by leding the squad with 348 digs in conference play, averaging 5.1 digs per set. She finished the season with 624 total digs, ranking her No. 39 in the nation in total scoops. Ten times Brankle posted 20 or more digs, including a pair of 30-dig performance against St. Gregory's on Nov. 4.
A trio of players also landed honorable mention selections in freshman Jessica Meyer, sophomore Kennedy Shelstead and senior Molli Pugh.
Meyer stepped into the middle blocking role and excelled, posting a team-best 73 rejections in conference play, accounting for more than half of JBU's total blocks (139). Meyer was also one of four Golden Eagles to finish over 100 kills in SAC play (106).
Shelstead earned her first-career honors after smacking 130 kills in league matches, adding 49 blocks. She posted double-digit kills in four of 18 conference matchups.
Pugh finished a four-of-four effort over her career, including a pair of second-team selections. Her second nomination to the honorable mention team comes after registering 150 SAC terminations, finishing second on the team to McKinney. She hit .168 percent in league play and her 2.5 kills per SAC set landed her in a tie for 19th among all league hitters.
The Golden Eagles finished the 2016 campaign 21-12 with an 11-7 mark in conference play, finishing fourth, earning a tournament quarterfinal home match in the process.
