OKLAHOMA CITY -- The John Brown University volleyball team suffered a four-set loss at Oklahoma City (23-25, 17-25, 25-21, 23-25) on Wednesday (Sept. 6) evening inside Abe Lemons Arena, dropping its first Sooner Athletic match of the 2023 campaign.
Senior Savanna Riney led the Golden Eagles (5-5, 2-1 Sooner Athletic) in kills with 13, but no other Golden Eagle was able to breach the double-digit termination mark as JBU hit just .127 (49-27-173) on the night. Junior Erin Mullins contributed a team-high four blocks, while junior Julie Milligan notched a career-high 30 digs in the loss. Senior Morgan Fincham produced a double-double, dishing out 22 assists while adding 15 digs on defense.
The Golden Eagles used a 5-0 run to pull ahead early in the first set, 10-7, which included a trio of kills from Riney. After Oklahoma City (4-2, 3-0) closed the gap to one, a pair of Riney terminations again boosted a 5-1 visitors rally to increase the JBU margin to five, 19-14. After a small OCU rally cut back into the John Brown lead, the Stars were forced to take a timeout trailing by three, 22-19. The Stars then struck by piecing together a 6-1 set-ending run to take the opening set, 25-23.
A pair of big runs opened the second set. John Brown pulled ahead 5-0 before City could find the scoreboard, but the Stars then responded by tying it up early at six apiece. Seven ties later – this time at 14 all – block-assists from Mullins and sophomore Emma-Kate Schaefer gave the Golden Eagles a 15-14 advantage. However, similar to the first set, Oklahoma City responded late by scoring 13 of the next 16 points fueled by seven JBU errors, to grab a 25-17 win and a commanding 2-0 lead.
Eight more ties and a pair of lead changes peppered the third set, but a dump from Fincham ended a timely 4-0 John Brown run that broke a 19-19 tie, handing the visitors a 23-19 lead. After trading points and a termination from sophomore Ella Yarborough, Mullins finally ended the set, 25-21, as John Brown pulled within one set, 2-1.
Similar to the first set, seven ties and four lead changes highlighted back-and-forth action. A small City run of 4-0 broke open an 11-all tie, but down 19-15, the Golden Eagles made a run of its own. Kills from freshman Cora Roweton and junior Emma DeSanti were followed up by a Milligan ace that returned the lead late to John Brown, 20-19. The Stars would score four of the next five points, however, and close out the set, 25-23, and the match.
Ruby Kelley's 18 terminations led all attackers on the night, while Michela De Stefano added 12 kills and hit .345 on the night. Natalie Adams produced 41 assists on 47 Oklahoma City kills as the hosts finished at a .139 clip (47-24-166). Riley Winkler and Kaitlyn Dunlap each scooped up 22 in the back row in the win for the Stars.
John Brown will continue its eight-match road trip on Thursday (Sept. 7) evening in Bethany, Okla. when the Golden Eagles take on Southwestern Christian (Okla.) inside Pickens-Springer Gymnasium before heading to Salina, Kan. to participate in the Kansas Wesleyan Coyote Classic this weekend. First serve versus SCU is slated for 6 p.m. and will be carried live on the SAC Sports Network.
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