COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The John Brown University volleyball team took a pair of losses on the first day of the Hampton Inn Classic, hosted by Columbia (Mo.), as the Golden Eagles fell in four sets to William Woods (Mo.) and later in straight sets to No. 5 Missouri Baptist on Friday inside the Southwell Complex.
In the first contest against William Woods (17-8), John Brown nearly pushed the match to a deciding fifth set, but the Owls erased a late 22-16 score late in the fourth. A match-ending 9-1 rally broke JBU's modest two-match winning streak.
Neither team really got going offensively. The Golden Eagles hit .073 (44-33-151) on the match while WWU attacked at a .140 (44-25-136).
Sophomore Taylor Glover hit .222 to pace the John Brown offense with eight kills on 27 swings. Senior Bayli Reagan added 10 terminations and junior Kinzee Mayo contributed eight of her own.
William Woods used a strong blocking effort to force 33 John Brown attacking errors as the Owls piled up a 15-3 team blocking advantage in the contest.
Seven Owls had at least a pair of block-assists, but Tory Wiley led the William Woods effort by posting 11 kills and five block-assists. The balanced Owl attack also included eight kills and 29 assists from Remie Johnson.
Against the fifth-ranked Spartans, MBU's balanced and efficient attack finished off the Golden Eagles in sweeping fashion.
Glover again hit her way to lead the John Brown offense with a team-best six kills on 19 swings (.211).
Junior Lindsey Davis contributed a trio of block-assists in the loss.
On Saturday (Nov. 13), John Brown will finish up with a pair of matches against Bethel (Ind.) and No. 3 and host Columbia (Mo.).
