SILOAM SPRINGS -- The Golden Eagles entered the match 9-0 this season when holding the opposition below .100 attack efficiency, and tonight proved no different as the John Brown University volleyball team swept (25-12, 25-12, 25-13) past College of the Ozarks (Mo.) on Wednesday night (Oct. 19) inside Bill George Arena.
The Golden Eagles (17-5) began its three-game homestand by tying a season high 11.0 team blocks and limited the visiting Bobcats (16-12) to a mere .034 (22-19-89) hitting on the night. JBU responded with a season-best .435 (43-6-85) effort in the front row.
After falling behind quickly 5-0, John Brown regrouped and on the serving of sophomore Julie Milligan, rallied on a 17-0 run and never looked back in the match that lasted exactly 60 minutes.
"Really proud of our team's overall performance coming off of our fall break," head coach Ken Carver noted. "Other than a slightly slow start to the first set, our team executed at a very high level in all facets of the game. Our serving game was on point this evening and was able to keep CofO out of system for the majority of the match.
"We also improved our blocking and set our new season-best with 3.67 blocks per set. Overall, a great start to the three-game week and looking forward to carrying this momentum into important conference matches."
The visitors had little defense against the Golden Eagles attack that featured four different playing attacking over a .400 mark.
Junior Savanna Riney led the hosts with 12 kills on 19 swings (.474), while sophomore Taylor Golmen also figured in double-digit termination territory with 10 kills on 15 swings (.667). Off the bench, sophomore Lilly Ruston handed in a fine outing with six terminations on 12 attempts (.417) and freshman Madeline Nolan put down five of seven attempts (.714) on the night.
Senior Lauren Cloud dished out 26 of John Brown's 40 helpers, and added three of JBU's nine service aces, as did Milligan.
On defense, eight different Golden Eagles earned at least a block, but Riney's five block-assists finished as the team leader. Golmen and junior Micah Fouts each added four, and freshman Ella Yarborough added two helpers and a solo rejection. In the back row, Milligan accounted for 11 of the 42 digs the Golden Eagles needed to win – its second fewest digs in a victory this season.
The win allowed John Brown to improve to 14-6 all-time in Siloam Springs versus College of the Ozarks since 1993.
JBU continues its three-game homestand Friday night (Oct. 21) when it welcomes Wayland Baptist (Texas) to Bill George Arena in the squads' second showdown of the season. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be featured live on the SAC Sports Network.
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