ST. LOUIS – In need of a bounce-back win, No. 5-ranked Missouri Baptist Women's Volleyball got just that on Wednesday, taking down NCAA DII Maryville University at home in four. The Spartans continued their reign of the "Conway Clash," defeating the Saints 25-23, 25-21, 20-25, 25-19,.and extended the win streak over their Conway Road neighbors to 12.
With MoBap and Maryville fighting for their 10
th wins of the season, the Spartans staked claim to the 10-win mark and improved to 10-2, while the Saints (9-2) suffered just their second loss of the year.
The opening set was a precursor for what was to come in a tightly contested match. Neither team could create separation in Set 1 as three points were the largest lead for the Saints or Spartans. However, MBU used a 4-1 spark to get to set point, and the third set point attempt was the charm as
Emma Lattimore's kill gave the Spartans a 25-23 win.
Set Two was chock full of runs, and Missouri Baptist had the biggest of them all. With Maryville holding a slight 16-14 edge, the tides turned in MBU's favor with a monstrous 8-0 run led by
Natalie Edson at the service line and the collective effort from a rotation that included
Emma Lattimore,
Maria Hanusik,
Kirsten van der Vleuten,
Luiza Goncalves, and
Nathiellen Machado. The Saints weathered three set points before a
Maria Hanusik kill to end the set, 25-21. MBU limited Maryville to four kills and a -.054 attack %.
MU flipped the script with its best set on Wednesday, posting a match-high 18 kills and out-hitting the Spartans .300-.115%. The Saints went on a 9-1 run to close out the set, 25-20, and force a fourth frame.
With another back-and-forth start to Set Four, Missouri Baptist found itself trailing by two, 13-11. Jumpstarted by a
Sara Klunder kill and aided by the trusted serving of
Maria Hanusik, the Spartans rattled the Saints with a 7-0 scoring run. Taking a comfortable 18-13 lead, the Spartans finished strong and ended the match with a 25-19 win.
Three Spartans finished with double-digit kills, including
Emma Lattimore (12),
Sara Klunder (11), and
Gabi Jakubowska (10), with
Maria Hanusik (9) and
Kirsten van der Vleuten (8) both on the fringe. Klunder and Jakubowska had a productive night at the net, combining for 11 block assists.
Defensively, four Spartans finished with 10+ digs.
Maria Hanusik led the way with 18 followed by libero
Nathiellen Machado with 14,
Natalie Edson with 13, and
Shannon McLain with 10.
No. 5 Missouri Baptist now has a weeklong break before jumping into American Midwest Conference action. The Spartans begin at home as they host William Woods University (2-8, 0-0 AMC) on Thursday, Sept. 22 and Cottey College (4-5, 0-0 AMC) on Saturday, Sept. 24.
