SILOAM SPRINGS -- Freshmen Savanna Riney and Micah Fouts each posted 10 terminations to lead the John Brown University volleyball team to a three-set sweep (25-23, 25-10, 25-14) of Southwestern Christian (Okla.) on Friday (March 5) night inside Bill George Arena.
The shorthanded Eagles (1-9, 0-4 Sooner Athletic) pushed the first set to seven ties and four lead changes, and a late 7-0 rally turned what was once a 21-16 John Brown lead into the visitors flirting with set point, 23-21. Finally Faith DeSouza's service error forced a side-out, and with sophomore Jenna Lowery serving, Fouts' back-to-back terminations setup Lowery's set-clinching ace. Fouts posted six of her kills in the first stanza.
John Brown (4-1, 3-1) made quick work of the final two sets, combining to hit .420 to improve to 2-0 inside Bill George Arena this season.
"I'm pleased with our team's effort tonight in bouncing back from Wednesday," head coach Ken Carver noted. "To Southwestern Christian's credit, they made the first set very interesting in the later stages, and we did a great job of earning our points through the match. We scored over 80 percent of our total points tonight – adding up kills, aces and blocks – and that is a phenomenally efficient number.
"While Micah, Sarah and Jaden had good attacking nights, Savanna came out swinging hard and showed everyone the athleticism and ability that made her one of the top high school players in the state of Arkansas. She's been working hard to get back into playing shape and up to speed with our systems of play. Beyond that, the fans got to see the depth our team has tonight – while we may be young, we have a lot of talent and can rely on a number of our players to carry the offensive load."
Riney posted all 10 terminations in the final two sets, hitting .381 (10-2-21) on the evening.
Fouts final numbers were just as impressive, notching double-digit kills for the second time this season on 18 swings – finishing at .500 – and posting a pair of solo blocks. Freshman Delaney Barnes (8-2-14) and senior Jaden Williams (3-0-5) each had efficient nights that allowed John Brown to feature its best single-match attack effort this season, ending the evening at a .325 mark (50-13-114).
Sophomore Lauren Cloud assisted on 22 of JBU's 50 terminations, while sophomore Jillian Blackman scooped up 22 Southwestern Christian attack attempts, posting over 20 digs for the fifth consecutive outing.
Tierney Sawyers led SCU with six kills, but the visiting Eagles were held to just 16 kills (.091) on the night.
John Brown will now travel west to face Oklahoma Panhandle State and Wayland Baptist (Texas) next weekend. The first contest inside Anchor D Arena will happen on Friday (March 12) at 6 p.m. before the Golden Eagles face the Pioneers in Plainview on Saturday in a 1 p.m. matinee matchup.
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