SIOUX CITY, Iowa – In the second down-to-the-wire finish in as many days, No. 6-ranked Missouri Baptist edged Dordt University in five sets on Friday in the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship Semifinals. Up by one in the tiebreaker set, senior libero Ariana Macies delivered a game-winning service ace to secure MBU's spot in the NAIA Women's Volleyball Championship match for the second time in program history.
 
Missouri Baptist (27-2) will meet 12^th-ranked and red-hot Midland University (16-9) Saturday night in the national championship at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN3. The Spartans look to avenge a five-set loss to the Warriors in the 2020-21 season opener at Midland (25-21, 12-25, 25-16, 22-25, 11-15). The Warriors are fresh off upsetting top-seeded Jamestown University in four sets on Friday.
 
In its previous national championship appearance in 2015, the Spartans fell in straight sets to conference rival Columbia College. A first-time champion will be crowned on Saturday as the Warriors make their first-ever appearance in the title match.
 
Under the direction of eighth-year head coach Chris Nichols, the Spartans have made it to the NAIA National Tournament seven years in a row, advanced to the quarterfinals five times, semifinals three times, and now the national championship twice.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED…
It appeared to be déjà vu of Thursday's opening set in the Quarterfinals when Grand View took the early lead and ran off with a 25-13 Set One win. Dordt opened Friday's semifinal matchup on a 6-1 run with three blocks, foreshadowing what was to come later in the contest. MBU quietly chipped away at the Defenders' lead and seized momentum while trailing 11-10. With a Giovanna Tapigliani kill, the Spartans proceeded to score 12 of the following 14 points and put enough distance between the two squads in a 25-20 set win. Tapigliani and sophomore Emma Lattimore paced MoBap with a combined 11 kills.
 
Tapigliani was once again the primary catalyst in the Spartans' attack with six kills and three block assists in the second set. Middles Sara Klunder and Raylyn Dodd also got rolling, assisting Tapligiani in her three blocks to go along with three kills apiece. MBU was able to take the wind out of Dordt's sails midway through the frame with a 10-3 run, extending the Spartans' advantage to nine points as they cruised to a 25-15.
 
The tide shifted in a big way to the Defenders in Set 3. Dordt hit for a match-high .333 in the set with nine kills and zero attack errors and stymied the Spartans to avoid a quick sweep. The Defenders did the damage early with an 8-0 run and kept a seven-point cushion throughout the rest of the set. MBU hit a match-low .070 with 12 kills to nine errors.
 
A solid start to the fourth set for Dordt forced the Spartans to play from behind once again. No. 6-ranked MBU closed within one at 13-12 but couldn't quite get over the hump and was thwarted by an 8-2 run by the Defenders. Dordt continued to pile on the blocks holding a 6-4 advantage in Set Four. The hometown team pushed the match to a tiebreaker, winning the fourth set by a score of 25-19.
 
For the fifth consecutive set, Dordt struck first. Trailing 3-1, the Spartans made their move with a 5-0 run behind kills from Giovanna Tapigliani, Sara Klunder, and Maria Hanusik, a service ace from Ariana Macies, and a Klunder block. MBU kept at least a two-point lead until the 12-11 mark. The Defenders tied the set at 12-all and 13-all. However, Giovanna Tapigliani recorded kills in both instances to put the Spartans back ahead. With match point, senior libero Ariana Macies sealed the deal with a picture-perfect ace near the end line to send MBU into celebration mode.
 
Held well below their season hitting percentage, the Spartans hit .152 for the match with 66 kills to Dordt's 45. As one of the top blocking teams in the NAIA, the Defenders made up for the wide gap in kills with a whopping 19 blocks on the night. MBU leaned on near-flawless passing as the Spartans collected 90 digs. Macies led the way with a season-high 27, while Manuela Vargas was busier than usual with a career-best 25. Emma Lattimore also chipped in 16 digs.
 
Giovanna Tapigliani, Emma Lattimore and Sara Klunder shouldered a heavy load offensively with Tapigliani leading all players with a season-high 21 kills. Lattimore and Klunder finished with 14 and 12, respectively. On the block, Klunder led the Spartans with six blocks (2 S, 4 A).