SIOUX CITY, Iowa – In a national semifinal featuring the past two NAIA Women's Volleyball champions, No. 3 Missouri Baptist University prevailed with a sweep of sixth-ranked Marian (Ind.) on Friday – 25-19, 25-20, 27-25 – and moved one step closer to successfully defending its title. The Spartans look to become the first team to repeat as national champions since Fresno Pacific University (2007-10).
 
The stage is set with plenty of storylines heading into Saturday's championship final, which will be aired on ESPN3 at 7 p.m. (CST). The Spartans will chase their second-straight NAIA crown against a familiar foe in former AMC rival Park University. The two-time national champion Pirates (2014, 2018) advanced earlier on Friday with a convincing sweep of previously unbeaten and No. 1 overall seed Jamestown (N.D.).
 
By sweeping Marian, Missouri Baptist (32-2) broke a program record for most consecutive wins, surpassing the previous mark (27) set back in 2018. The Spartans have rattled off 28 wins in a row following a pair of setbacks in Wisconsin to Midland and Viterbo in late August.
 
Making its fifth NAIA semifinal appearance and third, in five seasons, MBU was out for revenge on Friday since Marian swept and eliminated the Spartans in the 2019 NAIA Quarterfinals in the only previous meeting between the two teams.
 
MoBap again flexed its offensive muscles in the opening set with 21 kills while hitting .425%. Combined with Pool Play and Quarterfinal matches, the Spartans are averaging an impressive 18.75 kills and a .374 hitting percentage this week in Set One. Several Spartans got off to great starts, including Giovanna Tapigliani and Isidora Stojovic with six kills apiece and middle blockers Raylyn Dodd and Sara Klunder, who combined for seven. MBU led the entire set and took No. 1, 25-19.
 
Neither team broke away in the early stages of the second set, and while the Knights led for a moment (13-12), the turning point materialized at 15-all. Following an MU attack error, Giovanna Tapigliani registered her sixth kill of the set, and Ariana Macies delivered back-to-back service aces to complete a 4-0 run and stretch the lead to 19-15. The Spartans and Knights traded points the next 11 rallies allowing for a 25-20 win in Set Two for MBU.
 
Riding the momentum, Missouri Baptist jumped ahead of the Knights 7-2 in Set Three. However, a Marian timeout halted the Spartans' run and boosted MU, who eventually went on a 7-1 run of its own to take a 15-12 lead. The insertion of Liz van Houwelingen at outside hitter provided an instant spark to keep Missouri Baptist within reach. However, Marian still found itself one point away from taking the set at 24-22.
 
It was déjà vu all over again as the Spartans were on the verge of losing Set Three for the third straight match. With things trending towards the Knights, Raylyn Dodd came through in the clutch with back-to-back kills to force extra points. Tied at 25-all, Manuela Vargas went back to Raylyn Dodd for another critical kill and match point. Marian's Skyler Van Note went wide in the final point to commence another court storming for the Spartans.
 
Missouri Baptist hit .320 for the match and held advantages over the Knights in kills (53-36), service aces (5-1), and digs (62-52). Despite the 5-1 margin in aces, the Spartans will need to improve from the end line on Saturday after 13 service errors.
 
Three Spartans reached 10+ kills on the night, including a team-best 15 kills from Tapigliani, 12 from Stojovic, and 10 from Dodd, who hit .769% for the match. Tapigliani and Dodd shared the team lead in blocks with two apiece. Setter Manuela Vargas recorded her third consecutive double-double with 44 assists and 11 digs. Libero Ariana Macies achieved match highs in digs (23) and service aces (2).