PARKVILLE, Mo. -- In a quick turnaround after dominating William Woods (Mo.) the day prior, the John Brown University volleyball team improved to 8-3 overall on Saturday (Sept. 10) after a bounce-back 3-1 win over McPherson (Kan.) just an hour after suffering a 3-0 loss to No. 4 Park (Mo.) on the second day of the Park Classic inside the Breckon Sports Center.
In the Golden Eagles' four-set win over McPherson (23-25, 25-14, 25-17, 25-19), John Brown dropped the first set after battling back from a 22-17 deficit to take a 23-22 lead. The Bulldogs (7-6) scored the final three points to take the set, but it was all JBU from there.
Over the final three sets, the John Brown defense held MAC to a mere -.018 (25-27-109) attack effort as the Golden Eagles captured the final three sets in fairly pedestrian fashion.
Junior Savanna Riney swatted a match-leading 12 kills on 39 swings (.231) and, led by its middles in junior Micah Fouts and sophomore Taylor Golmen who racked up four blocks apiece, the JBU defense posted 11 team rejections.
In the back row, Riney completed the double-double with 10 digs, but senior Jillian Blackman stepped up with 28 digs, while sophomore Julie Milligan added 13 of her own.
Sophomore Callie Mullins contributed eight kills and hit .353 (8-2-17) and junior Delaney Barnes added another efficient performance (7-0-19) by finishing the match at .368.
Senior Lauren Cloud finished her sixth 20-assist effort of the year with 21 helpers, while senior Morgan Fincham added 18 of her own, allowing the Golden Eagle offense to hit .234 (46-12-145) on the afternoon.
In the first match of the day, Park bested the Golden Eagles in straight sets (13-25, 18-25, 19-25) as John Brown struggled to maintain offense against the host Pirates. Riney's nine kills paced the JBU offense, while Blackman dug up 24 in John Brown's third loss in its first 11 matches of the 2022 season.
John Brown will now rest for six days and continue its five-match road trip on Friday (Sept. 16) by returning to Sooner Athletic play against Oklahoma Panhandle State. The match is slated for a 6 p.m. start time inside Anchor D Arena and will be carried live on the SAC Sports Network.
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