SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The No. 4-ranked Missouri Baptist University women's volleyball team avoided a first-day upset at the 2019 NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship on Tuesday with a five-set victory. With their backs against the wall, the Spartans rallied to defeat an athletic and scrappy Texas Wesleyan University squad by a score of 23-25, 25-14, 22-25, 25-23, 15-9.
 
Senior captain and Co-AMC Player of the Year Caterina Cigarini was one of a few Spartans who stepped up and provided a spark when the team needed it the most. The 6-4 middle blocker from Modena, Italy did a bit of everything posting a season-high 22 kills, .455 hitting percentage, 5 blocks, 5 digs and 3 service aces.
 
Despite trailing for majority of the opening frame, Texas Wesleyan put the pressure on MBU late in the set and overcame a four-point deficit by scoring seven of the last eight points. A big part of the Rams' late comeback and 25-23 win was the front-row presence of Arianna Alvarado and Veronika Webb, who combined for 4 blocks and a pair of clutch kills.
 
The Spartans erased the late collapse from their memories and won handily in Set 2. Hitting-wise, MBU had its best set of the night in Set 2 with a .382 attack percentage. Through two frames, Cigarini had notched 14 kills and 3 blocks.
 
Texas Wesleyan had different plans for the match and made Missouri Baptist's road to a 1-0 record in Pool D much tougher. The Spartans trailed for the entire third set, but still had an opportunity to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Following back-to-back kills by Isidora Stojovic, the Spartans forced TWU to take a timeout at 23-22. The Rams seized the momentum by scoring the final two points and edging MBU, 25-22.
 
Down two sets to one, the Spartans needed a win to stay alive and traded points with Texas Wesleyan in the early parts of the fourth. Missouri Baptist went on a 10-2 run to create a cushion that would be later utilized. With a four-point lead at 23-19, MBU struggled to put the game away and afforded the Rams an opportunity to tie at 24-all. Determined to force a tiebreaker set, junior Katie Duncan put down a kill to help the Spartans edge Texas Wesleyan, 25-23.
 
Surviving several mistakes in the contest, MBU moved to 2-1 in five-set matches this season. In total, MBU gave up 16 free points to the Rams on service errors and another seven points on serve receive, block errors and ballhanding errors. Luckily, the Spartans refrained from committing an attack error in Set 5, while sending the Rams into a tailspin as the Sooner Athletic Conference runner-up hit -0.115 with 4 kills and 7 errors on 26 swings.
 
Texas Wesleyan proved to a be a tough team defensively for the Spartans in both blocking (9) and dig differential (104-76). For MBU, the Spartans had three individuals with 10+ digs led by libero Ariana Macies.
 
Joining Cigarini as a constant offensive threat was Isidora Stojovic, who finished with 17 kills, 14 digs and a team-best 4 service aces, and Katie Duncan, who had 9 kills, hit .429 and had 5 digs.
 
With the only other meeting between the two teams coming in Pool D of the 2005 National Championships, MBU was able to even the all-time series on Tuesday at 1-1.
 
Up next for the Spartans is No. 20-ranked College of Saint Mary (Neb.) on Wednesday. First serve is set for 6 p.m.