JBU volleyball players Golmen, Blackman honored by AVCA

John Brown freshman Taylor Golmen and junior Jillian Blackman have earned All-Region honors, the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced Monday.

Golmen, a freshman from Nixa, Mo., was named to the Southcentral Region Honorable Mention list, while Blackman, a Stilwell, Kan., product, was selected as the region’s Defensive Player of the Year.

“I’m really proud of Taylor and Jillian being selected for AVCA All-Region awards,” said head coach Ken Carver. “As evidenced by her statistics, Taylor had a tremendous impact on our team’s play on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. While this season was a great start to her career, Taylor has the upside potential to be one of the conference’s best attackers moving forward so it will be fun to see how much more she will continue to mature and improve.

“Jillian’s all-around, exceptional ball control allowed our team the opportunity to be in-system offensively the majority of the time. Her defensive hustle and tenacity afforded our team many second chances to score in defensive transition. Both players’ performances this season were very deserving of these honors. Taylor and Jillian come in each and every day and work hard to encourage and inspire their teammates to play at a high level through their own example.”

Also an All-Conference second-team selection, Golmen was named the Sooner Athletic Conference’s Freshman of the Year after ending the 2021 campaign as the league’s second-most efficient attacker, hitting at a .326 (279-71-638) mark. Beyond having the nation’s 28th best hitting percentage, Golmen posted 12 double-digit termination performances, including a career-high 15 kills at Oklahoma City on Oct. 12. On the defensive side of the net, Golmen posted 88 blocks in the middle, seven solo rejections and 81 assists. She led the Golden Eagles in attacking and total blocks while finishing second in kills and total points (328.5).

Blackman was a stalwart in the back row this season, playing all 125 sets, while setting a new career-best with 659 digs on the season — more than her first two seasons combined. Finishing the year ranked No. 15 in the nation in total scoops, the All-SAC second-team selection finished at No. 36 with 5.27 digs per set. In 14 of her 34 matches, Blackman eclipsed the 20-dig mark and set a new single-match career-best with 46 digs at Oklahoma City in John Brown’s Sooner Athletic tournament quarterfinal upset. She also contributed 36 service aces and 123 assists in 2021.