ST. LOUIS – [Box Score] For the first time in 2014, the Missouri Baptist women's volleyball team dropped an American Midwest Conference match. The Spartans fell to No. 2 Park, 3-1 (25-17, 25-19, 23-25, and 25-23). The NAIA Match of the Week did not disappoint, as over 850 fans saw two of the top programs in the country battle on the court.

No. 7 Missouri Baptist (28-2, 8-1) could never rebound after a slow start. Everything that the Spartans threw at the visiting team early on, Park (26-0, 8-0) had an answer. MBU hit just .095 in the first set, firing 13 kills on 42 swings, but they did have nine errors. Park posted its best attack percentage of the night in the first set, recording a .308 hitting percentage.

"I am glad our kids got to see talent of that caliber," said head coach Chris Nichols. "Tonight showed that we are not at that level just yet, but I thought we raised our play in sets three and four."

The Spartans had four players record double-digit kills. Junior Hannah Carey led the squad with 12 kills on 27 swings. She added ten digs and one block assist in over the four sets.

Freshman Kristina Medanovic also recorded 12 kills. She made just five errors on 30 swings, posting a .233 attack percentage in the match. She added a solo block and three block assists.

Junior Ally Krus led MBU with 48 assists in the contest, while adding seven digs, one solo block and one block assist. Her 12 assists per set improved her 11.69 assist per game clip on the season.

Junior Haley Pouliezos covered nearly every square foot of the court, keeping the play alive with 31 digs.

In the first set, Hannah Carey slammed a kill to cut the deficit to 9-8, but Park took the momentum with a 6-1 run. After the Pirates took a commanding 18-11 lead, the Spartans roared back with a 4-0 run to cut the deficit to just 18-15. That forced the Pirates to call a timeout, which proved to be what the visiting team needed.

Park ended the set on a 7-2 run and took a 1-0 lead with a 25-17 win.

In set two, both squads used several runs to take a slim lead, but neither team could find any major separation. Park was able to extend the lead the 21-16, but the Spartans would not go down without a fight. They quickly scored two straight points to cut the Pirate lead to 21-18, but Park was able to end the set on top, 25-19.

Missouri Baptist had their backs against the wall in the third set. The Spartans trailed 8-6 in the set, but rebounded by tying the set with a Taylor Cook kill and a Cook/Medanovic block. Mallory Dillon's kill put MBU up 14-12, forcing the Pirates to take a timeout. After the Pirates tied the set at 14-14, Missouri Baptist gained control of the set by leading the rest of the way.

The Spartans won set three, 25-23, as Taylor Cook pounded four kills over the last nine MBU points. The Spartans hit a match-high .244 in the set, pounding 15 kills and five errors on 41 swings. They held Park to a match-low .190 in the set. "I thought we played a lot better with our backs against the wall," said Nichols. "Park was constantly coming at us aggressively and I thought we adjusted well in the third and fourth sets."

The fourth set provided enough drama for the entire match. Park looked to end the night early when they jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the set. Mallory Dillon took things into her own hands when she hammered five kills to tie the set at 9-9. The Spartans were never able to take a lead in the set, but would not trail by more than four points.

After Park took a 17-13 lead, MBU chipped-away and worked its way to a 23-22 deficit. The Spartans were unable to post the equalizer, as Park won the set 25-23, and the match, 3-1.

Missouri Baptist hit .222 in the set, while the Pirates recorded a .277 attack percentage.

The loss was just the second loss this season for the Spartans, and the first on its home court. The No. 7 squad will have a chance at getting back into the win column when they host Culver-Stockton on Monday.