ST. LOUIS – [Box Score] After falling for the first time in AMC play three days ago, the Missouri Baptist women's volleyball team responded with a dominating victory over Culver-Stockton, 3-1 (24-26, 25-5, 25-15, and 25-20). The victory completed the season sweep over the Wildcats.
No. 7 Missouri Baptist improved to 29-2 with the win, while Culver-Stockton fell to 18-8. The Spartans hit .270 in the contest, smacking 55 kills and 18 errors on 137 swings. Culver-Stockton was held to just a .091 attack percentage.
Sophomore Mallory Dillon was named Hampton Inn & Suites Star of the Match. She blasted 15 kills on 37 swings, owning a .270 hitting percentage. She added ten digs, one solo block, and five block assists.
Junior Hannah Carey led MBU with a .360 attack percentage with 13 kills on 25 swings. She posted seven digs and one service ace.
Junior Ally Krus averaged 12 assists per set after dishing 48 assists over four sets.
Sophomore Jen "Magic" Brendel led the Spartans with six block assists. She added nine kills and two errors on 21 attacks.
The home squad, fresh off of an emotionally-draining loss to No. 2 Park, did not start off on the right foot. "Plain and simple, we went through the motions in the first set," said head coach Chris Nichols. The Spartans hit just .239 in the set and the Wildcats went up 1-0 with a 26-24 victory.
The two programs battled close throughout the first set, but MBU seemed to take control when they led 21-18 on a kill by Dillon. Culver-Stockton stormed back to tie the set at 21-21, forcing coach Nichols to call a timeout.
After the Spartans held a 23-22 lead, the Wildcats took charge of the momentum with three kills by Bumbry. CSC would end the set on top, 26-24.
Set number two was a set to remember for the Spartans. They blasted the Wildcats 25-5 to tie the match at 1-1. Even though MBU hit .360 in the set, they did not get their first kill until they would lead 7-1. Culver-Stockton spotted the Spartans four consecutive points via attack errors before posting their first kill. "Coach John Rodgers really challenged the girls to step-up and they did not disappoint," said Nichols.
The Wildcats posted a kill to cut the deficit to 14-4, but the Spartans went on a massive 11-1 run to end the set. Dillon posted three kills on five swings to lead the Spartans in the set. She also added three block assists.
In the third set, Missouri Baptist and Culver-Stockton faced a 9-9 tie, before the Spartans took control with two straight points.
Later in the set, the Wildcats picked up a kill to cut the MBU lead to 17-15, but the Spartans ended the set on an 8-0 run to win 25-15. Missouri Baptist hit a match-high .391 in the game, posting 13 kills and four errors on 23 swings.
The fourth and final set of the match was much closer than the score indicated. The two teams could not separate from the other until the final score of the set. Every time MBU would take a small lead, the Wildcats answered back to tie the set.
The Spartans would not take their final lead of the set until they led 18-17 after a kill by Taylor Cook. The Spartans scored the final three points of the set to win, 25-20. MBU and Culver-Stockton would tie the score 12 times in the set, and also had four lead changes.
Missouri Baptist will look for win No. 30 in 2014 when they travel to Hannibal-LaGrange for an AMC match on Tuesday.
