SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Just under seven months ago, No. 3-ranked Missouri Baptist University was the last team standing in the 2020 NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship defeating Midland (Neb.) in five sets for its first-ever national title. The Spartans are back in Sioux City this week for their 13th overall championship appearance and are looking to etch their name in the record books as one of the few repeat champions in NAIA Women's Volleyball history.
As the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament, MBU was placed in Pool C with two familiar teams in No. 14-ranked Central Methodist University (Mo.) and No. 22-ranked Dordt University (Iowa). The Spartans defeated CMU in four sets back in September at the MBU Spartan Invitational, while the last meeting between MBU and Dordt in the 2020 NAIA National Semifinals resulted in an epic five-setter that punched the Spartans' ticket into the championship final.
Coverage for the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championships can be found on MBUSpartans.com including live statistics (FREE), live video (pay-per-view on the NAIA Network) as well as several social media platforms including @MBUAthletics and @MBUWVolleyball on Twitter and @mbu_athletics and @mbuwvolleyball on Instagram.
Game Notes – Pool C vs. Dordt / Central Methodist (PDF)
NAIA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
- The Spartans won their first-ever women's volleyball national title on May 1 in a 3-2 win over No. 12-ranked Midland University
- Under head coach Chris Nichols, MBU has made the national tournament eight years in a row
- The Spartans have made it out of Pool Play and into at least the Round of 16 in each of the past seven seasons
- Since 2014, MBU has advanced to the Quarterfinals five times in seven years
- The Spartans are 37-23 all-time in the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship:
- Opening Round: 4-0
- Pool Play: 22-15
- Round of 16: 4-2
- Quarterfinals: 4-3
- Semifinals: 2-2
- Championship: 1-1
WE'RE GETTING THE BAND BACK TOGETHER!
- The Spartans returned all seven starters from last season's national championship squad, including NAIA National Championship MVP Manuela Vargas and four NAIA All-Americans – OPP Giovanna Tapigliani (1st Team), OH Isidora Stojovic (3rd Team), MB Raylyn Dodd (3rd Team), MB Sara Klunder (3rd Team)
- MBU lost very little production from its three graduating seniors, returning 98% of its total scoring from 2020-21 (kills, aces, blocks)
- The Spartans will look to become the first team to repeat as national champions since Fresno Pacific (2007-10) ; other schools that have won back-to-back/consecutive NAIA women's volleyball titles include California Baptist (2004-05), Columbia (1998-99), Brigham Young-Hawaii (1994-97) (1991-92) (1986-87), and Hawaii-Hilo (1981-84)
MBU VS. DORDT
- Missouri Baptist and Dordt have squared off three times, all of which have taken place in NAIA postseason play
- This marks the third time that the Spartans have met Dordt in Pool Play – 2005, 2017, 2021
- In last season's meeting between the two teams, MBU jumped ahead two sets to none – 25-20, 25-15 – before a giant swing in momentum with Dordt winning Sets Three and Four 25-14 and 25-19 ; Dordt opened the scoring in the tiebreaker set, MBU used a 5-0 run to seize the momentum and after ties at 12-all and 13-all, Giovanna Tapigliani provided a clutch kill for match point followed by an ace near the end line by Ariana Macies to seal the deal
- Giovanna Tapigliani, Emma Lattimore and Sara Klunder shouldered the a heavy load offensively with Tapigliani registering a season-high 21 kills, Lattimore finishing with 14 kills and Klunder finishing with 12 kills and 6 blocks (2 solo, 4 assisted)
- As a team, the Spartans held a 66-45 advantage in kills over the Defenders, but were out-blocked 19-9
MBU VS. CENTRAL METHODIST
- Missouri Baptist is 8-1 all-time versus Central Methodist
- The Spartans and Eagles have never played one another in the postseason
- The two teams met earlier this season on Sept. 11 at the MBU Spartan Invitational ; the Spartans defeated then-No. 11 CMU, 25-22, 24-26, 25-21, 25-16 ; multiple career highs came out of MBU's 3-1 win including 15 kills for senior middle blocker Raylyn Dodd and 61 assists for senior setter Manuela Vargas
- CMU's only win in the series came in 2019 against a short-handed Spartan squad at the Evangel Crusader Classic in Springfield, Mo.
