HANNIBAL, Mo. – Missouri Baptist women's volleyball's streak without dropping a set ended on Friday at Hannibal-LaGrange University, however, that didn't stop the country's No. 2-ranked team from overpowering the Trojans in the other three frames. The Spartans finished the night with wins of 25-14, 25-12 and 25-10, while dropping the third set to the home team by a score of 25-19.
MBU notched its 10
th road win of the year and moved to 27-4 overall and 9-1 in AMC play.
From the get go, Missouri Baptist subdued the Trojans while flexing their muscles offensively. Between the first two sets, the Spartans registered 33 kills and 7 blocks and held the opposition to 9 kills and a -.087 hitting percentage.
The anomaly came in Set 3 with a new group of Spartans taking the court. Hannibal-LaGrange found its window of opportunity and struck when the iron was hot. The Trojans hit .391 and matched MBU's 13 kills in the third set, which was more kills than they combined for in the Sets 1, 2 and 4. HLGU went on to steal a set from the Spartans, 25-19, marking the first set in nine matches that No. 2 Missouri Baptist has conceded.
Middle blockers
Caterina Cigarini and
Marina Sanches carried a large load on Friday combining for 25 of the Spartans' kills and 7 blocks. Defending AMC and NAIA Attacker of the Week
Caterina Cigarini led all players with 16 kills, her second-highest output of the season. Sanches finished the match with 9 kills, a .615 hitting % and 4 block assists in just two sets.
Reigning AMC Setter of the Week
Morgan Berry had a double-double of 39 assists and 13 digs, while also recording 5 aces and 3 blocks.
Defensively, the Spartans were also led by libero
Ariana Macies, who pitched in 14 digs (4.66 d/s) while on the floor.
Other notable performances included outsides
Katie Duncan (7 kills, 4 digs) and
Brilee Henson (6 kills, .455 hitting %).
The Spartans close out their American Midwest Conference regular season at home next week with mid-week matches against Lindenwood University-Belleville on Tuesday (7 p.m.) and St. Louis College of Pharmacy on Thursday (6 p.m.).
