SILOAM SPRINGS -- A lopsided first set, a marathon second frame and an early lead in the final period culminated in an incredible five-set (11-25, 34-32, 25-21, 17-25, 15-7) victory for the John Brown University volleyball program over Oklahoma City on Tuesday night (Nov. 8) evening inside Bill George Arena, vaulting the Golden Eagles to Waxahachie and one win closer to earning the program's first-ever bid to the NAIA National Championships.
With the win, the Golden Eagles (22-8) improve to 6-3 in quarterfinal round action in the Carver era, and for the third time this season, will meet No. 23 Texas Wesleyan in the semifinal round with the Sooner Athletic's second autoberth to the big dance possibly at stake on Friday night.
Senior Lauren Cloud went down with a temporary injury early in the first set, allowing the Stars (13-15) to quickly capitalize, running away with the first set.
Cloud then returned to action, and directed the John Brown offense to the longest rally Bill George Arena has ever seen. Facing down a 20-10 deficit already in a 1-0 hole, the Golden Eagles made a statement run, powered by two kills apiece from freshman Madeline Nolan and junior Savanna Riney. Alongside the terminations, the Stars committed nine errors that allowed the Golden Eagles to complete an unprecedented 14-3 run that handed the hosts a 24-23 lead. Then the race was on.
With the hosts leading 24-23, a combined nine ties, four lead changes and 10 match points later were required before #goJBU VB clinched the longest set in Bill George Arena history, fueling the Golden Eagles' epic quarterfinal round win on Tuesday night!
Relive the final three points of the frame that took 38 minutes to finally decider a winner.
Posted by John Brown University Athletics on Tuesday, November 8, 2022
A combined nine ties, four lead changes and 10 match points later, Nolan gave Bill George Arena a reason to erupt with a set-ending termination from the left side that completed a string of three-straight kills from senior Ellie Lampton and sophomore Callie Mullins that drew the season series rubber match to a 1-1 tie.
The hosts took control of the match in the third that featured an 8-0 JBU run that turned a 15-12 City advantage into a 20-15 Golden Eagle lead. The visitors then took seven of the next 11 points as John Brown held onto a narrow 23-22 lead. With the momentum in City's favor, a pair of errors from OCU handed the control of the match to John Brown for the first time in the evening.
The fourth set included City racing out to an 11-4 lead, never looking back, mandating the teams compete in a fifth and deciding set, with both squads' seasons hanging in the balance.
Back-to-back terminations from Riney and sophomore Taylor Golmen opened up a commanding 5-0 lead for John Brown and, after briefly trading points, consecutive kills from Mullins and Nolan pushed the lead to seven, 11-4. Then in a deciding stretch, the hosts received a rare dig-kill from junior Brittney Ware in the back row, a Nolan termination and a Nolan-Golmen rejection that setup set point. Delayed by only one rally this time, Golmen's push to the back left corner ended the match that lasted 2:22, finally ending at 9:27 p.m. JBU hit .308 (11-3-26) in the final period.
Riney led all players on offensive with 16 kills, hitting .190 on the night. Lampton and Golmen each contributed nine terminations, Mullins produced eight, and Nolan contributed an important six kills off the bench and hit .333 on the night. As a team, largely due to the difficulties surrounding the first set, the Golden Eagles finished .158 (54-29-158) on the evening.
Cloud passed out 23 of her 24 assists in the final four sets and 10 digs, while senior Morgan Fincham added 19 helpers.
On defense, senior Jillian Blackman racked up 23 scoops in the back row, and in the front, sophomore Lilly Ruston accounted for six of John Brown's 16 total blocks.
The Stars produced a trio of double-figure attackers, led by Ruby Kelley's 14. Catelyn Vargas and Rylee Steward added 12 and 11 terminations, respectively. The defensive story for the visitors was the presence of Emma Vance in the front row, as she block-assisted 10 times – leading the Stars to 18 team blocks on 30 block-assists. While City had three players with a trio of aces each, the Stars committed 17 service errors on the night, a season high.
City finished the marathon hitting at a .232 clip (58-23-151), but committed 48 total errors.
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