ST. LOUIS – Missouri Baptist Women's Volleyball upped its NAIA-leading and program-best set streak to 37 on Friday with a pair of convincing sweeps over No. 25 Columbia College and No. 12 Bellevue University. The two Top 25 opponents struggled to find any traction against MBU in the one-day Spartan Invitational as neither could eclipse the 20-point mark in a set.
 
The fifth-ranked Spartans downed AMC counterpart Columbia by scores of 25-13, 25-19, 25-18 and proceeded to win its fourth match against a Top 25 team this year defeating Bellevue, 25-18, 25-16, 25-14.
 
With the pair of wins, MBU improved its overall record to 13-1 while stretching the current winning streak at home to 23. The last loss at Lacey Gymnasium dates all the way back to Oct. 26, 2018 (vs. Park University).
 
In Friday's opening match vs. Columbia, the Spartans came at the Cougars in full force. After trading the first four points of the set, MoBap rattled off a massive 11-0 run to break open the game. Giovanna Tapigliani, Emma Lattimore and middle blockers Raylyn Dodd and Sara Klunder combined to hit .545 and helped propel MBU to a 25-13 set victory.
 
Despite back-and-forth action to begin Set 2, MBU settled in with a 9-2 run, never turned back and secured a 25-19 win. The third and final set appeared to be in Columbia's hands early on with the Spartans trailing by as much as five, however, MBU quickly adjusted and got sweep No. 1 of the day.
 
Giovanna Tapigliani and Isidora Stojovic led the Spartans in offensive production with 9 and 7 kills, respectively. Other notable stats from the match include Stojovic's 7 digs and 3 block assists, Lattimore's team-high 13 digs, Ariana Macies' 10 digs and Manuela Vargas' 36 assists.
 
Against Bellevue, the Spartans wasted little time setting the tone. In Set 1, MoBap and Bellevue were not far off offensively with 13 and 10 kills, respectively, however, the difference maker was at the service line where the Spartans recorded 7 service aces. Sara Klunder and Ariana Macies each had three aces apiece in the set.
 
Missouri Baptist built on the early momentum and outhit the Bruins .333 to .080 in the second set. The Spartans won 25-16. In Set 3, MBU distanced itself even more from No. 12 Bellevue holding the Bruins to an impressive -0.174 hitting clip, while the Spartans played arguably their best set of the day with 11 kills and just one attack error for a red-hot .526 hitting %.
 
For the match, MBU held Bellevue to a season-low .041 hitting percentage, after the Bruins had hit .258 as a unit the match in their four-set victory over No. 25 Columbia. As a group, the Spartans notched 12 service aces, led by senior libero Ariana Macies (5), freshman middle Sara Klunder (3) and senior setter Manuela Vargas (2). The team hit .363 for the match.
 
Seniors Isidora Stojovic (9), Giovanna Tapigliani (9) and Raylyn Dodd (8) combined for 26 of the Spartans' 38 kills. Setter Manuela Vargas assisted her hitters up on 30 occasions and finished with 2 aces and 5 digs.
 
As it stands, No. 5 Missouri Baptist Women's Volleyball will be back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at home vs. Lincoln College. First serve is set for 4 p.m.