GLADSTONE —

Johnson collected 17 kills on the night, including seven of them in the third set as the Braves grabbed momentum of the match.

“I was a little salty after we lost the second set,” Johnson said. “I took it up a couple notches in the fourth set and that got the team energized and we were able to regain momentum in the match.”

The Braves jumped out to an early 8-2 lead, but the Patriots responded with a five-point serving run including an ace by senior Michaela Watson to cut the deficit to one.

The Braves extended the lead to 15-10 on back-to-back kills by Johnson. Moments later Johnson again registered back-to-back kills to put the Braves up 18-11.

“There was one point where I looked at her and asked if she was a volleyball player,” Braves coach Kaitlyn Hardwick said. “We a

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