ST. LOUIS – The Missouri Baptist women's volleyball seniors grabbed ahold of the limelight on Thursday evening blanking St. Louis College of Pharmacy (16-13, 6-6 AMC) in the final regular-season match of 2019. During the 25-19, 25-7, 25-18 sweep, each Spartan senior had her moment to shine.
 
On an evening in which eight members of the No. 2-ranked volleyball squad and JV standout Georgia Park were honored, Missouri Baptist rebounded from a rather slow start and overpowered the Eutectics the rest of the way. In particular, the second set was a runaway victory for the Spartans in which they recorded 15 kills, no errors and hit .536, while silencing the visitors to a -.107 hitting percentage.
 
After falling behind 6-1 in the opening frame, MBU seized the momentum and strung together a nine-point run to go up 13-8. Despite the big swing, St. Louis Pharmacy hung with the Spartans and narrowed the gap to within two or three points on multiple occasions. MoBap used a late push to secure a 25-19 win in Set 1. Middle blocker Marina Sanches dominated the first set offensively notching 7 kills on 9 swings (.778) and a block assist. The Ironton, Mo. duo of Brilee Henson and Megan Williams combined for another 7 kills in the set.
 
The Spartans had no mercy in the second set taking the early lead and never looking back. Following a kill by STLCOP's Mackenzie Wagner at the 8-5 mark, No. 2-ranked MBU scored 16 of the next 17 points. Williams caught fire rattling off 5 kills and a block assists in a nine-point stretch. Three-time NAIA All-American Caterina Cigarini chipped in an impressive 5 kills on 7 swings in the set, fellow middle blocker Marina Sanches added three more kills, and Henson had two big-time blocks including a solo. MBU ran away with the set, 25-7.
 
Set 3 was a back-and-forth battle to start out, but the Spartans once again delivered a blow to the Eutectics by way of an 11-1 run. The front-row hitters including Cigarini, Williams, Sanches and Henson paced the Spartans, but the onslaught was aided by kills from setter Natalie Hecht and backrow specialist Kamden Maas as well as a Sarah Bolton ace. MBU went on to grab the sweep with a 25-18 victory in the third set.
 
Three Spartans finished with 10+ kills. Megan Williams and Marina Sanches tied for the match-high in kills with 12 apiece. The former hit .310 on the night, while the latter went the entire match without an error finishing with a .750 attack percentage. Caterina Cigarini improved on her season hitting percentage ending the evening with 10 kills and a .471 hitting percentage as well as 2 service aces and 2 blocks. Brilee Henson led the team in blocks with 3 while recording a season-best 7 kills.
 
Senior Natalie Hecht dished out a career-high 40 assists from the setter position, surpassing her previous best of 21 against Hannibal-LaGrange in November 2017.
 
Defensively, starting libero Kasia Kaiser paced the Spartans with 17 digs and was joined in double digits by Sarah Bolton (11).
 
MBU, which improved to 29-4, 11-1 AMC, has secured no lower than the No. 2 seed for next week's American Midwest Conference Tournament. As a top-four seed, the Spartans will host an AMC Quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday. The start time is to be determined.