ST. LOUIS – The No. 3-ranked Missouri Baptist University women's volleyball team reigned supreme over Columbia College in the AMC Women's Volleyball Tournament Championship for the second straight season. Unlike the 2020-21 tournament final in which was tightly contested throughout (W – 25-22, 25-20, 25-23), MBU's control over the match and the 17^th-ranked Cougars was never in doubt. The Spartans coasted to a 25-15, 25-17, 25-10 sweep en route to their second consecutive tournament title and fourth in program history.
 
This marks the first time that MBU has won both the AMC regular season championship and tournament championship in the same year.
 
With win No. 23 in a row, the Spartans improved to 27-2 on the season are quietly approaching the program record for most consecutive victories in a single season (27), which was set in 2018. MoBap also extended the recent success over CC with the seventh win in a row against their conference rivals.
 
Although things got off to a fast start offensively, it was the strong serving and passing by the Spartans that provided the extra boost in Set One. Five different MBU players recorded a service ace in the opening set to account for six of the team's 12 aces on the day. The Spartans hit just .172% in the first frame, but it was much bleaker for the Cougars, who were limited to just two kills and hit -.143%.
 
The defending NAIA national champions turned things up a notch in Set Two putting down 18 kills while hitting .410%. Opposite hitter Giovanna Tapigliani and outside hitter Maria Hanusik teamed up for 12 of those kills and helped the Spartans take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Top-seeded MBU could smell victory and piled on the points in bunches in what was the third and final set. The Spartans started with an early 6-0 run and added a pair of 6-1 runs along the way to close out the Cougars in dominant fashion. MBU held a .579 to .042 advantage in hitting percentage to take down Columbia, 25-10.
 
For the sixth time this season, the Spartans went the distance without yielding a service ace to its opponent.
 
Following the match, the American Midwest Conference announced its annual awards and all-conference teams. Missouri Baptist took home the lion's share of All-AMC First Team selections placing all seven starters on the list: Raylyn Dodd (MB), Sara Klunder (MB), Emma Lattimore (OH), Ariana Macies (L), Isidora Stojovic (OH), Giovanna Tapigliani (OPP), and Manuela Vargas (S).
 
The conference's top honor stayed home with the Spartans as Manuela Vargas was named both AMC Player of the Year and Setter of the Year. It marks the third year in a row that a Spartan student-athlete has won POY – Caterina Cigarini (2019), Giovanna Tapigliani (2020-21). And, for the second time in as many seasons, Ariana Macies was tabbed as AMC Defensive Player of the Year.
 
MBU's automatic bid to the 2021 NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship comes from their regular-season title opening the AMC's second bid to Columbia as the tournament runner-up. The national qualifiers and Opening Round host sites will be announced via a selection show hosted on the PlayNAIA Facebook page on Monday, Nov. 15, at 10 a.m. (CST). Stay locked in to MBUSpartans.com and the Women's Volleyball on Twitter (@MBUWVolleyball) for the latest information on the NAIA National Championship Opening Round.