SILOAM SPRINGS -- After a narrow first-set win, the John Brown University volleyball team cruised in the final two sets to record a sweep (26-24, 25-15, 25-13) of Central Christian (Kan.) on Friday (Sept. 22) night inside Bill George Arena.
Down 20-18 late in the first, a pair of kills from junior Taylor Golmen helped jump-start a 6-3 comeback that gave the Golden Eagles (11-7, 4-3 Sooner Athletic) a 24-23 advantage. After tying the set at 24, the Tigers recorded consecutive miscues to hand John Brown the 1-0 advantage.
It was all Golden Eagles after that, as the hosts hit .313 over the last two frames as JBU notched its sixth straight-sets sweep of the season.
"I was proud of our team's effort tonight against a very scrappy Central Christian team," head coach Ken Carver said. "The first set was a back-and-forth affair, but after a timeout, our team responded and showed poise down the stretch and secure the first set win. After the first set, our team continued to get stronger and play better the remainder of the match.
"While we had a few too many service errors for my liking, our aggressive serving helped to keep the Central Christian offense at bay and forced them to play out of system the majority of the match. Our back row defenders worked hard to put their out of system shots back into rhythm and tempo and allow our setters to run a very spread offense."
After 12 ties and four lead changes in the first, John Brown trailed only once the rest of the match.
Junior middles Erin Mullins (.308) and Golmen (.333) each hit over .300, with Golmen launching a team-leading eight kills, while Mullins contributed four in a balanced offensive attack to accompany four block-assists. Freshman Cora Roweton added six in the win.
"Taylor and Erin were very efficient in terminating the sets they were getting," Carver added. "I was pleased to see with all of the players we played and utilizing all three setters, that our offense was consistent throughout the entire match."
Senior Morgan Fincham ran the offense to the tune of 16 assists, while junior Emma DeSanti added 11 helpers. In the back row, junior Grace Barfknecht scooped 14, while senior Savnna Riney and junior Julie Milligan each added an even 10 digs. Milligan added three aces from the service line.
The John Brown offense hit at a .264 (37-9-106) clip, and limited the Tigers (4-11, 1-6) to a mere .025 (29-26-118), including a -.125 efficiency in the third set.
Amanda Dotter and Kamryn Vanatta each posted nine terminations for Central Christian.
John Brown wraps up its four-match homestand on Saturday (Sept. 23) afternoon when it welcomes Langston (Okla.) to Bill George Arena for a matinee contest. Scheduled for a 1:05 pm first serve, the match will air live on the SAC Sports Network.
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