COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Junior Savanna Riney had the match of her career so far, launching the John Brown University volleyball team to a five-set victory over No. 25 Ottawa (Kan.) by smacking a career-high 22 kills and finished her first double-double of the season with a career-best 25 digs as the Golden Eagles ousted the Braves (22-25, 25-16, 21-25, 25-22, 15-10) on the first day of the Hampton Inn Classic.
Later in the day, the Golden Eagles (1-1) played to another five-set contest, this time falling to Evangel (25-23, 14-25, 21-25, 25-21, 12-15). Riney, junior Delaney Barnes and sophomore Taylor Golmen each contributed 12 terminations, but the Valor (2-3) offense was too much, hitting .310 (69-21-155) on the night, and used a 3-0 run with the match tied at 10 apiece in the fifth set to deny JBU a 2-0 opening day of the 2022 season.
Golmen hit an incredible .600 (12-0-20) against Evangel, and added a pair of aces and four blocks. Junior Micah Fouts also hit .500 (8-0-16) and added a trio of rejections in the loss.
Against Ottawa, Riney posted 22 kills on 50 attempts (.360), while Barnes contributed 14 terminations and five block assists. Senior Ellie Lampton joined the double-digit kill club with 10 kills and a pair of aces in the victory.
Overall against the Braves, John Brown hit .188 (66-29-197), with the offense running from 32 assists via senior Lauren Cloud and 19 helpers from senior Morgan Fincham. Cloud also posted a double-double with 18 digs, while senior Jillian Blackman boasted a match-high 35 scoops.
Golmen, Lampton and Barnes each posted kills as the Golden Eagles started the fifth set versus Ottawa on a 10-1 romp, its only blemish a serving error. Up 13-4, the Braves rallied on a 5-0 run to pull within four, 13-9, but kills 21 and 22 from Riney on the afternoon ended the contest before Ottawa could complete a comeback bid.
The Golden Eagles open day two of the Hampton Inn Classic with a contest with Tabor (Kan.) at 11 a.m., and end the weekend by taking on tournament host #20 Columbia (Mo.) at 3 p.m.
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