SILOAM SPRINGS -- The John Brown University volleyball team tied the match at one, but a .314 hitting mark in the final two sets propelled Texas Wesleyan to a 3-1 victory on Friday (Oct. 1) evening at Bill George Arena.
Sophomore Savanna Riney posted a season-best 15 kills and hit .414 on the match (15-3-29) while three other Golden Eagles (11-10, 5-4 Sooner Athletic) finished over 10 terminations, but a late 4-0 Ram run in the third and a 7-1 rally late in the fourth provided the cushioning Wesleyan (11-5, 8-2) needed to pull out the four-set win, 23-25, 25-20, 20-25, 21-25.
"Tonight's match had a lot of offensive fireworks from both teams with front row players taking some big swings throughout the entire match," head coach Ken Carver noted. "I loved our team's fight and grit to consistently battle back from being down in the score in three out of the four sets.
"There were just a few too many errors at some inopportune times that led to enough of an opportunity gap for Texas Wesleyan to capitalize and close out the closely contested sets. Our team competed hard and played well enough to be in position to win."
Joining Riney with double digit kills was a trio of 11-termination performances from junior Ellie Lampton, freshman Callie Mullins and freshman Taylor Golmen. The quartet hit .333 on the match, but as a team, John Brown finished .271 (59-21-140), while allowing the Rams to hit at a .293 (56-17-133) clip on the evening.
The second set was John Brown the entire way, with the Golden Eagles racing out to an 8-2 advantage, courtesy of a pair of Mullins kills and a Mullins-Golmen block. The hosts maintained its lead until the Rams pulled within one, 16-15, but an ensuing 6-2 Golden Eagle rally rebuilt the lead to 22-17. Riney then ended the second frame with back-to-back kills.
The first set featured nine ties and six lead changes, with the final lead change coming in favor of the visitors. Junior Lauren Cloud's ace handed the Golden Eagles a 22-21 lead, but once again, the Rams finished the set with a 4-0 run to steal the momentum.
Junior Morgan Fincham passed out a team-best 26 assists, while junior Jillian Blackman patrolled the back line to the tune of 16 digs. In the front row, Golmen paced JBU with four blocks while Mullins added three of her own.
The four-match homestand continues tomorrow (Oct. 2) afternoon with another high-stakes matchup. This time the Golden Eagles will welcome Southwestern A.G. (Texas) to Bill George Arena for a noon first serve.
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