ST. LOUIS – The Missouri Baptist University women's volleyball program will have a chance to defend its back-to-back national titles in Iowa in less than two weeks following a 3-0 sweep of Bryan College (Tenn.) on Saturday in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round. The Spartans defeated the Lady Lions 25-22, 25-22, 25-18, to earn their ninth trip in a row to the final site held at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City.
 
With Saturday's win at home in the SRC, MBU reached 30 wins for the fifth time in six seasons, improving to 30-3 on the year. Head coach Chris Nichols' Spartans also extended their NAIA National Tournament winning streak to 13 matches.
 
On Sunday (Nov. 20), the NAIA will announce official Pool Play assignments on naia.org by 5 p.m. (CST). Final site matches are scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Nov. 30.
 
It wasn't always smooth sailing for the Spartans in their Opening Round victory, however. The first and second sets were a perfect example of that. Bryan quickly threw the Spartans off-kilter scoring the first four points of the match. The momentum shifted multiple times in the set with nine ties and five lead changes. Luckily for Missouri Baptist, their final momentum swing came after a 21-21 tie. MBU scored four of the last five points to take Set One, 25-22.
 
Shouldering a heavy load in Set One were outside hitter Emma Lattimore and libero Rachel Kinney. Lattimore finished the set with six kills while Kinney was on fire defensively picking up 10 of the Spartans' 19 digs. Another difference maker were four timely service aces from freshman Luiza Goncalves (2), Shannon McLain, and Sara Klunder.
 
Set Two was another back-and-forth affair that resulted in another 25-22 set win for the Spartans. MBU improved its attack percentage by nearly .150 going from .136 to .282% in the second frame. McLain spread the love out evenly as Lattimore, Klunder, and Liz van Houwelingen all had four kills apiece in the set.
 
The third set is when the Spartans kicked it into overdrive. Picking up kills on 10 of their first 12 swings, the Spartans were hitting a blistering .833% on their way to a 13-6 advantage early in Set Three. MoBap kept its foot on the pedal ending the match on a 4-0 run via a pair of Gabi Jakubowska kills, a Maria Hanusik ace and BC attack error. MBU hit .560% in the final set.
 
While visitors from Dayton, Tenn. slowed down AMC Player of the Year Sara Klunder to 7 kills, .158%, and 1 block, and AMC Volleyball Tournament MVP Gabi Jakubowska to 6 kills and -.045%, they struggled to rein in Emma Lattimore. The local standout tied a season-high in kills (15) and was one off of her career high, and just fell short of a double-double with nine digs.
 
Other Spartan seniors who found success against the Lady Lions included Liz van Houwelingen with seven kills on 12 swings (.500%) and Carlee Wise with seven kills on 10 swings (.600%). Middle blocker Kirsten van der Vleuten was also a bright spot on attack with three kills on four swings (.750%) and two block assists.