ST. LOUIS - [BOX SCORE LCU] [BOX SORE CBC] The No. 3-ranked Missouri Baptist women's volleyball team took the court on Saturday and proved why they are ranked in the top five with wins over Lincoln Christian (Ill.) (25-14, 25-19, 25-8) and Central Baptist College (Ark.) (25-5, 25-12, 25-11).
Missouri Baptist (2-0) started off strong from the outset and took the first point of the season off of the hand of Hannah Carey. The Spartans held an early lead throughout the entirety of the first set as Carey, again, came up big and closed out the first, set win of the season.
Marion Couraud saw her first bit of court time as a Spartan and nailed point one for Missouri Baptist to get things started off in set two. As MBU continued the heat at the service line, it controlled the pace of the game and denied the Red Lions an opportunity to close the scoring gap. Mallory Dillon took MBU all the way home with a kill on game point for the set two victory.
The Spartans regained the serve right away in set three and put Hailey Pouliezos at the service line. Pouiezos remained at the service line for 10 consecutive serves as the team continued to attack at the net.
Shelby Clifton continued to impress at the service line as she posted her fifth and sixth ace of the game, which set a new career high.
Jen Brendel finished things off with a game-point kill to wrap up set three and solidify the 3-0 win against Lincoln Christian.
Missouri Baptist kept its momentum rolling with a sweep of Central Baptist College in match two of the day.
MBU showcased it's bench depth and mixed up the lineup throughout the game.
The Spartans got off to a running start as Ally Krus held at the service line for 12 consecutive served before Taylor Cook closed out the first set with a service ace of her own.
Missouri Baptist stayed in control throughout the second set with a balanced effort at the net and notched another set win off of the hand of Carey.
MBU recovered quickly, after an rocky start to set three and cruised through the final set. Throughout set three, Krus was able to notch two more service aces for a total of seven and set a new career high.
The Spartans will now prepare to travel to Maimi, Fla. next weekend to play in the Sonesta Fort Lauderdale Classic hosted by St. Thomas University where the team will face at least two teams that were receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Preseason Poll.
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