SILOAM SPRINGS -- The John Brown University volleyball team went the distance against Southwestern A.G. (Texas), but was outlasted in the decisive fifth set on Saturday (Oct. 2) at Bill George Arena.
John Brown (11-11, 5-5 Sooner Athletic) dropped its second straight home match by scores of 25-20,21-25,25-20,21-25,13-15. The Lions improved their mark to 14-5 overall and 8-2 in conference play and is now 4-2 in road contests.
"Another day, and unfortunately, a similar outcome," head coach Ken Carver admitted. "Our match was another back and forth contest with SAGU, but had many more defensive hustle plays made by both teams in addition to the offensive production. We had our opportunities to close out the match in the fourth and fifth set with the leads we had, but we not able to execute down the stretch.
"Our young ladies fought valiantly and mentally stayed in the game. We've gone toe-to-toe with everyone during this first round so if we can keep focused on working hard, good things still lay ahead for this team before our regular season will wrap up."
In the first set, JBU was efficient with 14 recorded kills and only five errors, while holding SAGU to a .065 hitting percentage. The Golden Eagles quickly built a 6-2 advantage, before the contest tightened up. They never trailed after that point as the lead fluctuated, but JBU held on for the five point victory.
After dropping the second set by only four points, John Brown once again took the lead thanks to a game high 17 kills and .382 attacking rate. They came out of the gates on fire, quickly taking a 4-0 edge. Even though the gap closed to 19-18, the Golden Eagles scored six of the next eight points to capture the set.
With the contests knotted at two-sets apiece, the race to 15 was won by the visiting Lions. The back and forth affair saw ties at 4-4 and 7-7 before JBU took a 13-11 advantage off the SAGU service error. Three kills by Alexis Mealer and a service ace gave the opposition the 4-0 run they needed to win the set and match.
Offensively, the Golden Eagles were paced by sophomore Savanna Riney with 16 kills while freshman Callie Mullins added 12 and freshman Taylor Golmen was the only other in double-digits. Junior Lauren Cloud tallied three of the teams' six service aces while junior Jillian Blackman recorded 28 digs, passing the 1,000 career dig mark, and handed out six assists. Junior Morgan Fincham assisted on 30 attacks - a new career high - and finished with 15 digs for the double-double.
At the net defensively, Golmen was a force to the tune of five blocks, while Mullins and Micah Fouts combined for five others.
The Golden Eagles are midway through their four-game home stand at Bill George Arena and will look to flip the script against Mid-American Christian (Okla.) on Friday (Oct. 5) night at 7 p.m.
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