PARKVILLE, Mo. – It's been four years since Missouri Baptist University has played in an AMC Women's Volleyball Championship Final, but the top-ranked Spartans will make their return to the title match following a 28-26, 25-21, 25-18 win on Friday over No. 3 seed Columbia College. MBU, which has won 31 of its past 32 matches, will have a chance to avenge its one loss from the successful stretch as it squares off with No. 1 seed and host school Park University (27-3, 12-0 AMC) on Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
Saturday presents the perfect opportunity for the Spartans to defend their spot at the top of the national rankings and lock in a No. 1 seed for the 2019 NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship in Sioux City, Iowa. With a win over Park, Missouri Baptist would claim its first AMC Tournament title since 2011.
 
After getting swept in the regular season by MBU, No. 3 seed Columbia sought revenge and didn't make it easy on the top-ranked Spartans. That was evident in how the opening set of Friday's semifinal match unfolded. From start to finish, it was a battle between the two AMC powerhouses with 17 ties throughout the set. Despite getting outhit .348 to .226 in the Set 1, the Spartans held a 16-10 advantage in kills and had four players with at least three – Caterina Cigarini (3), Isidora Stojovic (3), Giovanna Tapigliani (4) and Katie Duncan (4).
 
With neither team backing down, the set was pushed to extra points where the Spartans prevailed with a clutch kill by middle blocker Marina Sanches followed by a service ace right on the endline to give MoBap the 28-26 victory and a 1-0 advantage in the match.
 
Caterina Cigarini, the newly-crowned AMC Co-Player of the Year, put on a display in the second set putting down four kills in MBU's first six points. While MoBap led for nearly the entire set, CC snagged a brief lead at the 12-11 mark. The Cougar lead was short lived as the Spartans retaliated with a 5-0 run including a pair of Cigarini kills and a block assist. The senior sensation notched 7 kills and the block with Raylyn Dodd in MBU's 25-21 win. For the second set in a row, junior Katie Duncan sealed the deal for the Spartans scoring the final point, this time with a kill.
 
The No. 3 seeded Cougars jumped out to an early 5-3 advantage in Set 3, but an 8-1 run by Missouri Baptist turned the set upside down in a jiffy. Caterina Cigarini was at the heart of the run once again imposing her will on the Cougar offense and defense. The four-time All-AMC First Team selection scored in five consecutive rallies with two kills and three blocks (1 S, 2 A). The five-point margin was enough for the Spartans to keep their distance in a 25-18 finale. The straight-set win marks the first time since 2006 that MBU has swept the Cougars in back-to-back matches.
 
Leading the way offensively was AMC Co-Player of the Year Caterina Cigarini with a .474 hitting % and a match-high in kills (12) and blocks (5). The rest of the Spartans' kills came from the grouping of Tapigliani (8), Stojovic (7), Duncan (7) and Sanches (6). AMC Newcomer of the Year Morgan Berry chipped in a kill to go with 32 assists. Just like the regular season matchup, the Spartans held the Cougar squad to a season low in both kills (29) and hitting percentage (.112). Lending a hand in that area was the team's eight blocks and junior libero Ariana Macies, who finished with a match-best 14 digs.