SIOUX CITY, Iowa – [Box Score] For the first time since 2006, the Missouri Baptist women's volleyball team went unbeaten in Pool Play of the NAIA National Championship. The Spartans concluded Pool Play by defeating No. 7 Northwestern, 3-1 (26-28, 25-23, 26-24, and 25-13).

"This was huge for the program," said head coach Chris Nichols of the 3-0 mark in Pool Play. "For the kids to come up here and battle against the top teams in the country, I am so proud of them. We have battled through some adversity, but they keep fighting through every situation."

No. 6 Missouri Baptist (37-3) faced adversity before the first serve. The Red Raiders, whose campus is less than 50 miles away, brought over 300 rowdy fans. The Spartans hit just .200 in the contest, posting 52 kills and 24 errors on 140 swings. No. 7 Northwestern (33-4) hit .219 in the contest, recording 51 kills and 21 errors on 137 swings.

The Spartans won the battle at the net, recording 8.5 Total Blocks in the match, while the Red Raiders recorded 7.0 Total Blocks.

Freshman Kristina Medanovic led the Spartans with 15 kills on 27 swings, an attack percentage of .444. The also posted one solo block and four block assists. "Kristina keeps getting better and better and we are all excited to see what she can do the rest of the tournament," said coach Nichols.

Sophomore Mallory Dillon posted 14 kills on 44 attacks. She earned the double-double after recording 11 digs over the four sets.

Junior Ally Krus led Missouri Baptist with 44 assists in the contest. Krus also posted nine digs.

Missouri Baptist and Northwestern went back and forth the entire first set. Neither team could find a groove, which kept the set close. Missouri Baptist took a 10-5 lead, thanks to three consecutive Red Raider attack errors.

Northwestern battled back to take a 14-13 lead after a set error on MBU, but the Spartans tied it back up with a kill by Taylor Cook.

The longest run by the Spartans was a 3-0 run to give MBU a commanding 21-19 lead. Missouri Baptist seemed to have things under control when they extended the lead to 23-20, but Northwestern stormed back to tie the set at 24-24.

Kristina Medanovic gave the Spartans set point after a kill pushed the lead to 25-24, but the Red Raiders scored the next two points to take a 26-25 lead.

Mallory Dillon tied the set at 26-26, but a Red Raider kill and ace ended the set at 28-26 in favor of NWC.

Missouri Baptist hit just .150 in the set, while Northwestern hit .233.

In the second set, Northwestern held a lead all the way until Missouri Baptist scored three straight to tie it at 8-8. The Spartans did not take its first lead until Medanovic blasted a kill to make the score 12-11.

Hannah Carey's service ace extended the lead to 15-12, but Northwestern battled back to tie the set at 16-16.

Northwestern began to take control of the set, holding a 21-19 lead, but Missouri Baptist scored three straight to take a 22-21 lead.

Service aces by both teams moved the score to 23-22 in favor of the Spartans, and an attack error by the Red Raiders gave MBU set point.

After a kill by Northwestern, Hannah Carey ended the set with a monster swing, giving the Spartans a 25-23 win. That tied the match at 1-1. Missouri Baptist hit .108 in the set, recording just nine kills and five errors on 37 swings. The Red Raiders hit .219 in the second set, posting 14 kills and seven errors on 32 swings.

Missouri Baptist dominated the beginning of the third set. They jumped out to a 5-0 lead, highlighted by back-to-back aces by Haley Pouliezos. That forced Northwestern to call a timeout, but the Spartans showed no signs of slowing down.

Kristina Medanovic pounded a kill that extended the lead to 8-2, but Northwestern began to chip away at the deficit, and cut the MBU lead to 9-5.

Three consecutive points for the Spartans pushed the lead to 12-5, but the Red Raiders later used a 6-1 run to cut the MBU lead to 16-13.

Missouri Baptist answered with another 3-0 run to take a 19-13 lead, but the Red Raiders responded with a 3-1 run to keep the set close at 20-16.

The back and forth battle continued, as Missouri Baptist extended the lead to 23-18, capped by a Hannah Carey kill. The two teams failed to give the other team an easy point, which sparked back-to-back long rallies. The momentum seemed to swing towards Northwestern, as their fans grew increasingly loud.

Northwestern battled back to tie the set at 24-24, but the Spartans ended with the 26-24 victory after a kill and service ace by Hannah Carey.

The Spartans hit .282 in the set, posting 17 kills and six errors on 39 attempts. Northwestern tallied a .393 attack percentage with 16 kills and three errors on 33 swings.

The third set featured more long runs by both teams. After the Red Raiders took an early 2-0 lead, Missouri Baptist ripped the energy right out of the crowd with a massive 11-0 run. "Games one, two, and three were more important than what we did with the 11-0 run," said coach Nichols. "We were lucky enough to catch some momentum to start the fourth set."

Northwestern finally stopped the run with a kill off an MBU block, but Taylor Cook answered with a kill to extend the lead to 12-3. Cook followed with a service ace, which pushed the lead to 13-3.

Missouri Baptist ended the match on a 9-4 run to win, 25-13. The Spartans hit .280 in the set, recording 11 kills and four errors on 25 swings. Northwestern posted a match-low .000 attack percentage after posting seven kills and seven errors on 29 swings.

The Spartans will wait for the NAIA Tournament committee to reseed the final 12 teams, which will determine who MBU will play in tomorrow's match. The top four seeded teams receive a bye into Quarterfinal action, which concludes tomorrow night.