BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The John Brown University volleyball team opened its 2024 season with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Grand View (Iowa) on Friday afternoon (Aug. 23) inside the Lied Activity Center.
The Golden Eagles (1-0), led by senior Taylor Golmen's 17 kills and .500 hitting (17-1-32), prevailed in a tightly contested match that went the distance.
JBU secured the win with set scores of 25-23, 20-25, 25-20, 23-25, and 16-14. The Golden Eagles fared well offensively, hitting .215 (59-21-177) for the match while limiting Grand View to a .119 (59-35-201) hitting percentage.
Junior Ella Yarborough turned in a flawless attack effort, smacking six errorless kills on 13 swings (.462).
The Vikings (0-1) committed 14 more hitting errors than JBU (1-0), which was attributable to the 10 team blocks the John Brown front line threw at the net. Junior Erin Mullins was a force at the net, contributing 10 kills, 7.0 blocks, and three aces. Junior Emma DeSanti orchestrated the offense with 31 assists and also added 5.0 blocks.
Senior Julie Milligan and freshman Mia Baedke anchored the back row with 22 digs apiece. Sophomore transfer Kailana Chamnongchith assisted 18 terminations in her Golden Eagle debut.
The sides traded set wins through the first four frames, and continued with four early ties in the fifth and deciding game. Level at four apiece, a quick 6-0 run from John Brown built a temporary lead, 10-4. After exchanging points, the Golden Eagles enjoyed a 14-9 lead, but the Vikings fought back to tie the score at 14. Golmen then delivered a clutch kill, followed by an ace to seal the victory for the Golden Eagles.
Ellie Dougherty accumulated 20 terminations in the loss for Grand View, but none of GVU's five primary attackers could find an efficiency greater than .259. The five were limited to a .164 attack efficiency combined.
In the second match of the day, JBU lost in straight sets (21-25, 19-25, 16-25) to McPherson (Kan.) (2-0) to close out the first day of the GoSarpy.com Invitational.
Senior Savanna Riney led the Golden Eagles (1-1) with nine kills. Senior Grace Barfknecht added a team-high 10 digs in the back row.
John Brown was limited offensively to just a .073 attacking efficiency (24-17-96).
JBU will finish out the tournament with a pair of Saturday (Aug. 24) matchups with Morningside (Iowa) and Dordt (Iowa) at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively. The pair of contest will be broadcast live via BallerTV.com for a fee.
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