SIOUX CITY, Iowa – No. 6-ranked Missouri Baptist University got off on the right footing Tuesday in its first pool play match of the 2020 NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship defeating No. 23 Indiana University Kokomo 25-18, 25-23, 25-20. With the win over the Cougars (23-6), MBU stretched its current winning and consecutive sweeps streak to 10.
 
Now 24-2 overall and 6-1 against Top-25 opponents, the Spartans took control of the match when the lights shined brightest. In her first go-around at Nationals, sophomore Emma Lattimore went off for a career-best 13 kills. Senior libero Ariana Macies commanded the Spartans' passing and back row with a season-high 22 digs. And not a stranger to championship-level volleyball, senior setter Manuela Vargas posted a double-double of 37 assists and 10 digs.
 
MBU and IU Kokomo each had their moments in the opening frame and battled for momentum for more than half of the set. There were seven ties and four lead changes in the first 30 rallies. At 15-all, the Spartans made their move. MBU scored five consecutive points with a pair of kills from Lattimore, two from freshman middle blocker Sara Klunder, and an IU Kokomo error. The Cougars pulled within three at 21-18. However, a timely 4-0 run ended it right then and there.
 
Emma Lattimore and Raylyn Dodd carried a significant load in the first set combining for 10 kills. Lattimore led all players with six kills on seven swings (.857), while Dodd was a perfect 4-for-4 on her swings and contributed four blocks (1 S, 3 A).
 
Offensively, MoBap relied heavily on its pin hitters Emma Lattimore and 2019 NAIA All-American Isidora Stojovic in the second. Stojovic turned it up a notch after a relatively slow start to record seven of her 12 kills. Lattimore finished with four kills in the second stanza and none more prominent than the last two points to propel MBU to a 25-23 set win.
 
The final frame was a collective effort as seven different players recorded a kill, and as a team, the Spartans hit a match-high .316. Defensively, MBU limited the Cougars to a .118 hitting clip in large part due to the play of Ariana Macies, who had 10 digs in the set. Macies averaged 7.33 digs per set for the match and was flawless as usual in serve receive (21-for-21). In addition to her career day offensively, Emma Lattimore was equally impressive in serve receive and passing with seven digs and a perfect 29-for-29 in reception attempts.
 
Other notable performances included setter Manuela Vargas with 37 assists, 10 digs, four blocks, and one of MBU's two service aces, Raylyn Dodd with a .417 hitting percentage, eight kills, and five blocks and Liz van Houwelingen off the bench had six digs and a kill.
 
The Spartans wrap up Pool F on Wednesday at 1 p.m. when they square off with 11^th-ranked Keiser University (Fla.) that sits at 36-0 overall. With a win over the undefeated Seahawks, MBU would advance out of pool play and into the eight-team single-elimination bracket that begins on Thursday.