ST. LOUIS – The No. 3-ranked Missouri Baptist women's volleyball team passed the second-to-last checkpoint in its quest to repeat as American Midwest Conference Tournament champions, sweeping William Woods on Friday afternoon in the semifinals, 25-13, 25-20, 25-22. The Spartans extended their winning streak to 22 matches and the current stretch without dropping a set to 21.
The Spartans will appear in the AMC Championship Final for the third straight season and second in a row as host of the tournament finale. It also marks the second time in as many seasons that MBU will meet Columbia College in the championship match. The 17
th-ranked Cougars earned a straight-set victory over No. 3-seed Hannibal-LaGrange in the Semifinal #2 on Friday.
There was little that could stop the Spartans in Set One as the reigning NAIA national champions roared out of the gates for 19 kills on .607 hitting. MBU's starting pin hitters on Friday –
Maria Hanusik and
Giovanna Tapigliani put on an offensive clinic with seven and six kills, respectively. The Spartans' dynamic middle duo of
Raylyn Dodd and
Sara Klunder pitched in a combined five kills as well. One other source of scoring for MBU was a trifecta of service aces from libero
Emma Lattimore.
After a lopsided win in Set One, the Spartans were brought back to reality when they had to claw back from a significant six-point deficit (17-11) midway through the second. MBU, however, countered with two separate runs of 6-1 and 6-0 to close out the set, 25-20.
William Woods once again had the Spartans playing from behind thanks to a big 7-0 spark to begin the third set. Setter
Manuela Vargas, who had 42 assists (14.00 a/s) for the match, turned to the hot hands of Dodd and Tapigliani to rally the troops and take the lead back at 11-10. With Set Three tied on 11 different occasions and no opportunities to create distance from the Owls, the Spartans had to grind out a closely contested 25-22 set win.
Still missing the reigning AMC Defensive Player of the Year
Ariana Macies due to injury, MBU found others way to finish with a 54-42 advantage in digs. In fact,
Giovanna Tapigliani, who is better known for her offensive prowess, paced the Spartans in digs with 13. Other notable defensive performances included
Emma Lattimore with 11 digs at the libero spot, Vargas with eight, Hanusik with eight and
Nathiellen Machado with seven.
On attack, there may not be anyone in the country with a stat as impressive as
Raylyn Dodd's high efficiency. Across the past two AMC matches, Dodd has combined for 22 kills on 23 swings for a blistering .956 hitting %. Joining Dodd in double-digit kills versus the Owls was Tapigliaini with a match-high 14 and Hanusik with 11 kills.
