GOODWELL, Okla. -- Handing the Aggies its first home loss of the season, the John Brown University volleyball team rode a career-high 21 terminations from sophomore Ellie Lampton and finished off an incredible fifth-set run to clinch a 3-2 (25-23, 25-17, 23-25, 22-25, 16-14) victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State inside Anchor D Arena on Friday (March 12) night.
After taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the contest, the Golden Eagles (5-1, 4-1 Sooner Athletic) hit just .165 over the third and fourth sets as the hosts clawed back to even the match at two apiece. The momentum carried deep into the fifth set.
While the teams traded points in the fifth, a streak of three terminations pushed OPSU to an 11-7 lead. Then, a Savanna Riney kill changed the momentum – for good. Riney's kill jump-started a match-clinching 9-3 run that featured a pair of Lampton kills, a timely rejection from freshman Micah Fouts and a Jenna Lowery ace. Freshman Joanna Hayes' second kill of the match from the right pin ended the contest – and the Aggies' perfect 5-0 start to the season inside Anchor D Arena.
"Win or lose, tonight's match was one of those exciting games to be a part of," head coach Ken Carver said after his squad captured its second five-set win of the season on the road. "Homecoming weekend for OPSU and the gym was fairly full and loud. It made for a great atmosphere to play in.
"Tonight was just a classic example of teams taking big swings at the pins and which team was able to go on that crucial run at the right time. Ellie, Savanna and Delaney took a ton of swings tonight, and Joanna stepped up when she was called upon – I was extremely happy for her earning the match-winning kill."
In fact, it was another parade of freshman performances as it has been so often already this season. Behind Lampton's career outing, freshman Savanna Riney and Delaney Barnes each contributed career nights – boasting 19 and 16 kills, respectively, on a night that saw JBU take 200 swings – easily the most in a single match this season. Offensively, the visitors finished at a .210 mark (70-28-200) – but the defense kept Panhandle State below the .200 mark, and when it mattered most.
In the third and fourth sets, the hosts hit over .200 in each game, but in the fifth, a pair of blocks and 15 digs – five from sophomore Jillian Blackman – helped keep the Aggies at a .179 mark (8-3-28) as the hosts accounted for five errors in the final set, helping John Brown finish off the marathon victory.
Blackman easily posted a career-best 36 scoops on the night while sophomore Lauren Cloud conducted the Golden Eagle offense, assisting on 34 of JBU's 70 terminations – a career high.
The Aggies (9-3, 4-2) had three double-digit kill performances, led by Essence West's 19 kills. Celenia Toribio passed out 39 assists while Ebony Dykes mounted six blocks in the loss for Panhandle State.
The Golden Eagles will make their way to Plainview tonight before taking on Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Saturday (March 13) afternoon at 1 p.m.
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