LINCOLN, Ill. – It had been 38 days since the No. 8-ranked Missouri Baptist University women's volleyball team last competed, but there were very few cobwebs to shake off as the Spartans coasted to a 3-0 sweep at Lincoln Christian University. MBU took command of the match early with its strong serving, passing and near error-free attack and finished the night with set wins of 25-9, 25-10 and 25-20.
 
Each set, the Spartans provided the Red Lions a new set of problems to deal with. In the opening set, it was MBU's outside hitters Isidora Stojovic and Emma Lattimore, who wreaked havoc with 12 kills and zero errors on just 16 swings (.750 hitting %). For the set, MoBap hit a red-hot .583 with 16 kills, while limiting the home team to a .000 attack % and just 5 kills. The Spartans won Set 1 by a score of 25-10.
 
There seemed to be a glimmer of hope for Lincoln Christian to hang with the Spartans in the beginning of Set 2, however, the tide turned quickly and in a one-sided way. In the set's final 17 rallies, MBU won 16 out of the 17 points. While the Spartans kept their hitting percentage above .500 for the second straight frame, it was a dominant performance from the service line that stole the show. During the Spartans' 16-1 run, LCU couldn't contain senior setter Manuela Vargas, who recorded a career-high six service aces (all of which came in the second set), and freshman Maria Hanusik, who served the final four points in a 25-9 win.
 
While the third set wasn't a runaway like the first two, MBU led the entire way and maintained at least a two-point cushion throughout. Ballwin, Mo. freshman setter Shannon McLain registered an impressive 13 assists and distributed the ball to six different Spartans for kills in one set of action. MBU stood tall at the net in Set 3 notching four of its six blocks in the final frame.
 
Offensively, the Spartans had six players hit .500 or above for the match, led by sophomores Emma Lattimore (6 kills) and Carlee Wise (5 kills) at .857 and .833. Liz van Houwelingen and Isidora Stojovic paced the team in kills with 8 and 7, respectively.
 
Manuela Vargas had herself a night recording a match-best 23 assists, 7 digs and 6 service aces in only two sets played.
 
MBU improves to 2-1 on the year and will look to add two more wins to its total on Wednesday when it welcomes Baker University (Kan.) to the Carl and Deloris Petty Sports & Recreation Complex for a double feature at 4 and 6 p.m. Missouri Baptist University home events are still spectator-free at this time, so be sure to follow the action with live statistics or our free, HD video stream on the Spartan Digital Network.