SIOUX CITY, Iowa – It was tough sledding for the two-time defending national champions on Wednesday evening as Missouri Baptist fell in straight sets to AMC rival Columbia College on the first day of Pool Play at the 2022 NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championships. The Cougars, seeded No. 3 in Pool G, upended the top-seeded Spartans, 25-19, 25-20, 25-23, to move into the driver's seat heading into their match against Viterbo (Wis.) on Thursday.
 
Columbia has now dealt the Spartans three of their four losses on the season as MoBap dropped to 30-4. Coming to an end on Wednesday was MBU's 13-match winning streak in NAIA Tournament play.
 
Leading at some point in all three sets, the Spartans had a chance to change the narrative, but were unable to close out the Cougars.
 
In Set One, MBU led at the 14-13 mark before surrendering five of the next six points to the Cougars. Columbia hit .350% in the opening frame with 16 kills compared to the Spartans' 12 and .184 attack percentage.
 
MBU held the early advantage in Set Two with a 10-9 lead. However, a costly 4-0 run for Columbia had the Spartans battling from behind the rest of the set. MBU brought it within one at 20-19 and then conceded five of the last six points to CC on four kills and a block.
 
In a back-and-forth third set, Missouri Baptist was in a great position to extend the match with a 20-17 lead late. But the thorn in MBU's side once again seized the momentum with a 7-2 run to cap off a sweep. The Spartans registered 18 kills in the set but got in their own way with eight attack errors.
 
Offensively, Liz van Houwelingen (10), Carlee Wise (9), Gabi Jakubowska (9), and Sara Klunder (8) combined for 36 of the team's 42 kills. Klunder led the way in hitting percentage (.438) and tied for the team lead in service aces (2) and blocks (1).
 
MBU's only advantage over the Cougars on Wednesday was at the service line with five aces to CC's three. The Spartans' blocking was virtually non-existent with a season-low one block on the night.
 
Other stat leaders for the Spartans included Shannon McLain with 35 assists, and Rachel Kinney and Emma Lattimore with 15 and 14 digs, respectively.
 
MBU's fate of competing beyond Pool Play rests in the hands of Viterbo. If No. 3 seed Columbia defeats the V-Hawks in their tournament opener, the Cougars would move to 2-0 and advance to the single-elimination bracket as the Pool G winner.
 
The Spartans will have a rest day on Thursday and return to the court against Viterbo on Friday evening at 7 p.m.