ST. LOUIS – [Box Score] Fresh off its highest ranking since 2006, the Missouri Baptist women's volleyball team proved to be too much for William Woods, as the Spartans won, 3-0 (25-11, 25-11, 25-15). The latest NAIA Top 25 rankings slotted Missouri Baptist as the No. 7 team in the country.
The last six days have been very action-packed for the 28-1 Spartans. On Friday, the Spartans went 2-0 in the Grand View Viking Invitational, including a 3-1 victory over then-No. 15 Evangel. On Saturday, MBU added two more victories, including a 3-0 sweep over host and then-No. 18 Grand View. On Monday, junior setter Ally Krus was named American Midwest Conference Player of the Week. On Tuesday, the Spartans were bumped-up to No. 7 in the NAIA Top 25 Poll, the highest ranking since the 2006 season when MBU ended the season at No. 3. Later that afternoon, Krus was named National Player of the Week, the second time in her career to earn the honor. On Wednesday morning, the NAIA announced that the MBU match against No. 2 Park would be the National Match of the Week.
The momentum spilled over into Wednesday night's 3-0 victory over the Owls of William Woods. Missouri Baptist hit a sizzling .418 over the three sets, while limiting the Owls to a dismal .038 attack percentage. "I thought we played a very solid match tonight," said head coach Chris Nichols. "They always play us extremely tough and I thought our execution from preparation showed over the three sets."
Junior Hannah Carey was unstoppable for MBU. The England native hammered 14 kills and just four errors on 21 swings. She added three block assists and three digs in the contest. "Hannah's play tonight was outstanding from the right side," said Nichols.
Junior libero Haley Pouliezos posted 22 digs, three service aces, and three assists over the three sets. She averaged 7.33 digs per set on the night, a category in which she leads the entire country in (7.170). "Haley Pouliezos kept us in system all night and was stellar was the service line," said the second-year head coach.
Sophomore Mallory Dillon and junior Taylor Cook posted nearly identical numbers. They both pounded nine kills on 17 swings, each had two service aces, and both assisted on one block. The lone difference was the attack percentage, as Cook recorded one-less error.
Freshman Kristina Medanovic slammed eight kills on 15 swings with zero errors. She added a service ace, one dig, and four block assists.
Krus, the National Player of the Week, recorded 38 assists, an average of 12.66 per set. "After being named National Player of the Week, Ally (Krus) worked even harder tonight," said Nichols. "Her play was tremendous."
In set one, William Woods jumped ahead 4-3, but the Spartans rattled off eight straight points to take a 11-4 lead. MBU later doubled-up the Owls when they took a 20-10 lead and scored the final five points to win the set, 25-11. Missouri Baptist hit .385 in the set, posting 14 kills on 26 swings.
Set two left no thought of doubt for the Spartans. They posted an eye-popping .593 attack percentage, with 18 kills on 27 swings. The set started off the same way set one started, with the Owls taking a slim lead early on. After William Woods led 3-2, the Spartans used a 10-2 run to launch themselves on top 12-5.
The Owls cut the MBU lead to 16-11, which woke-up the MBU offense. The Spartans over-powered WWU, scoring the final nine points of the set to win, 25-11. The left-handed Carey rocketed seven kills on nine swings to lead Missouri Baptist in the set.
Missouri Baptist faced a 7-4 deficit in the third set, but would not lose sight of a three-set win. The Spartans would begin to chip at the Owl lead and would eventually tie the score at 11-11. From that point forward, Missouri Baptist never looked back. The navy and white ended the set on a 14-4 run to end the match after one hour and ten minutes.
The victory sets up a weekend finale that has excited the West County campus. No. 2 Park University comes into the match with a perfect 25-0 record, dropping just one set the entire season. The Spartans head into the match with a 28-1 record, dropping only a five-set thriller to NCAA Division II Quincy University.
In effort to sell-out R. Alton Lacey Gymnasium, the match is dubbed, "Halloween Costume Night." Missouri Baptist is proud to announce Imo's Pizza and Raising Cane's as the title sponsors of the match. All students who wear a Halloween costume will receive Imo's Pizza and Raising Cane's chicken. The winner of a Costume Competition will receive a $25 gift card to Raising Cane's.
