SILOAM SPRINGS -- Bolstered by a strong 22-9 record and wins over ranked opponents, the John Brown University volleyball team is dancing for the first time in 49 years as the Golden Eagles were awarded an at-large berth into the NAIA National Volleyball Championships, the NAIA National office announced on Monday morning (Nov. 14).
John Brown enters the field of 48 teams for the first time in program history, having two victories over championship-qualifying teams in the No. 25 Ottawa (Kan.) and No. 20 Columbia (Mo.). Pushing undefeated No. 8 Southwestern A.G. (Texas) to five sets and advancing to the Sooner Athletic tournament semifinal round for the sixth time in nine season all undoubtedly played a role in the Golden Eagles landing one of the 12 at-large berths up for grabs.
JBU will take on No. 14 Bellevue (Neb.) in the Opening Round on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 19) at 5 p.m. inside the Bellevue West High School Gymnasium.
HOW THIS ALL WORKS
STAGE I: There are 24 Opening Round matchups at host institution sites around the nation on Saturday. The 24 Opening Round winners will then advance to the final site at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.
STAGE II: Once in Iowa, the 24 Opening Round winners will be seeded into eight pools of three teams. Each team faces the other two teams in the pool from Nov. 30 through Dec. 2.
STAGE III: With one team from each pool emerging with the best record (or based on a series of tiebreak scenarios), the eight pool winners then are seeded into a final eight-team single-elimination bracket, beginning with the national quarterfinal round on Dec. 3 and culminating in the title game, slated for Dec. 6 on ESPN3. |
John Brown boasts the best offense in the Sooner Athletic, hitting .221 (1518-550-4377) on the season. The Golden Eagles are led on offense by All-Sooner Athletic first teamer Savanna Riney, who led the SAC in kills (423), kills per set (3.71) and points per set (4.27). In the middle of the front row looms fellow first-team selection Taylor Golmen, whose .361 attacking efficiency not only led the league, but ranks sixth among attackers nationwide. On defense, three-time All-SAC honoree Jillian Blackman patrols the back line to the tune of 5.54 digs per set. First-team selection Lauren Cloud and senior Morgan Fincham run the Golden Eagle offense, combining for 11.0 assists per set, and sophomore Julie Milligan leads the effort from the service line, sending over a team-leading 40 aces on the year as JBU's 212 total aces ranks 41st in the nation.
Bellevue returns to the National Championships for the seventh-straight season and the 14th time in the last 16 years. The Bruins earned an at-large bid after finishing as the runner-up in the North Star Athletic Association tournament last weekend, after sharing the NSAA regular-season title with No. 9 Viterbo (Wisc.). The V-Hawks secured the league's automatic berth after capturing the NSAA tournament title with a four-set victory over the Bruins.
The Bruins are making their 15th appearance (2000, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022) in the National Tournament, and this will be the 12th time that BU has played an Opening Round match. In its previous 11 Opening Round matches, BU has posted a record of 8-3, advancing to Sioux City on eight occasions.
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