ST. LOUIS – [Box Score] Missouri Baptist women's volleyball took full control of its home opener against Lindenwood University-Belleville from the outset and cruised to a 3-0 win on Tuesday evening.
Missouri Baptist (1-0) controlled the pace of play and took advantage of several costly Lynx errors to post its first win of the 2013 season.
MBU made a statement in the first set. Led by the offense of outside hitter Maddy Hammack and setter Ally Krus, the Spartans won the first set 25-9 and continued to apply pressure throughout. Hammack finished the evening with 13 kills, two aces and one solo block while Krus dished 32 assists in the match, an average of just over 10 per game.
Lindenwood fought back in the second set. Led by the solid play of Stephanie Cathcart (6 kills, .308 attack percentage), the Lynx made a move on the Spartans early, but were unable to hold an early, three-point advantage.
Missouri Baptist senior Madeline Nesbit led all players with a .364 attack percentage and finished with six kills and a solo block on the night. British right side hitter Hannah Carey also chipped in six kills of her own while sophomore Taylor Cook posted seven kills and 10 digs.
This is the first win of the season for the Spartans as the team is coming-off its second consecutive trip to the NAIA National Championship Tournament Final Site. Earlier in the evening, the NAIA Coaches' Preseason Top 25 was released and placed Missouri Baptist 17th overall, up from No. 21 in the 2012 Postseason Poll.
MBU will now get a day off before traveling to Miami to compete in the St. Thomas University Invitational. The Spartans will play two teams that received votes in the Preseason Poll (Kansas Wesleyan and Indiana Tech) in addition to what may turn out to be the featured match of the tournament in a clash with No. 18 Lindsey Wilson. A big showing over the weekend could help the team move up in the first regular season poll of the year, scheduled to be released on Tuesday, Sept. 10.
GAME NOTES
Both head coaches received their first decision of their career on Tuesday (Chris Nichols moved to 1-0 while Justin Wells moved to 0-1)… Missouri Baptist moved to 2-0 lifetime against Lindenwood-Belleville… Both teams recorded three blocks on the night, all six of which were solo blocks… Tuesday's match was the first time that Maddy Hammack finished with above a .300 attack percentage dating back to November 6, 2012 in the AMC Quarterfinals against Lyon College.
