SILOAM SPRINGS -- Junior Erin Mullins set a new single-match program record by hitting .867, terminating a match-high 14 times, five Golden Eagles hit better than .250 and the hosts doubled up the opposition with 10 service aces as the John Brown University volleyball team used a 3-1 win (25-20, 25-19, 23-25, 25-15) over Science & Arts (Okla.) on Thursday (Nov. 2) night inside Bill George Arena to setup a winner-take-third situation in the regular season finale.
The Golden Eagles' (21-9, 14-5 Sooner Athletic) sets up a pivotal regular season finale on Saturday (Nov. 3) evening with Mid-America Christian, as the Evangels invade Bill George Arena tied with John Brown in the Sooner Athletic standings. The winner clinches third place outright, and will begin next week's SAC tournament opposite the field's overall top seed.
Mullins turned in a practically unstoppable performance, as the middle hitter went off for a career-high 14 terminations on an incredible 15 swings (.867), setting a new single-match program record. Joining her was fellow middle, junior Taylor Golmen, with 11 kills on 24 swings (.417). Senior Savanna Riney also chipped in with 11 terminations, while sophomore Madeline Nolan and senior Delaney Barnes each contributed seven kills in the Golden Eagles' sweep of Science & Arts. All five attackers hit over. 250 as John Brown capped off a .287 effort (59-18-143) while hitting .333 in the three sets won.
"Tonight was a great overall performance and, with the exception of the third set, we did a very good job in terminating swings for points" head coach Ken Carver noted. "Our first-ball contact was consistent, and that was evident by the amount of times we were able to set our middle attackers. Erin and Taylor both had monster games and all three setters did a good job in knowing when to feed our middles and when to move the ball around to our other attackers.
"While we made more serving errors than I would've preferred, in the end, they were offset by our 10 aces on the night. I was really proud of our back row defense and how they read USAO's attackers when they attempted to put balls into the deep corners while making a number of hustle plays to keep rallies alive that ultimately end up as points for our team."
Junior Julie Milligan, who was honored in the pregame for surpassing 1,000 career digs, produced a career-high 35 scoops in the back row, marking the third time this season over the 30-dig mark. She also added four of John Brown's ten aces from the service line. Senior Morgan Fincham and freshman Sara Welch each passed out 23 assists, as Welch set a new career-high mark.
In the front row, John Brown received six blocks from Mullins – two solo – while Barnes and Riney each threw up a pair of rejections. The Drovers were limited to a .199 (43-14-146) efficiency on the match, which improved after a difficult start.
The win guaranteed the Golden Eagles hosting duties in the Sooner Athletic tournament quarterfinal round, scheduled for Tuesday (Nov. 7). Game time is still to be determined, as is the opponent.
"This was an important win [to get to secure a quarterfinal home match]," added Carver. "We're looking forward to another very competitive match with MACU to end our regular season."
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