NOTE: After the completion of the season, Wayland Baptist (Texas) forfeited the match due to an ineligible player.
SILOAM SPRINGS -- In a battle of attrition, Wayland Baptist (Texas) closed out sets two through four and shrugged off a pedestrian first set as the John Brown University volleyball team fell to the Pioneers in four sets (25-22, 20-25, 22-25, 23-25) on Friday (Sept. 17) night inside Bill George Arena.
Four Golden Eagles posted double-digit termination totals, led by junior Ellie Lampton (13), freshman Callie Mullins (12), sophomore Savanna Riney (11) and freshman Taylor Golmen (11).
Despite the balanced offense, John Brown (7-9, 2-3 Sooner Athletic) hit just .187 (56-27-155) as both teams hit below .100 in the first set. Wayland then seemed to find its offense, hitting .322 the rest of the way to finish .255 (58-21-145) on the night.
Paxton Patterson led all hitters with 16 kills on 35 swings (.343) for the Pioneers (12-4, 5-1). Amber Daniel contributed 14 kills while Tatijana Markic and Jayla Schultz added 13 and 12, respectively.
The contest was statistically a dead heat, with Wayland leading in kills, 58-56, John Brown edging in aces, 5-4, and the Pioneers holding advantages in blocks, 8.0-6.0, assists, 56-51, and the Golden Eagles earning six more scoops, 60-54.
Junior Lauren Cloud passed out the majority of the assists with 24, and completed the double-double with 12 digs and served up a pair of aces. Junior Morgan Fincham racked up the other 21 helpers.
On defense, sophomore Micah Fouts and Riney contributed four and three block-assists, respectively, in the front row while Riney earned her second double-double of the season with a team-best 15 digs in the back row. Junior Jillian Blackman also came up with 12 digs in the loss.
John Brown will now look for a weekend split when it welcomes Oklahoma Panhandle State to Bill George Arena tomorrow (Sept. 18) afternoon. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. and will broadcast live on the SAC Sports Network.
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