SILOAM SPRINGS -- The league's leading hitter paced the offense which hit .250 on the afternoon, and the John Brown University volleyball squad swept past Oklahoma Panhandle State (25-22, 25-20, 25-23) and continued its streak inside Bill George Arena on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 22).
Junior Savanna Riney led all players with 17 kills on 34 attacks (.412) and added 16 digs for her 15th double-double of the season, and the Golden Eagle (19-5, 13-3 Sooner Athletic) offense hummed at a nice pace of .250 (52-16-144) to extend its winning streak to seven overall and to nine in Siloam Springs this season.
Six different players recorded at least four terminations for the hosts, including nine from sophomore Taylor Golmen (.381), and six apiece from senior Ellie Lampton and sophomore Lilly Ruston. Ruston also posted three block-assists – as did freshman Ella Yarborough – helping JBU finish with 5.0 team blocks on the afternoon.
"I'm extremely proud of our players' resiliency, perseverance and focus despite tired minds," head coach Ken Carver said of his players after last night's 2:22 marathon with Wayland Baptist "We did a much better job of limiting our unforced errors on the attacking and service front. Both of our setters worked hard in making wise choices in whom to set in the out-of-system opportunities and our attacking players did a good job of knowing when to be aggressive.
"Similar to Wayland Baptist, Panhandle State is very scrappy defensively and kept a lot of balls in play and the scores close. What pleased me the most was our ability to turn up our focus and execution at the end of each set to close out when we had the opportunity. The depth of our roster not only showed, but contributed to helping our team earn a well-deserved 3-0 record on the week."
In the first set up 23-22, John Brown closed with a Ruston-Yarborough block that was quickly followed up with a Ruston termination to the end the frame. The second featured a 20-20 tie, and the hosts pulled together a 5-0 rally, assisted by a Riney kill and sophomore Julie Milligan's ace to hand the Golden Eagles a commanding 2-0 lead.
The third period was no different, as the teams were square at 23 apiece, but a Riney kill allowed John Brown to side out, and junior Micah Fouts landed a kill in the middle to end the match. The afternoon featured 18 ties and 11 lead changes between the squads.
Senior Lauren Cloud followed up a career high from the previous night with 25 assists, while counterpart senior Morgan Fincham added 19. Senior Jillian Blackman flirted with 30 digs, but finished with 28 – the 10th time she's crossed the 20-dig mark this season.
No Aggie (16-10, 8-8) reached double-digit kills, but Ava Newby contributed seven terminations in the losing effort. Ebony Dykes helped in the front row to the tune of three block-assists and Gracie Soza scooped up 20 attacks in the back row.
The Golden Eagles now embark on a three-match road trip, starting in Chickasha when John Brown faces Science & Arts (Okla.) on Friday evening (Oct. 28) at 6 p.m. inside the Drover Fieldhouse. The contest is marked for a 6 p.m. start time, and will be carried live on the SAC Sports Network.
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