ST. LOUIS – Looking for its first signature win of the year, No. 4-ranked Missouri Baptist University did one better by grabbing back-to-back wins on Friday against two teams ranked in the Top 10 of the NAIA Women's Volleyball Coaches' Preseason Poll. The Spartans began Day 1 of the Spartan Invitational with a sweep of No. 9 Lindsey Wilson College before taking down No. 5 Viterbo University in four sets.
 
With the pair of victories, MBU extended its winning streak to eight games after beginning the season 0-3. The Spartans improved their overall record to 8-3 and will look for a perfect 3-0 weekend when they take on No. 8 Midland (Neb.) tomorrow at 12 p.m.
 
Friday got off to a great start as the Spartans imposed their will on No. 9 Lindsey Wilson in the first set winning by 10-point margin (25-15).
 
The Blue Raiders rebounded from the rough opening set and came out with vengeance. The visitors from Columbia, Kentucky jumped out to a commanding 11-4 lead before yielding the next five rallies to the Spartans. The Blue Raiders answered with a five-point swing of their own to go up 17-10 only to give it right back to MoBap. The Spartans eventually tied it at 20-20 and took their first lead of the second set at 21-20. LWC had set point on two different occasions, but couldn't close the deal. Missouri Baptist, however, closed it out with the last three points of the set on a Marina Sanches kill, Caterina Cigarini kill and Blue Raider attack error.
 
MBU completed its first-ever sweep of Lindsey Wilson with a 25-19 victory in the third set. It marks the fifth straight-set victory for the Spartans this year. Stat leaders for the team included Katie Duncan with 11 kills, Ariana Macies with 17 digs, Marina Sanches with 3 blocks and Morgan Berry with 32 assists.
 
The nightcap win over No. 5 Viterbo was also special marking the first time that the Spartans have defeated the V-Hawks since 2015. MBU last won against Viterbo in the 2015 NAIA National Championship Semifinals, a match that earned the Spartans a spot in the championship against AMC rival Columbia College.
 
MBU jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead in the first set and didn't let up. The Spartans got strong play out of several players, but opposite hitter Giovanna Tapigliani was one who stepped up and set the tone. Tapigliani put down 5 kills and 2 blocks in the 25-17 opening set.
 
The second set had a similar start in which the Spartans developed a 6-point lead early on, but this time around Viterbo was able to erase it. A sloppy second set costed the Spartans their shot at another sweep for Friday. The V-Hawks won Set Two, 25-20.
 
The third and fourth sets were tightly contested and fairly even statistically, but the Spartans grinded it out when it mattered most. Following a 25-19 win in Set Three, MBU took one down to the wire in the final set. Up 23-19, the Spartans surrendered four straight points to Viterbo to make things interesting. Outside hitter Isidora Stojovic came through in the clutch with a kill at 24-23 and a block assist with Caterina Cigarini to seal the deal.
 
Stojovic finished the match with 13 kills, 7 digs, 3 service aces and 2 block assists, but was also targeted on serve receive with four reception errors. Giovanna Tapigliani led all players with 15 kills and a .364 hitting percentage. She also joined Stojovic with three service aces of her own.