ST. LOUIS – The ninth-ranked Missouri Baptist University women's volleyball team cruised to its 12
th-consecutive win on Saturday with a straight-set victory over Central Baptist College (3-12, 1-1 AMC). With a 25-9, 25-14, 25-13 triumph, the Spartans moved to 2-0 to begin American Midwest Conference play and are now 13-2 overall.
The front-row trio of
Mallory Moran,
Caterina Cigarini and
Maggie Sorensen picked up where they left off from Friday night's sweep of Lyon College. In the first set against Central Baptist, Moran was all over the court with a team-high 4 kills, 4 digs, 2 blocks and 2 service aces. Cigarini added three kills and was in on two blocks, while Sorensen also had three kills of her own.
With a strong start, MBU forced a Central Baptist timeout at 17-8, but the quick break did little to rattle the Spartans. Missouri Baptist finished off the Mustangs by securing eight of the last nine points for a 25-9 win in Set One.
The Spartans started out the second set somewhat sluggish with the two teams tied at 10-10. However, an eight-point swing in favor of MBU gave the Spartans the spark they needed. Freshman setter
Nicole Bott was a huge catalyst in that stretch with two service aces, two assists and a kill. The rest of the set belonged to Missouri Baptist in a 25-14 win.
Several other Spartans saw the floor in the third set and kept up the momentum. Freshman middle hitter and local talent
Sophia Cristiani made a strong impression with all five of her kills on the day coming in the third set. The Parkway Central grad finished with a .500 hitting percentage on eight swings as well as two blocks. Other contributors in the third frame were
Brilee Henson and
Megan Williams with three kills apiece,
Hayley Richardson and
Kristen Williams with two kills, along with
Megan Huffman and
Natalie Hecht with 7 and 4 assists, respectively. The Spartans had just two attack errors compared to 16 kills for a sky-high hitting percentage of .609.
As a team, MBU hit .405 on the day with 12 service aces and 10 team blocks.
After two matches at home, the Spartans will now have a four-game road stretch beginning with Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) and Williams Baptist (Ark.) next Thursday and Friday, followed by short crosstown trips to St. Louis Pharmacy and Lindenwood-Belleville.
