PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. – The No. 4-ranked Missouri Baptist University women's volleyball team pushed its unbeaten streak to eight with sweeps of Judson University and University of St. Francis (Ill.) on Friday evening. The Spartans, straight-set winners in seven of their last eight, improved to 17-2 overall this season.
 
In the Spartans' Trinity Christian Troll Classic opener, the Spartans downed Judson, 25-17, 25-23, 25-18. Immediately following the win over Judson, MBU blanked St. Francis – one of JU's Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference counterparts, 25-21, 25-17, 25-16.
 
Of MBU's 17 wins in 2022, 13 of them have come by way of a sweep. During MBU's national championship run in 2021, the Spartans recorded 22 straight-set wins.
 
No. 4 Missouri Baptist will look to keep the momentum rolling on Saturday with another set of back-to-back matches starting with Spring Arbor (11-13, 1-10 Crossroads) at Noon and host Trinity Christian (3-18, 1-8 CCAC) at 2 p.m.
 
(4) Missouri Baptist University def. Judson University, 3-0 [25-17, 25-23, 25-18)
MoBap was firing on all cylinders to begin the match hitting .500 in the opening set. Between middle blockers Sara Klunder and Carlee Wise, the two combined for 9 kills on 11 swings (.818). The Spartans used an 11-1 early on to fly past the Eagles in Set One.
 
The second set wasn't as clean for the Spartans, but they put down a match-high 19 kills anyway. With both teams jockeying late, MBU mirrored each of Judson's moves and fended off the Eagles with back-to-back kills by Emma Lattimore and Wise to take the set, 25-23.
 
Building off a strong set from the middles in Set One, Kirsten van der Vleuten provided the spark for the Spartans in the third and final set. The 6-3 sophomore from Oosterhout, Netherlands, anchored the defense with four block assists on top of three kills in the set. van der Vleuten finished the match with six blocks.
 
The Spartans outhit Judson 54-34 in kills and .394-.206 in hitting efficiency, a new season-best percentage for the Navy & White.
 
In total, five Spartans registered at least eight kills in the match led by pins Rachel Kinney, Lattimore, and Wise with nine apiece, and Gabi Jakubowska and Sara Klunder with eight to their names. Both Lattimore and Klunder finished errorless and hit above .500 for the match.
 
Junior setter Shannon McLain had a superb outing setting up MBU's offense with 46 assists for an average of 15.33 assists per set.
 
Much like on offense, several Spartans contributed to a 49-44 advantage in digs including five with 5+. Lattimore led all MBU players with 10 digs.
 
(4) Missouri Baptist University def. University of St. Francis (Ill.), 3-0 [25-21, 25-17, 25-16]
In Friday's nightcap, Set One was the hardest to come by for the Spartans, but they still managed a 25-21 win behind nine kills from outsides Maria Hanusik (5) and Rachel Kinney (4). That pair went on to lead the Spartans with 12 kills apiece and both season highs for Hanusik and Kinney.
 
Middle blocker Carlee Wise continued her tear with six kills on eight swings. Since the William Woods match on Sept. 22, Wise has recorded 42 kills with just three attack errors for a .609 hitting percentage.
 
Emma Lattimore stepped in at libero against St. Francis and notched a match-best and season-high 15 digs.