ST. LOUIS – In one of the grittier wins of the season, No. 4-ranked Missouri Baptist University Women's Volleyball outlasted St. Ambrose University, 3-1, in the opening match of the MBU Classic on Friday. The Spartans overcame SAU's 19 total blocks (5 S, 22 A) and eked out a pair of set wins that required extra points to defeat the Fighting Bees, 26-24, 20-25, 29-27, 25-22.
 
While the stretch without dropping a set came to an end at 29 sets, Friday's hard-fought victory pushes MBU's winning streak to 11 matches and overall record to 20-2. Meanwhile, St. Ambrose drops to 15-6 on the year.
 
Back-and-forth action was a reoccurring theme in the match and was widespread in the opening set. The first set featured nine lead changes and a set opportunity for both teams. However, with a 24-23 lead, St. Ambrose surrendered three straight points to the Spartans, including back-to-back kills from freshman opposite hitter Gabi Jakubowska and a game-clinching block from Maria Hanusik & Sara Klunder.
 
Although MoBap led early in Set Two, St. Ambrose grabbed a 5-4 advantage and never relinquished the lead after that point. The Spartans trailed by as much as seven points and staged a late 7-2 rally that brought them within two. However, it wasn't enough to preserve the consecutive sets won streak. SAU won the set, 25-20.
 
Set Three was another closely-contested affair, with 11 different lead changes and seven set point moments. Neither team hit the ball well, and St. Ambrose turned up the pressure at the net with seven blocks. But once again, the fourth-ranked Spartans prevailed in the high-pressure situation. MBU welcomed two Mackenzie Grafton attack errors, and a Kirsten van der Vleuten kill to close out the 29-27 set win.
 
Junior middle blocker Sara Klunder scored three straight points for the Spartans to take a 3-2 lead early. The Spartans led the rest of the way behind Klunder's six kills and two block assists in the set.
 
Struggling to navigate around or over SAU's block, the Spartans hit under .200 for just the fifth time this season (.155). MBU's middles were the most effective against the Fighting Bees, combining for 26 kills and an attack % of .437. Klunder led all players with 16 kills while registering a team-best .481 hitting percentage and five blocks.
 
Joining Klunder in double-digit kills was Gabi Jakubowska with 12 and Kirsten van der Vleuten with 11. Jakubowska and van der Vleuten were both one kill shy of their career highs.
 
Coming off AMC Setter of the Week honors, junior Shannon McLain posted 43 assists (10.75 a/s) with nine digs, two kills, and a team-high two service aces. Leading the Spartans defensively were Nathiellen Machado and Emma Lattimore, who split libero duties with 14 and 13 digs, respectively.
 
The MBU Classic resumes tomorrow at 9 a.m., while the Spartans will play a doubleheader following the day's first match. MBU will meet Trinity International (19-5, 8-2 CCAC) at ~11 a.m. and Cumberland (15-6, 8-3 MSC) at ~1 p.m.