PARKVILLE, Mo. -- In a quick turnaround after dominating William Woods (Mo.) the day prior, the John Brown University volleyball team improved to 8-3 overall on Saturday (Sept. 10) after a bounce-back 3-1 win over McPherson (Kan.), just an hour after suffering a 3-0 loss to No. 4 Park (Mo.) on the second day of the Park Classic inside the Breckon Sports Center.
In the Golden Eagles' four-set win over McPherson (23-25, 25-14, 25-17, 25-19), John Brown dropped the first set after battling back from a 22-17 deficit to take a 23-22 lead. The Bulldogs (7-6) scored the final three points to take the set, but it was all JBU from there.
Over the final three sets, the John Brown defense held MAC to a mere minus .018 (25-27-109) attack effort as the Golden Eagles captured the final three sets in fairly pedestrian fashion.
Junior Savanna Riney swatted a match-leading 12 kills on 39 swings (.231) and, led by its middles in junior Micah Fouts and sophomore Taylor Golmen who racked up four blocks apiece, the JBU defense posted 11 team rejections.
In the back row, Riney completed the double-double with 10 digs, but senior Jillian Blackman stepped up with 28 digs, while sophomore Julie Milligan added 13 of her own.
Sophomore Callie Mullins contributed eight kills and hit .353 (8-2-17) and junior Delaney Barnes added another efficient performance (7-0-19) by finishing the match at .368.
Senior Lauren Cloud finished her sixth 20-assist effort of the year with 21 helpers, while senior Morgan Fincham added 18 of her own, allowing the Golden Eagle offense to hit .234 (46-12-145) on the afternoon.
In the first match of the day, Park bested the Golden Eagles in straight sets (13-25, 18-25, 19-25) as John Brown struggled to maintain offense against the host Pirates. Riney's nine kills paced the JBU offense, while Blackman dug up 24 in John Brown's third loss in its first 11 matches of the 2022 season.
John Brown will now rest for six days and continue its five-match road trip on Friday, Sept. 16, by returning to Sooner Athletic play against Oklahoma Panhandle State. The match is slated for a 6 p.m. start time inside Anchor D Arena and will be carried live on the SAC Sports Network.
JBU 3, William Woods 0
The Golden Eagles swept past William Woods 25-9, 25-23, 25-20 on Friday in the first day of the Park Classic.
Savanna Riney led JBU with 13 kills, while Ellie Lampton had 10 and Delaney Barnes seven.
Lauren Cloud had 27 assists with Morgan Fincham contributing 14.
Jillian Blackman led defensively with 26 digs, while Julie Milligan had 14 digs and Riney 11.
JBU 3, Central Christian 0
The John Brown University volleyball team offense was clicking on all cylinders as the Golden Eagles handed Central Christian (Kan.) a sweeping loss on Wednesday night (Sept. 7) inside Bill George Arena.
JBU led wire-to-wire in sets two and three, and finished the evening hitting .410 (40-8-71). Three Golden Eagle hitters handed in efforts over .500 and four over .400, led by senior Ellie Lampton's errorless mark at .727 (8-0-11).
Junior Savanna Riney once again led John Brown with 10 kills on 17 swings (.529), and junior Delaney Barnes also smacked 10 terminations on 19 attempts (.474). Sophomore Taylor Golmen also contributed seven kills (.667) in the Golden Eagles' third consecutive win in straight sets.
The hosts' largest improved from the night prior was the serving effort – led by senior Lauren Cloud's trio of aces. Golmen, senior Morgan Fincham and senior Jillian Blackman each added a pair, totaling 11 aces and only four errors from the service line.
"We corrected the serving mistakes made last night and did an outstanding job of locating really tough serves that not only provided us with points, but kept Central Christian out of system for the majority of the night," head coach Ken Carver pointed out. "In watching the scout film on Central Christian, it was evident that they can be a really scrappy team and – given enough opportunities in long rallies – can play close with any team. One of our main goals tonight was to terminate rallies early and make long runs of points to not allow any momentum to be generated by their team.
While the John Brown back row defense needed just 28 total digs on the match, the Golden Eagle setters ran a very efficient offense – passing out 32 assists, committing only one error. Cloud notched 18 and Fincham added 14.
"Tonight's performance against Central Christian was one of our team's best performance's overall in our young season," added Carver. "While Central Christian didn't have the opportunity to demonstrate it against our team, their team is much improved. Winning both of our mid-week matches in straight sets allows our team to preserve a little of our energy heading into a weekend with three tough opponents and, most importantly, keeps our team on pace to be in the hunt for a conference title."
JBU 3, Langston 0
The John Brown University volleyball squad kicked off the 2022 home slate with a victory over Langston (Okla.) in straight sets (25-15, 25-16, 25-20) on Tuesday evening (Sept. 6) inside Bill George Arena.
Junior Savnna Riney led all players with 12 kills on 24 swings (.500), and senior Ellie Lampton added six terminations on 12 attempts (.500) as the Golden Eagles (5-2, 2-1 Sooner Athletic) handed the Lions its fourth-consecutive loss.
Seniors Lauren Cloud and Morgan Fincham posted nearly identical numbers in running the John Brown offense – 17 and 15 helpers, respectively – powering JBU to a .313 hitting effort (39-9-96).
On defense, sophomore Taylor Golmen posted a trio of block-assists in the front row, and senior Jillian Blackman scooped up 18 Langston attempts. The Lions were limited to a difficult -.010 attacking clip (22-23-101).
"I was proud of our team's offensive efficiency," noted head coach Ken Carver. "We struggled a bit in our matches last week to have the same offensive efficiency we had during our opening weekend of play, so that was a point of emphasis for us in tonight's match.
"Defensively, there were a number of hustle and scramble plays are team made during the course of the match as well, exemplifying the heart and 'never say die' attitude our team is working hard to embrace and consistently live out on the court. Great focus, engagement and energy from our team on the court and on the bench throughout the match."
The Lions (5-5, 0-3) held the lead just twice, once by scoring the match's first point and the second coming by way of a 5-4 lead in the second. John Brown led end-to-end in the clinching game.
"Tonight was a great atmosphere to have our home opening match," Carver added. "A big thanks to all of the JBU students, parents, family members and friends that created an electric environment for our team to play in tonight. Our players were amped up to finally have the opportunity to play at home for the first time this season – probably a little too amped."
Photo courtesy of JBU Sports Information John Brown sophomore middle blocker Taylor Golmen (right) goes up for a hit against Central Christian (Kan.) in a 3-0 JBU victory on Wednesday, Sept. 7, at Bill George Arena.