ST. LOUIS – With the earliest start time among 24 NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship Opening Round host sites on Saturday (April 17), No. 6-ranked Missouri Baptist University could stake a claim as the first school to punch its ticket to the Final Site in Sioux City. On a day when just one lower seed prevailed in 24 Opening Round matches, the higher-seeded Spartans coasted to a 25-13, 25-10, 25-12 sweep of Milligan University (16-13, 12-7 AAC).
 
Making its 12^th national championship appearance, Missouri Baptist recorded sweep No. 21 of the season and went a second straight year without losing at home. MoBap finished its 2020-21 home slate with a 15-0 record in Lacey Gymnasium.
 
The Spartans overpowered the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament runner-up every step of the way and never trailed in the contest. MBU hit .439 while keeping the Buffs in the negatives each set. Milligan finished with a season-low hitting percentage of -.072. The other stats were also one-sided. MBU posted a 45-12 advantage in kills and led 8-0 in aces, 9-1 in blocks, and 45-27 in digs.
 
In Set One, seniors Isidora Stojovic and Giovanna Tapigliani set the tone early with five kills apiece. At the same time, freshman middle blocker Sara Klunder added four kills, one block, and a stretch serving in which the Spartans went on a 7-0 run.
 
The Spartans took the wind out of Milligan's sails again in the second set. With a five-point lead at 14-9, Missouri Baptist scored in 11 of the next 12 rallies. Junior defensive specialist Nathiellen Machado provided a big spark for the Spartans at the service line.
 
No. 6-ranked MBU (23-2) opened the third set with a 5-1 lead and never looked back. With 12 service errors in the first two sets, the Spartans flipped the narrative in the final set with four service aces to just one error. Emma Lattimore delivered a pair of aces in back-to-back rallies, while Katie Duncan and Manuela Vargas also joined in with one apiece.
 
Reigning NAIA Attacker of the Week Isidora Stojovic and AMC Player of the Year Giovanna Tapiigliani recorded 11 kills each in the match with hitting percentages well above .400. The Spartans' middles were also efficient, with a combined 13 kills on 18 swings (.611). Sara Klunder finished with eight kills, a match-best .636 hitting percentage, and three blocks, while Raylyn Dodd had five kills and four blocks. Emma Lattimore rounded out the team's impressive performance on offense with seven kills.
 
As usual, Co-AMC Setter of the Year Manuela Vargas orchestrated it all, dishing out 38 assists (12.66 a/s) to go along with six digs, three blocks, and two aces. And living up to the billing as AMC Defensive Player of the Year, libero Ariana Macies hauled in a match-best 17 digs for MoBap.
 
Pool Play schedules for the National Championship Final Site will be revealed on Sunday at 5 p.m. Be sure to check back on MBUSpartans.com for the latest details on MBU's trip back to the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. Pool Play will get underway on April 27.