ST. LOUIS [BOX SCORE OLLU] [BOX SCORE VU]- No. 2 ranked Missouri Baptist Women's Volleyball continued their 2016 campaign on Friday with matches against the Saints of Our Lady of the Lake University (Texas) and Viterbo University (Wis.). 

The Spartans fell behind 9-3 early in match one against OLLU, but a timeout was all they needed to regroup. MBU battled all the way back to take a 17-16 lead. On set point, up 24-23, Mallory Dillon delivered a thunderous kill to win the opening frame.

The Saints gave the Spartans a battle early in set two. Ahead 15-12, a Tina Medanovic kill jumpstarted a 10-4 run and earned Missouri Baptist the second set.

In the third set, Megan Huffman supplied three early aces to put the Spartans up 8-2. From there the plan was simple: set Mallory Dillon. MBU's All-American registered seven kills in the final frame and Missouri Baptist cruised to a straight set victory (25-23, 25-16, 25-15).   

The second match of the day was a showdown with Viterbo University, the No. 4 ranked team in the country. In a rematch of last season's National Semifinal, it was the V-Hawks who came out ahead this time (22-25, 25-15, 23-25, 23-25).  

The match was a testament to just how neck and neck these two top five teams are. Neither side could pull away in the first set, with three points being the largest deficit either team faced. Ultimately, Viterbo edged the Spartans, 25-22.

Missouri Baptist rebounded in a big way in set two. Ahead by as many as 12 at one point (22-10), the Spartans evened match with a 25-15 victory.

Sets three and four could not have been any closer, and although the V-Hawks grabbed both, it could have easily gone the other way in MBU's favor.

In both cases, the teams were tied at 23 before Viterbo found the extra gear to get the needed two points.

Mallory Dillon once again led MBU in kills, this time with 24. Megan Huffman posted 42 assists, while Natalie Gremaud led the Spartans in digs with 16. Marion Couraud followed closely behind with 14.

The Spartans fell to 8-3 for the season. They will be back in action on Saturday with two more matches in the Hampton Inn Invitational. Starting at 9 am, MBU will do battle with No. 14 ranked Lourdes University. The tournament will conclude with a 1 pm contest against St. Francis (Indiana).