Saturday, beating Bethel University 3-0.
At the outset, it was clear that Missouri Baptist was going to get all it could handle from a motivated Bethel team. The Wildcats took charge midway through the set with a 13-11 advantage on the No. 20 team in the NAIA and kept the pressure on.
The Spartans tied Bethel at 18 and then again at 22 before MBU turned it on for a three-point run to win the first set 25-22.
Missouri Baptist, similar to the first set took a small lead and slowly built upon it. After slight movement, the Spartans took a 13-7 lead into the first timeout of the set and never looked back. The team found its groove and opened-up a 20-11 lead on its way to a 25-17 victory.
As the third set got underway, Missouri Baptist looked to close out the match in a hurry. The team took a 6-2 lead, which quickly expanded to 11-7 as Maddy Hammack led the charge for the surging Spartans. Hammack recorded 16 kills and a .375 attack percentage in the match. As Bethel fought to get back into the match, MBU remained focused, winning the final match of the Invitational, 25-15.
After the match, Madeline Nesbit and Ally Krus were named to the All-Tournament team while Hannah Carey came away with the biggest honor. The freshman from West Sussex, England was named Tournament Most Valuable Player. For the tournament, Carey led all players with 13 aces and a 1.0 aces per set average.
The Spartans next match will be on the road vs. Maryville University on Thursday, Oct. 18 before returning home for a conference clash with rival Park University on Friday at 7:00 p.m. in the Carl and Deloris Petty Sports and Recreation Complex.
