ST. LOUIS – [Box Score] The Missouri Baptist women's volleyball team needed a massive comeback to defeat NCAA Division II McKendree, 3-2 (17-25, 22-25, 25-20, 28-26, and 15-13). The victory moved MBU to 20-1 on the season.

Missouri Baptist hit just .108 in the contest, with 61 kills and 41 errors on 185 swings. The Spartans recorded 11 aces as a team.

Junior Ally Krus earned the Spartan Star of the Match. She led MBU with 51 assists, and also recorded 12 digs and five kills.

Sophomore Mallory Dillon recovered from a slow start to lead the Spartans. During the first two sets, she posted just four kills combined. She ended the match with 23 kills on 69 attacks. Dillon added five service aces and five digs.

Junior Taylor Cook posted 11 kills on 45 swings. She added 21 digs and two block assists.

Junior Hannah Carey recorded 10 kills on 20 swings with just three errors. She added three service aces, five digs and four block assists.

Junior Haley Pouliezos led the Spartans with 30 digs and five assists.

The first set put McKendree on top, as the Bearcats won 25-17. Missouri Baptist hit just .021 in the set with 10 kills and nine errors on 48 swings. McKendree jumped out to a 4-0 lead and the Spartans were never able to recover. MBU cut the deficit to 6-5, but the Bearcats answered everything that was thrown their way.

McKendree extended its lead to 14-9, forcing head coach Chris Nichols to take a timeout. The Spartans could not close the gap, as the Bearcats extended their lead to 21-14.

With their backs against the wall and set point at stake, the Spartans scored three straight points to cut the deficit to 24-17. The home squad was able to get MBU out of rotation, which resulted in the final point going to McKendree.

Set two went completely different for the visiting team. Missouri Baptist trailed 3-2 early, but rallied to take a 4-3 lead. Taylor Cook's service ace extended the MBU lead to 11-6, which forced McKendree to call a timeout.

The timeout was what the Bearcats needed, as they recorded the next three points. Missouri Baptist answered with a point, which sent Kristina Medanovic to the line. She quickly recorded an ace, pushing the lead to 13-9.

Missouri Baptist would extend their lead to 18-12 after Mallory Dillon recorded her first kill of the set.

Coach Nichols called a timeout after the Bearcats cut the deficit to 19-15. Hannah Carey blasted a ball off the McKendree block to put the Spartans up 20-15.

The Bearcats answered with a 6-1 run to tie the set 21-21. That forced coach Nichols to call his final timeout of the set.

The short break would not slow down the Bearcats, as they took control and won set two, 25-22. McKendree ended the set on a 12-3 run.

In the third set, Missouri Baptist came out with a clean slate and a new life. The Spartans took an early lead and would find the hot hand in sophomore Mallory Dillon.

MBU would lead 19-15 and Dillon pounded seven kills in the set. MBU continued its run in the set and forced the Bearcats to take a timeout after facing a 21-15 Spartan lead.

The two squads would trade points and MBU led 24-19. After McKendree cut the Spartan lead to 24-20, coach Nichols gathered the troops after calling a timeout.

A service error by the Bearcats gave the Spartans a much-needed set win, 25-20. Missouri Baptist blasted 17 kills in the set and took over the momentum of the match heading into set four.

In set three and the score tied at 3-3, Hannah Carey took over. She blasted two-straight kills before the Bearcats answered with a point. Carey answered with another kill and then two-straight service aces to give the Spartans an 8-4 lead.

McKendree went on a 7-2 run to take an 11-10 lead, forcing the Spartans to take a timeout. The run would continue for the Bearcats, as they extended their lead to 17-11.

The Spartans went on a run to cut the deficit to 18-16. Dillon recorded two-straight aces to force the Bearcats to take a timeout. After the short break, Dillon recorded another ace to shrink the Bearcat lead to 18-17.

Hannah Carey tied the set at 19-19 with her 10^th kill of the match. The Spartans would take a 20-19 lead after freshman Kristina Medanovic picked up a solo block.

The two teams matched point for point, but the Spartans took the upper-hand, 24-23. That's when McKendree scored the next two, giving them match point. A service error by the Bearcats tied the score at 25-25, but McKendree answered with a big kill.

MBU ended the back-and-forth battle on top with a set victory, 28-26. That forced a decisive fifth set.

Mallory Dillon blasted back-to-back kills to start the fifth set, but the Bearcats answered with seven straight points.

With the Spartans trailing 8-5, Dillon picked up a service ace, forcing the Bearcats to take a timeout. Dillon kept the hot hand following the break, and picked up another service ace. That cut the deficit to 8-7.

Missouri Baptist answered with a 7-3 run to take a 14-11 lead. That set up match point, but a long rally ended with a Bearcat point. McKendree added another point to cut the MBU lead to 14-13, but the Spartans got the point they needed. They defeated the Bearcats, 15-13, to win the match, 3-2.

The Spartan Invitational is next on the docket for the team. They will host St. Catharine at 3 pm before taking on Culver-Stockton at 7 pm.