SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. – It is not possible for a volleyball match score to be any closer than the match was between Mid-America Christian University and John Brown University on Wednesday night. After five sets of action, the teams were separated by two total points in the match, but unfortunately for MACU, the final set went against them.
MACU (10-12, 5-8 SAC) battled back from a 2-0 hole in the match to force a fifth set, but John Brown (11-8, 10-4 SAC) fought off a match point chance for the Evangels and took the final set to claim the victory 25-19, 25-23, 19-25, 23-25, 16-14.
The Evangels got off to a very slow start on the night, and JBU came out blistering the ball. Midway through the first set, JBU had only one attack error, and they were attacking the ball at a .409 clip as a team as they built a 21-11 lead. The Evangels, however, got things rolling late in the set and used an 8-2 run to close the gap to four points at 23-19 before JBU closed out the set with a 25-19 win.
For the rest of the night, the teams battled fiercely, and they stayed within a few points of each other all night.
MACU opened the next three sets in succession by winning the first point of each frame. In the second set, Alexa Bass notched consecutive aces to start the stanza, and the Evangels opened a pair of four point leads before JBU rallied to tie the set at 9-9. The Golden Eagles maintained the momentum and slowly inched their way out to a three point advantage, taking a 15-12 lead on a kill from Bayli Reagan. MACU, though, hung close and came back to tie the score at 18 on a service ace from Morgan Van Meir. The teams split the next 10 points – during which span neither team led by more than a single point – and with the set locked in a 23-23 deadlock, a pair of Taylor Glover kills gave JBU the set win 25-23 and the Golden Eagles claimed a 2-0 lead in the match.
MACU, however, did not allow themselves to be broken. The Evangels surged to an early 5-1 lead in the third frame before JBU was able to regain their composure and rally to grab an 8-7 lead. Twice the Golden Eagles claimed two point leads – at 10-8 and 11-9 – but MACU showed their resiliency and the Hannah Balzer-Lipsett belted a kill to tie the set at 16 as the set inched toward a conclusion. The scoring strike from Balzer-Lipsett ignited a 6-0 MACU run that helped the Evangels open a five point lead late in the frame on their way to the 25-19 set win.
In the fourth stanza, neither team held a lead of more than two points until JBU mounted a 5-0 run to take a 15-12 advantage. That marked the only time in the frame either team held a three point lead, as MACU quickly bounced back to tie the score at 15. The score was tied again at 18, 20, 21, and 22, but a pair of critical JBU miscues gave MACU the 24-22 lead, and the Evangels took advantage of their second set point chance as Da'Jah Thompson pounded a kill to the floor to end the set and tie the match at two sets apiece.
Neither team led by as many as three points in the decisive frame, and there were 11 ties and six lead changes in the final period. MACU had the first match point opportunity when they held a 14-13 lead late in the set, but JBU fought it off and rallied to take the set 16-14 and the match 3-2.
Thompson posted a career high 19 kills in the match, surpassing the 200 kill mark for the season in the match. Balzer-Lipsett and Dianne Walter also notched career-highs in kills with 11 apiece, Bass dished out a season-best 47 assists and she also had 14 digs to notch her eighth double-double of the season and her fourth in her last five matches. Maegan Plunk added 21 digs, and Kaylie Walker notched 14 digs as well.
MACU will return to action on Friday evening at home when they welcome in the Randall University Saints (12-15), First serve is slated for 7 p.m.
