ST. LOUIS – [Box Score] The Missouri Baptist women's volleyball team soundly defeated Lyon in the Quarterfinals of the American Midwest Conference Tournament, 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, and 25-11). The Spartans improved to 33-2 on the season and will host No. 3 seed Columbia on Thursday at 7 pm.
No. 2 seed Missouri Baptist hit .306 in the contest, firing 39 kills on 85 swings with just 13 errors. Missouri Baptist posted 12 service aces in the contest, and recorded 37 digs.
Sophomore Mallory Dillon and freshman Kristina Medanovic were relentless from the first serve. The two combined for 20 kills and just three errors on 33 swings (.515 %). Dillon had 11 kills on 19 swings, missiled four aces, and posted seven digs with three total blocks. Medanovic nailed nine kills on 14 swings, while added two aces, two digs, and one block assist.
Junior setter Ally Krus led the Spartans with 32 assists over three sets.
In the first set, the Spartans hit just .125. They were aided by eight attack errors and two service errors from the Scots. Dillon, Medanovic, and Hannah Carey each posted three kills in the set.
The Spartans never made a major run in the set, but used a monstrous kill from Dillon on the first serve to take the lead for good.
Missouri Baptist led 18-10, but Lyon would not go down lightly. The Scots would cut the deficit to 21-15, but MBU was able to rally for four consecutive points to win the set, 25-15.
In set two, Lyon took its only lead of the night by taking a 1-0 advantage, but MBU took the momentum by scoring the next five points. That forced the Scots to call an early timeout.
After a kill by Lyon cut the deficit to 20-14, the Spartans scored the next four points, including two service aces from Taylor Cook. Missouri Baptist won the set, 25-15.
The Spartans hit a match-high .542 in the set, posting 15 kills and two errors on 24 attacks. Lyon hit a match-high .286 in the set.
The third set proved too much for the Scots. The newest NAIA Top 25 Poll saw the Spartans move up to No. 6 in the country, and Missouri Baptist showed why. They dominated Lyon, 25-11, and hit .310 in the set.
Taylor Cook led the Spartans with five kills on nine swings in the set, while Medanovic and Dillon each tallied three kills on four swings.
Missouri Baptist jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the set and never looked back. The Spartans went on an 8-0 run to take a 17-4 run, thanks to three kills from Cook.
The Spartans extended the lead to 23-8, which sent several non-starters into the game for the first time. The match ended with the senior, Cassie Nesbit, firing a shot from one antenna to the other.
Missouri Baptist will now host the Columbia Cougars on Thursday at 7 pm. The Spartans dominated the Cougars in four sets earlier this season.
