SIOUX CITY, Iowa – No. 6-ranked Missouri Baptist University Women's Volleyball will head to the NAIA National Championship Quarterfinals for the second consecutive year and seventh all-time following a 3-1 victory over No. 11 Keiser (36-2) on Wednesday. MBU jumped out to a two-set lead and stayed the course after surrendering a set to the opposition for the first time in 11 matches, defeating the Seahawks, 25-20, 25-17, 23-25, 25-21.
 
Undefeated in Pool F, the Spartans (25-2) have now made it out of Pool Play in each of their past seven tournament appearances.
 
Set one was a bit of a rollercoaster ride that got off to a rocky start but eventually got back on track. After MBU began the match with a Raylyn Dodd-Giovanna Tapigliani block, the Seahawks went on a 5-0 run with four kills and an ace. When the Spartans climbed back within one, Keiser answered back and reclaimed a five-point advantage. Tapigliani and freshman Sara Klunder had different plans, though. Between Tapigliani and Klunder, the two combined for seven kills and two blocks in a 9-3 Missouri Baptist run.
 
The Spartans avoided a first-set letdown that included six service errors and a subpar .257 hitting percentage with lockdown defense to end the frame. MBU held Keiser, which owns the NAIA's second-best hitting percentage (.298), to a -.023 clip in the opening set.
 
In Set Two, MBU found its groove early and went on a tear in the form of a 16-3 run. Highlighting the stretch was dominant serving from Nathiellen Machado (2 aces) and Emma Lattimore (3 aces) that often pulled the Seahawks out of system, and an attack that caught fire for 16 kills and a .343 hitting percentage. Down by 14, KU continued to battle and cut the deficit in half before the Spartans locked up the set, 25-17.
 
Keiser used the momentum from the end of Set Two to keep the Spartans off balance. Capitalizing on 16 Spartan miscues, including nine attack errors, five service errors, and two reception errors, the Seahawks edged MBU 25-23 to force a fourth set.
 
The fourth and final frame was the definition of a barnburner. There were 15 ties and five lead changes. Both teams had nearly identical stat lines – 16 kills apiece, ~.300 hitting %, and 16 digs apiece. At 20-all, the battle-tested Spartans scored in four of the next five rallies to close out the match.
 
Missouri Baptist held the Seahawks to a season-low .152 hitting percentage, and 4.0 kills/set under their season average.
 
AMC Player of the Year Giovanna Tapigliani hit .417 for the match and tied her season-high in kills and blocks with 20 and 4, respectively. Joining Tapigliani with double-digit kills was Sara Klunder and Emma Lattimore with 11 apiece. Klunder had just one attack error to lead all players with a .556 hitting percentage while also recorded match-high six blocks (2 S, 4 A).
 
Other stat leaders included Lattimore with a career-high four service aces, Ariana Macies with 19 digs, and Manuela Vargas with 51 assists. Vargas posted her second consecutive double-double with 51 assists, 10 digs, as well as three aces and three blocks.
 
The Spartans will face No. 14-ranked Grand View University Thursday in primetime at 7:30 p.m. The Vikings advanced out of Pool C as the No. 2 seed after defeating No. 19 Ottawa and No. 3 Westmont.
 
Five of the eight quarterfinalists come from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC), with MBU, Grand View, and Eastern Oregon representing the outliers.