BETHANY, Okla. -- Led by sophomore Taylor Golmen, the John Brown University volleyball team racked up a season-high 13 aces and ran away in sweeping fashion (25-12, 25-18, 25-19) over Southwestern Christian (Okla.) on Thursday evening (Sept. 1) inside Pickens-Springer Gymnasium.
While the John Brown (4-2, 1-1 Sooner Athletic) hitting wasn't spectacular, the blocking effort aided the outstanding service numbers to post the Golden Eagles' first sweep of the 2022 season.
Junior Savanna Riney led all Golden Eagles in kills (8) and digs (15), while Golmen's five aces bolstered the JBU service effort that featured three more from seniors Morgan Fincham and Jillian Blackman.
Junior Micah Fouts paced the front-row defensive effort, posting a solo rejection and five block-assists. Senior Ellie Lampton added a trio of block-assists, while Riney and Golmen each contributed a pair, which resulted in the host Eagles (4-3, 0-2) finishing the evening with a mere .076 hitting mark (28-19-118).
The Golden Eagle attack fared a bit better, finishing the match at .152 (33-16-112), with was led by Riney's eight kills. Freshman Ella Yarborough notched a career-best six kills, hitting .545 on the evening. Lampton, Golmen and junior Delaney Barnes each added four terminations in John Brown's first league victory of the campaign.
In the back row, senior Jillian Blackman provided 15 digs, while senior Lauren cloud distributed 17 assists and senior Morgan Fincham added 11.
Makenna Thomas' 11 kills (.143) led all hitters but no other Eagle could provide more than six terminations. Treasure Mozon was busy in the back row with 25 digs.
The Golden Eagles, with the win, moved to 17-2 all-time against Southwestern Christian, including an 8-1 mark inside Pickens-Springer Gymnasium.
John Brown will return to action on Tuesday (Sept. 6) when the Golden Eagles make their Siloam Springs debut inside Bill George Arena. JBU will welcome Langston (Okla.) in a 7 p.m. matchup, which will air live on the SAC Sports Network.
Oklahoma City 3, John Brown 0
OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Golden Eagle hitting, which had led the Sooner Athletic after the first two weeks of the season, faltered, hitting just .120 as the John Brown University volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-23) in its league opener at Oklahoma City on Wednesday, Aug. 31, inside Abe Lemons Arena.
John Brown either led or was tied after the 20-point mark in all three sets, but was unable to close out its chances. The Stars, meanwhile, nearly doubled the visitors' hitting mark as City hit .232 (41-15-112), improving to 4-1 and 2-0 in conference play.
The close match featured 35 ties and 17 lead changes, including eight lead changes in the third set alone.
JBU led by as many as four in the first set, 16-12, but City scored five of the next six points and later broke a 21-all tie by netting four of the next six points. Senior Ellie Lampton's kill gave the visitors a 21-20 advantage in the second set with sights set on knotting the match at one apiece, but Oklahoma City then rattled off five consecutive points, fueled by three straight John Brown miscues.
The Golden Eagles' 5-1 outburst to open the third evaporated quickly as the teams traded leads eight times. Armed with a 21-20 lead, John Brown conceded the next three points, but kills from juniors Savanna Riney and Delaney Barnes pulled the visitors within one, 24-23. City made good on its first match point, however, closing the match out.
Although John Brown didn't feature a hitter in double-figure terminations, Riney boasted nine kills on 34 swings, while Lampton added seven on 21 attempts (.286). Sophomore Taylor Golmen hit .400, but was limited to just 10 attempts on the night.
On the back row, senior Jillian Blackman scooped up 16 digs and senior Morgan Fincham passed out 15 helpers on 34 John Brown kills (34-21-108).
Rylee Steward and Catelyn Vargas contributed 14 and 10 kills, respectively, to the City attack effort and Emma Vance racked up 21 helpers in the win.