GOODWELL, Okla. -- Facing a 2-0 deficit, the John Brown University volleyball team pieced together three consecutive set victories to recover for a 3-2 (21-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-22, 15-8) victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Friday (Sept. 20) evening inside the Oscar Williams Fieldhouse.
The Golden Eagles (10-3, 4-1 Sooner Athletic) had four players record double-digit kills in senior Jessica Schultz (15), senior Carly McKinney (10) and junior Taylor Glover (10). McKinney recorded her fourth double-double of the season with a team-high 24 digs, while sophomore Carrie Cielsa tied a career high with 30 assists – the second time she has crossed the 30-helper mark this season. Freshman Jillian Blackman scooped up a career high 17 digs in the back row and served up a personal best three aces to account for half of JBU's ace count.
With the victory, head coach Ken Carver clinched his 300th career victory – an impressive personal milestone that includes a 117-63 (.650) mark with John Brown.
"Tonight's match was a lesson in perseverance," admitted Carver after JBU's third five-set victory of the season. "Panhandle State definitely came to play this evening, and probably played one of the best matches of their season in the first two sets. We were very flat to start the match and there weren't many things they did wrong. At the same time, our team kept grinding and working and were eventually able to work ourselves back into the match.
"By the time we reached the fourth set, we were finally beginning to execute at the level we expect of ourselves and carried that momentum into the fifth set where we played some of the best volleyball of the night. This was another important conference win for our team and while it took a lot of work to earn it, I was pleased with our poise and ability to find a way to win on a night when we struggled to play our best volleyball consistently."
With the match on the line and down 2-0, senior Megan Beck helped lead the comeback with four of her six kills on the match coming in the third set. While still struggling to find an offensive rhythm, hitting .081 (10-7-37), John Brown used a trio of Morgan Fincham setter dumps, including when the Aggies moved to within three, 22-19, to return the JBU lead back to four late in the set. Glover's solo block ended the set and began the visitors' comeback bid.
Down 5-0 in the fourth, the Golden Eagles had to ride a 10-3 mid-set rally to pull ahead, 18-16. Clinching to a one-point lead late, 22-21, Beck's kill combined with a block in the next rally, assisted by Schultz, set up another Fincham setter dump to tie the match at two apiece with the Golden Eagles enjoying all the momentum.
Blackman's ace to kick off the deciding set proved to send the Golden Eagles off to a 6-2 lead, aided by terminations from Glover, Schultz and senior Kinzee Mayo. Panhandle State slowly chipped away at the lead, but with a four-point lead, 12-8, the Golden Eagles closed out the set on the heels of two more Schultz terminations.
JBU easily set a season high with 11 solo blocks, forcing the Aggies to a .138 attacking clip over the final three sets of the match. Glover set a career high with four solo blocks and tied a career best in total rejections on the match.
John Brown finished the contest hitting .188 (62-25-197), including over .250 in the final two sets, while the hosts managed just a .136 mark (53-26-198), under .100 in two of the final three sets.
Up Next
The Golden Eagles will look to make it a sweep of its western road trip when it takes on Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Saturday evening. The match will start unusually late with first serve coming at 6 p.m.
