ST. LOUIS – The No. 17-ranked Missouri Baptist women's volleyball team started its postseason journey Tuesday night with a swift 3-0 sweep of No. 7 seed Hannibal-LaGrange in the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Championship Quarterfinals. The Spartans held HLGU under 20 in each set winning by scores of 25-16, 25-14, 25-19.
 
Missouri Baptist improved its record to 27-3 with another straight-set win and increased the sweep total to 21. Equally impressive is the fact that the Spartans have dropped just 14 sets on the year, the fewest set losses among all NAIA schools.
 
Leading the charge on Tuesday was four of the Spartans' newly-named all-conference selections. Second team middle blocker Carlee Wise and first team opposite hitter Gabi Jakubowska combined for nine kills in the opening set and powered MBU to a 25-16 win.
 
Jakubowska and Sara Klunder were the next duo to unload on the Trojans. Jakubowska added to six kills in the second set to finish her two sets played with 10 on .412% hitting. 2022 AMC Player of the Year Sara Klunder only saw one ball come her way in the Set One but got things going in the 25-14 Set Two win with four kills and two block assists.
 
Despite a slow start to the third set in which the visiting Trojans jumped ahead 5-0, Missouri Baptist quickly caught back up and kept them within arm's reach. Down 14-13, MBU went on 7-1 run powered by three Klunder kills and a double block by Klunder and Kirsten van der Vleuten. The Spartans' surge in the middle of the set was enough to put the game on ice.
 
One area of the Spartans' game that was firing on all cylinders on Tuesday was its block. The Spartans finished the match with a season-high 12 blocks with 11 of the 12 coming in the first and third sets. Leading the way was Carlee Wise with seven block assists, a new career high.
 
All-AMC First Team setter Shannon McLain registered 27 assists on the night, while Natalie Edson, Liz van Houwelingen, and Marina Obradovic each had two service aces apiece.
 
Up next for the Spartans is No. 3 seed William Woods (15-16, 8-2 AMC), who swept Harris-Stowe State to advance to the AMC Semifinals. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 11) at Columbia College's Southwell Complex. If Friday's semifinal matches hold true to seeding, the Spartans' path to a third straight tournament title will be a mirror image of their 2021 AMC Championship Semifinal and Final matchups.