JBU volleyball rallies for win
BATESVILLE — Four ties and a late lead change nearly derailed a perfect season, but the John Brown University volleyball team rallied for three consecutive points facing match points to hand Lyon (Ark.) a 3-2 (18-25, 25-21, 25-23, 16-25, 17-15) setback on Saturday evening inside Becknell Gymnasium.
Freshman Emily Essick and senior Taylor Glover produced consecutive terminations late in the fifth set, moving the Golden Eagle (3-0) lead to six, 13-7, and just two points away from clinching the contest. Lyon responded with an 8-1 run, however, fueled by four John Brown errors — allowing the Scot to take a crucial 15-14 lead.
Facing match point, Essick’s kill squeezed through the middle block – tying the game at 15, and a Lyon attack error followed by sophomore Lauren Cloud’s second ace of the contest completed the dramatic fifth set.
“I’m so proud of our team’s resiliency and mental toughness in getting the victory tonight,” said head coach Ken Carver. “Each match this week has provided opportunities for our team to grow and mature. Tonight was an opportunity to learn how to win after traveling a lot of miles the past two days. We also learned how to weather the roller coaster that was the ebb and flow of the entire match and still look to play, serve and defend aggressively.”
Cloud, the nation’s top server at 3.4 aces per game, passed out 26 assists and added 10 digs on the back line. Four Golden Eagles scooped up double-digit digs – paced by sophomore Jillian Blackman’s 22 digs, her third 20-dig effort of the week.
While the John Brown offense struggled at times with the Lyon blocking effort — resulting in 10.0 team blocks for the hosts, the Golden Eagles also managed to keep the hosts below .200 (6329-174). Freshman Delany Barnes posted five block-assists and added eight kills on 21 swings (.238). Sophomore Sarah Laaker added three block-assists and seven kills without committing an error.
“While Emily and Ellie led our team in kills, I liked how our middles performed tonight. I also wanted to give a shout out to Taylor for her senior leadership on the court and willingness to play out of position for our team tonight. I’m really pleased with the poise, resiliency and determination our young team has displayed this first week of the season. Going undefeated is special and is a good start to our condensed season.”
Essick’s 15 terminations, a career-high, led John Brown, while sophomore Ellie Lampton added 12 of her own.
Alley Edwards and Layne Smith each posted 10 kills, but Lyon’s Maggee Hobson terminated 27 attempts on 68 swings (.221) to lead all players on the night. Adia Sherbyn posted 32 digs while Madison James led the blocking effort with five block-assists and a pair of solo rejections.
John Brown will now prepare for its biggest road contest of the season — a matchup with No. 16 Oklahoma City inside Abe Lemons Arena on Wednesday.