Lyon Pulls Out Narrow Victories, Sends Golden Eagles to Consecutive Losses
SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. (October 15, 2015) -- The John Brown volleyball team (16-8) allowed four Scots to reach double-digit kills as Lyon (Ark.) swept the season series with the Golden Eagles after a 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 23-25, 17-15) decision on Thursday (Oct. 15) evening inside Bill George Arena.
Lyon (11-12) was led by 11 Katarina Frickleton kills while teammates Michayla Shanks, Makenzie Sharp and Madison Sandborn each contributed 10 terminations as the Scots posted a .212 attack percentage (52-24-132) in the victory.
A pair of Golden Eagles countered with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, in seniors Libby Blasingame and Audrey Dearien. Blasingame also threw up three block-assists while Dearien added a pair of aces and a solo block in the loss.
Sophomore Alyssa Arnold passed out 30 assists to join her 11 digs, giving her a double-double, while senior Melissa Bakke posted nine kills and 10 digs. Sophomore Beth Brankle again paced the JBU back line defense with a match-high 13 digs.
The Golden Eagle attack struggled as the hosts hit just .141 percent (37-19-128) as Lyon racked up 17 more digs on the evening (67-50). JBU also committed 11 service errors and allowed 12 service aces.
Lyon also received a match-high 38 assists from Emily Sprick as the Scots have now won four straight. Madisson Williams and Kaitlyn Craine each dug a team-best 12 balls on the evening.
JBU rolled to an early 5-0 lead in the first, but the Scots responded quickly to take a 14-12 lead. The lead swung back in favor of the hosts, 19-16, but Lyon again took a 22-20 advantage late in the frame, before finishing off the period.
Two errors and two Dearien kills vaulted John Brown to a 12-6 advantage in the second which continued to a 15-9 score after three consecutive Lyon errors. Lyon would pull to within one, 18-17, but another trio of miscues gave JBU back a four-point lead. Kills from Dearien, Blasingame and junior Molli Pugh down the stretch cemented the victory and a 1-1 tie.
For the first time in the match, Lyon scooted out to an 8-2 lead in the third set until back-to-back Blasingame smacks and a Bakke ace finished off a 9-2 rally, pulling the Golden Eagles to within 10-9. Down three, Blasingame assisted on a pair of rejections before a Bakke kill knotted the score at 19 apiece. Lyon would go on to capture six of the final 10 points to put John Brown in a 2-1 deficit heading into the fourth.
The Golden Eagles struggled to find any offense in the final period, hitting just .032 percent (7-6-31) as the Scots boasted their most potent attack of the evening at .345 percent (15-5-29). Armed with a 10-4 lead, Lyon grew the advantage to eight, 16-8, before a match-high nine-point lead at 23-14. Two more Blasingame kills delayed the contest slightly, but a smack from Lyon’s Michayla Shanks ended the match and JBU’s comeback bid.
With the loss, JBU has suffered consecutive defeats for the first time since Sept. 19, when it fell in back-to-back games to Sooner Athletic-leading Oklahoma City and Wayland Baptist (Texas).
JBU will return to action on Saturday (Oct. 17) when it hosts a triangular with Wayland and Ozarks (Mo.). The Golden Eagles will take on Baptist at 10:30 a.m. before facing Ozarks (Mo.) in a 3 p.m. matchup.
