SILOAM SPRINGS, ARK. - The Oklahoma City volleyball team battles hard and keeps it close but can't overcome John Brown as the Golden Eagles survive in four sets on Tuesday night.
Score
John Brown 3, Oklahoma City 1
- Oklahoma City (9-9, 8-5 SAC)
- John Brown (17-7, 10-3 SAC)
Match Summary
Set 1: 25-19 (JBU)
Set 2: 25-19 (JBU)
Set 3: 25-16 (OCU)
Set 4: 25-18 (JBU)
Set 1
The first set began with John Brown scoring the first two points followed up with three straight points from OCU as Gabrielle Fjeseth delivered a kill for the Stars and Jaiden Downey served up an ace to take a 3-2 lead. Neither team could stretch out much of a lead however John Brown remained in from throughout the early portion of the set. OCU tied it up six different times before John Brown took its biggest lead of 13-10 up to this point. Ruby Kelley and Natalie Adams distributed a pair of kills to bring the Stars back to within one. The Golden Eagles then rattled off an 8-2 run to take what was the largest lead of the set. Oklahoma City did not turn away as the Stars battled back to within four as Kelley, Rylee Steward, and Hannah Grundy helped bring the Stars closer. JBU was able to score on the next three out of four possessions to give the Golden Eagles a 25-19 win in the first set.
Set 2
OCU jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the second set, taking its biggest lead so far in the match. Grundy supplied two kills along with Downey securing her second ace of the night as Emma Nickerson gave the Stars the three-point lead with a kill of her own. The Golden Eagles turned right back around and recorded an 8-1 run to take an 11-6 lead. The Stars were able to cut the JBU lead down to two but yet again John Brown went on another run to take a steady lead of 18-11 going into an Oklahoma City timeout. OCU closed the gap to as small as four after kills from Steward and Kelley however JBU was able to grow its lead and stay in front to take the second set 25-19 for the second time.
Set 3
OCU completely turned it around in the third set as the Stars went up 1-0 and never surrendered the lead. OCU got up 10-4 off a kill from Macy Edwards and then a block from the pair of Edwards and Marina Kalajdzic. The Stars continued to keep their foot on the gas as Steward, Kalajdzic, and Kelley all contributed kills to help grow the lead out to 20-12. Oklahoma City was able to finish off the Golden Eagles as Edwards and Kelley continued to dominate while Grundy collected two kills with the final one clinching the victory in set three for a 25-16 win.
Set 4
Looking to stay alive, the Stars fell behind early 6-3 after John Brown tallied a 6-2 run. OCU was able to claw its way tying the match 11-11 after a 5-1 run thanks to a pair of kills from Steward and an ace from Kaitlyn Dunlap. After the OCU run John Brown was able to turn in a 4-1 run of its own to take a 15-12 lead heading into an OCU timeout. Out of the break, Oklahoma City its way back with three straight points after an ace from Grundy and a kill from freshman Adams. Sitting at 15-15 John Brown scored three consecutive points only for OCU to right back at them with three more points to retie the game yet again after an ace from Kelley and a kill by Steward. At 18-18, John Brown closed out the set scoring the next seven points to conclude set four. The Stars fought back so many times however the Golden Eagles were able to close it out on a 7-0 run to win the match.
GAME NOTES
- Oklahoma City banked 45 kills on 153 total attacks with a .131 hitting percentage.
- John Brown held the advantage with 51 kills on 154 attacks to give the Golden Eagles a .214 attack percentage.
- The Stars tallied 71 digs with six blocks and 37 assists.
- OCU delivered nine aces making it the second most in a four-set match this season.
- Rylee Steward and Ruby Kelley secured a match-high of 12 kills each. Steward finished with a .407 attack percentage while Kelley racked up nine digs and two blocks.
- Hannah Grundy finished with nine kills on a .364-hitting percentage. Grundy's nine kills solidify a new season high after passing her previous total of four that also came against John Brown back in early September.
- Natalie Adams came away with 26 kills making it the 16th time this season that the freshman has earned 20 or more kills in a match. Adams also tallied three blocks along with two aces.
- Kaitlyn Dunlap brought in 20 digs on the night making it the third consecutive match with 20 more digs.
- After beating John Brown in four sets back on Sept. 6 the Golden Eagles even out of the season series with the win on Tuesday.
- Despite the loss, OCU still owns a commanding lead in the all-time series with a 30-13 overall record against John Brown dating back to 2006.
NEXT GAME
The Oklahoma City volleyball team returns home on Friday, Oct. 13 for its annual Dig Pink Game as the Stars take on rival Southwestern Christian inside Abe Lemons Arena at 6 PM.
