ST. LOUIS – No. 3-ranked Missouri Baptist University stayed true to form on Tuesday evening as the top seed of the AMC Women's Volleyball Tournament sweeping No. 8-seed UHSP in the quarterfinals, 25-16, 25-10, 25-9. Peaking at the right time, the Spartans improved to 25-2 on the season and are now winners of their past 21 matches.
In conjunction with the quarterfinal matchup, the Spartans also celebrated Senior Night following the contest, celebrating the decorated careers of
Raylyn Dodd,
Ariana Macies,
Isidora Stojovic,
Giovanna Tapigliani, and
Manuela Vargas. The senior class didn't disappoint in-game with several standout performances. The headliner belonged to Dodd, who completed the rare feat of hitting 1.000% on the night with 10 kills on 10 attempts and had a match-high six blocks.
Outside hitter
Isidora Stojovic and
Giovanna Tapigliani also brought the heat on attack as the Stojovic finished with seven kills and hit .294. Tapigliani had one of the best all-around performances with a match-best 12 kills, a .632 hitting percentage, eight digs, four blocks and three service aces. Playing all three sets, setter
Manuela Vargas posted 35 assists (11.66 a/s), six digs, one ace and one block. Missing on the court was
Ariana Macies, who was sidelined due to an injury.
The senior class, which has been a part of the program for the past three seasons (aside from Vargas) has combined for 85 wins, an impressive .867 winning percentage, and of course helped capture the team's first-ever NAIA national championship in May.
The front-row trio of Dodd, Stojovic and Tapigliani combined for 11 of the team's 14 kills in the opening set, while Vargas and
Emma Lattimore got things rolling from the service line with three aces.
As the second set began, the two teams traded points and were tied at 3-all before a massive run by the Spartans. A balanced 6-0 run with two kills, two aces and two blocks jumpstarted the tear. With
Emma Lattimore at the service line, a separate 7-0 run with two more aces, three kills from Tapigliani and two more kills from the middles put MBU ahead 16-4. The defending AMC Tournament champs kept their foot on the gas to take Set Two, 25-10.
The Spartans continued to make life difficult for the Eutectics, particularly in the final set in which the visitors managed just three kills compared to 11 attack errors for a rough -.320 hitting percentage.
MBU moves on to the AMC Semifinals where it will meet No. 4-seed William Woods on Friday at 4:30 p.m. As the top seed, the Spartans will serve as host of both semifinal matches as well as the championship final on Saturday afternoon (3 p.m.).
