OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Golden Eagle hitting, which had led the Sooner Athletic after the first two weeks of the season, faltered, hitting just .120 as the John Brown University volleyball team fell in straight sets in its league opener at Oklahoma City on Wednesday (Aug. 31) evening inside Abe Lemons Arena.
John Brown (3-2, 0-1 Sooner Athletic) either led or was tied after the 20-point mark in all three sets, but were unable to close out its chances. The Stars, meanwhile, nearly doubled the visitors' hitting mark as City hit .232 (41-15-112), improving to 4-1 and 2-0 in conference play.
The close match featured 35 ties and 17 lead changes, including eight lead changes in the third set alone.
JBU lead by as many as four in the first set, 16-12, but City scored five of the next six points and later broke a 21-all tie by netting four of the next six points. Senior Ellie Lampton's kill gave the visitors a 21-20 advantage in the second set with sights set on knotting the match at one apiece, but Oklahoma City then rattled off five consecutive points, fueled by three straight John Brown miscues.
The Golden Eagles' 5-1 outburst to open the third evaporated quickly as the teams traded leads eight times. Armed with a 21-20 lead, John Brown conceded the next three points, but kills from juniors Savanna Riney and Delaney Barnes pulled the visitors within one, 24-23. City made good on its first match point, however, closing the match out in three sets (23-25, 21-25, 23-25).
Although John Brown didn't feature a hitter in double-figure terminations, Riney boasted nine kills on 34 swings, while Lampton added seven on 21 attempts (.286). Sophomore Taylor Golmen hit .400, but was limited to just 10 attempts on the night.
On the back row, senior Jillian Blackman scooped up 16 digs, and senior Morgan Fincham passed out 15 helpers on 34 John Brown kills (34-21-108).
Rylee Steward and Catelyn Vargas contributed 14 and 10 kills, respectively, to the City attack effort, and Emma Vance racked up 21 helpers in the win.
The Golden Eagles return to action tomorrow night (Sept. 1) when it faces Southwestern Christian (Okla.) at 6 p.m. in Bethany.
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