BETHANY, Okla. -- Powered by senior Taylor Golmen's 10 kills and .500 attacking efficiency, the John Brown University volleyball team cruised to a straight-sets sweep (25-9, 25-7, 25-17) over Southwestern Christian (Okla.) on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 12) inside Pickens-Springer Gymnasium.
John Brown (10-11, 9-4 SAC) displayed dominance on both offense and defense, recording 35 kills with a .293 hitting percentage, 11 service aces, and six blocks. The Golden Eagles held Southwestern Christian to a negative hitting percentage (-.061), forcing 22 attack errors throughout the match.
Julie Milligan was instrumental on defense, contributing a match-high 25 digs and career-high seven service aces to keep the pressure on the Eagles, which finished at a difficult .838 serve-receive (57-for-68).
In the first set with Milligan serving, John Brown jumped out to an 8-1 lead, paced by a pair of terminations from senior Savanna Riney and two Milligan aces. Southwestern Christian struggled to find any rhythm, committing multiple attack errors. After leading 18-9, the Golden Eagles closed the set on a 7-0 run, with three Milligan aces and two more Riney kills to complete the set.
The second set saw SCU briefly take a 3-0 lead, but JBU quickly turned things around with an 11-1 run, backstopped by five Eagle attacking errors. Riney and senior Erin Mullins combined to hit .538 (7-0-13) in the set, continuing the JBU dominance that featured another 7-0 set-clinching rally.
JBU jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the third, but Southwestern Christian fought back to tie the game at seven apiece. While five ties peppered the third set, JBU broke an 11-all deadlock and never trailed, riding a balanced offensive effort, led by junior Ella Yarborough's three kills on five swings (.600). The hosts would close within four, 20-16, but errors again hampered the SCU effort as two miscues down the stretch–and a final Yarborough termination after sophomore Kailana Chamnongchith's ace–allowed the visitors to finish off the sweep.
Golmen led JBU offensively with 10 kills on 18 attempts, hitting .500. Riney had an equally strong showing with nine kills, hitting .222 on 27 attempts, while freshman Tessa Burton dished out a career-high 14 assists. Junior Emma DeSanti contributed 10 assists and four digs to round out the distribution.
Defensively, Milligan anchored the back row, but Mullins had an impactful performance at the net, recording a trio of rejections in the front row.
Southwestern Christian (3-15, 1-12 SAC) struggled to maintain consistency, finishing with 16 kills and 22 attack errors for a negative hitting percentage (-.061). Nevaeh Ramsay and Paige McGee led the Eagles' attack with 5 kills each, but SCU could not overcome the combined 41 errors it committed on the afternoon.
John Brown will next face its travel partner, College of the Ozarks (Mo.), on Wednesday night (Oct. 16) in a critical Sooner Athletic matchup in Pt. Lookout. The match, slated for a 7 p.m. start time, will be carried live on the SAC Sports Network.
The Golden Eagles will then return home for a pair of weekend matches against the league's top two programs in Nelson (Texas) and Texas Wesleyan.
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