ST. LOUIS – The emotions were running high with the 2020 NAIA National Championship ring ceremony before the match and No. 19 Columbia College in town. With sole possession of first place in the AMC standings on the line, No. 3-ranked Missouri Baptist Women's Volleyball bounced back from a first-set loss to defeat the Cougars, 23-25, 25-21, 25-13, 25-22.
 
The Spartans, who have now won six straight against their AMC rivals, moved to 19-2, 5-0 AMC, while Columbia suffered their first conference loss dropping to 22-7, 4-1 AMC. With a victory over the 19^th-ranked Cougars, MBU improved its record against ranked or receiving votes opponents to 7-2.
 
"Anytime Columbia and Missouri Baptist get together, the stakes are high because it's a big rivalry," said head coach Chris Nichols in his post-match interview. "Columbia is always really good, we're both National Tournament qualifiers year in year out, and we're constantly battling for the top spot in this conference. So it's a huge win for us, and they're the most fun matches to play in."
 
2020-21 AMC Player of the Year Giovanna Tapigliani made a strong case on Tuesday for a repeat of the conference's top honor, registering a career-high 26 kills, a .386 hitting percentage, and season highs in digs (12) and blocks (5). Manuela Vargas turned to Tapigliani early and often as the opposite hitter had six in the opening set.
 
Up by as much as four midway through Set One, Missouri Baptist saw its lead dissipate, and the two teams traded points all the way to 22-22. With a crowd-roaring kill from Tapigliani to tie the game at 22-all, CC regrouped with a timeout and went on to score three of the last four points. Set One and the early momentum went in favor of the visitors.
 
The second set was a grind-it-out performance for both squads. While MBU held a slim advantage in kills (12-9) and attack percentage (.176-.083), the Spartans' defense and passing took center stage. Libero Ariana Macies set the tone with seven of MBU's 20 digs in the set, while the front-row secured four blocks. Following a 2-2 tie early on, MoBap jumped ahead and never relinquished the lead in a 25-21 win to even the match at one apiece.
 
The tide turned for Missouri Baptist in a big way in Set Three as the Spartans went on a monstrous 13-0 run with Maria Hanusik at the service line. Tapigliani had her way on attack with seven kills, and while Columbia tried to slow the momentum, the deficit was too much for the Cougars to overcome. MBU claimed the third set, 25-13.
 
With No. 3-ranked MBU catching fire, the only thing getting in the way of another win and maintaining a perfect record at the SRC was the Spartans. In complete control and a five-point lead late, Columbia made one last-ditch effort to force a tiebreaker set. Taking advantage of multiple mental errors on MBU's side of the net, the Cougars narrowed the margin to one at 22-21. Flipping the script from Set One, MBU took a timeout and went to Tapigliani and Sara Klunder for three of the last four points.

Facing her former team, setter Manuela Vargas directed the offense dishing out 54 assists for 13.50 per set, to go along with three kills, two blocks, and the second-most digs with 14.
 
Joining Vargas with double-digit digs in a defense-heavy match was Ariana Macies with a match-best 26, Emma Lattimore with 13, Tapigliani with 12, and Maria Hanusik with 10. Like Vargas, Lattimore logged a double-double with 11 kills and her 13 digs.
 
The Spartans held a 9-1 advantage in service aces thanks to four from Hanusik, two apiece from Macies and Klunder, and one from Vargas.
 
With a quick turnaround, the first-place Spartans will look to extend their winning streak to 16 matches when they travel to Columbia, Mo. tomorrow to take on Stephens College (9-10, 1-3 AMC) at 6 p.m.