ST. LOUIS – [Indiana Tech Box / Kansas Wesleyan Box] Missouri Baptist women's volleyball completed its run in the St. Thomas University Invitational on Saturday with two big wins over tough opponents. After defeating Indiana Tech 3-1, the team went on to another 3-1 victory over Kansas Wesleyan to finish 3-1 over the course of the weekend.
Missouri Baptist (4-1) went to work early against Indiana Tech and began the day with a 25-20 first-set win. The team began the set down 0-7, but mounted an impressive comeback to take a 12-11 lead, and never looked back in game one.
After dropping the next set in a narrow 25-23 decision, the Spartans picked-up the pace. Maddy Hammack and Ally Krus again came up big. Hammack, the senior outside hitter, posted 17 kills and 12 digs to earn yet another double-double on the season and lead her team to the win. Setter Ally Krus, on the other hand, posted 41 assists and 14 digs of her own to grab another double-double.
The Spartans dominated play in set three in a 25-14 win and used the momentum to help themselves to a final set, 25-22 victory. Taylor Cook made it three double-doubles in the match for Missouri Baptist with another impressive showing. The sophomore outside hitter finished with 10 kills, 11 digs and an ace. Hannah Carey and Molly DeClue also continued their strong play from the service line, combining for seven of the team's 10 service aces.
"We served tough, which kept Indiana Tech off-balance," said Spartan Head Coach Chris Nichols. "Our defense consistently improved throughout the match."
In the second tilt of the day, MBU put together another impressive performance against a talented Kansas Wesleyan squad. Three players (Carey, Cook and Hammack) finished in double-digit kills. Cook posted 13 kills and 15 digs while Carey finished the final match of the day with 15 kills and a .313 attack percentage.
Just as they had done all last season, however, Krus and Hammack found their chemistry and both had another big match. Krus finished with 48 assists and 15 digs while Hammack had her second-consecutive match with 17 kills. The senior from St. Louis also collected 2 service aces.
"Ally Krus had her best match of the season," said Nichols. "She recorded 48 assists and her second double-double of the day. She really had the middles involved in the match, which opened-up pin attacks for one-on-one scoring opportunities."
The Spartans finished the tournament 3-1, but did not pick-up a single second-set victory in four matches. With the wins, Missouri Baptist improved to 4-1. The team will now board a late flight home on Sunday and will prepare for a Thursday night clash against AMC foe, Benedictine-Springfield in St. Louis. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Carl and Deloris Sports and Recreation Complex.
