Business is booming in Siloam Springs for volleyball, as the John Brown Golden Eagles have been selected as one of the teams participating in the NAIA Tournament for the first time in program history. This historic moment serves, up to this point in the season, as the highlight of a 2022 run that has taken the program to new heights. Under the leadership of head coach Ken Carver, in his ninth season, the Golden Eagles finished 22-9 overall, with a 14-6 record in conference play during the regular season. This total includes wins over multiple ranked opponents and a 10-2 record inside Bill George Arena, their best home record since 2019.
Their regular season performance was good enough to secure third place in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings, as well as hosting duties in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. During that round, the Golden Eagles sent the home crowd away happy for one final time on the season, with a thrilling five-set victory over Oklahoma City, the sixth seed in the tournament, on Tuesday, Nov. 8. After dropping the first set by a score of 25-11, JBU was able to make a double-digit comeback to take the second set and even up the match at one (34-32). The third set also went JBU’s way, though OCU was able to force a fifth set of volleyball by taking the fourth. From the start of the final frame, JBU dominated and sealed the deal with a 15-7 win to punch their tickets to the semifinals in Waxahachie, Texas. This marked the sixth time in the Carver era’s nine seasons that the Golden Eagles were able to play in the conference tournament semifinals.
Their matchup against Texas Wesleyan on Friday, Nov. 11, was one that was hotly-contested throughout, as both teams split the first two sets, with Texas Wesleyan taking the first, while JBU responded with a double-digit win in the second. The Rams were able to build up some distance between themselves and the Golden Eagles in key moments of the third and fourth sets, though, to snag a four-set victory over JBU. The loss squarely put JBU on the NAIA Tournament bubble, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Golden Eagles from being one of the teams selected for the 48-team field.
Now, after making it into the national tournament for the first time in program history, they’ll look to hit another milestone this week, aiming to secure their first NAIA Tournament win. The team that stands in their way is #14 Bellevue, who enters the tournament flying high after breezing through the season with a 26-7 record and dominating the competition in the North Star Athletic Association, where they accumulated a 13-1 record in conference play. After falling in the NSAA Tournament Championship to #9 Viterbo, the Bruins will look for quick redemption in the opening round as they attempt to put JBU’s historic 2022 season to an end.
These are two teams whose paths do not cross often. They have only faced off seven times before, and only twice since 2006. Bellevue has taken the last three matchups between the two, though JBU took the first four. The teams have had two common opponents on their regular season schedules in the forms of Evangel and McPherson. The Bruins swept Evangel on Friday, Aug. 26, while JBU lost to Evangel in five sets on the same day. The Bruins also scored a dominant three-set sweep over McPherson on Saturday, Sep. 17 in Bellevue, while John Brown took a four-setter over McPherson during the Park Classic on Sep. 10. The Golden Eagles possess a lot of firepower offensively, led by junior Savanna Riney, who has 423 kills on the season. Sophomore Taylor Golmen (247) and senior Ellie Lampton (226) have also surpassed the 200 mark on kills during the 2022 campaign. The Golden Eagles will look to contain a Bellevue offense that also has no shortage of weapons, with four players who have at least 239 kills this season. The Bruins possess the highest rate of kills per set (14.27) in the country and the second-highest amount of points per set (18), as well as a hitting percentage that ranks just outside of the top ten nationally (.238%).
The Bruins and the Golden Eagles are scheduled to do battle at 5:00 PM on Saturday, Nov. 19, in Bellevue, Nebraska. The winner will advance to Sioux City, Iowa, where the rest of the tournament will be played.
Photo thanks to Gina Godding