GameDay: Volleyball at Oklahoma City
SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. (September 20, 2014) -- After a 3-1 victory over Mid-America Christian (Okla.) last night, the Golden Eagles (10-4, 1-0 SAC) return to action in Oklahoma City this afternoon to face the Stars (8-3, 1-0 SAC) at Abe Lemons Arena.
The two squads faced off three times last season with City winning all three matchups as the two teams battled all season for fourth place in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings.
Last night, junior outside hitter Audrey Dearien notched a match-high 15 kills and JBU used a 25-4 second-set victory to land a 3-1 (25-23, 25-4, 12-25, 25-20) win over the Evangels at the Gaulke Activity Center.
John Brown attacked at a .586 percent in the second set, setting a season high.
Dearien’s 15-kill effort was the eight time she reached double-digits and the third-consecutive. She also contributed eight digs and a block assist in the win. Sophomore middle hitter Molli Pugh posted a season-high 11 kills that accompanied four digs while junior outside hitter Tiffany Hunnicutt also added 10 terminations and a block assist.
John Brown used a 50-33 margin in kills, facilitated by 26 assists and six aces from sophomore setter Shayna Daniels, marking the fifth time this season reaching the 20-assist plateau. Freshman setter Alyssa Arnold also reached the 20-helper plateau.
The Stars are coming off a 3-1 non-conference loss to NCAA II Southeastern Oklahoma State, but before that, secured a 3-0 sweep of Southwestern A.G. (Texas) on Monday (Sept. 15), accounting for City’s 1-0 conference record. The Stars are 2-2 in its previous four matches.
Coming in ranked No. 31 nationally in kills per set (12.62) as a team, Meghan Irwin ranks No. 10 in the nation for OCU with a .380 hitting percentage and is second on the team in kills (110). Kristen Macy holds the top spot on the squad with 132 terminations. Taylor Chase runs the offense to the tune of 362 assists, landing her No. 23 in the nation in assists per set (10.06) and her 19 service aces places her at No. 39 in service aces per set (.530).
Kelly Shiels’ 191 digs on the season has vaulted City to No. 34 in digs per set (17.18) while Irwin’s 34 block assists leads the Stars’ attack rejection efforts.
The first serve is slated for 1 p.m. and will feature live video and stats, courtesy of Oklahoma City University.
