ST. LOUIS – The No. 7-ranked Missouri Baptist University women's volleyball team coasted to a pair of straight-set wins over 2022 NAIA National Tournament qualifiers on Day One of the MBU Classic Friday. The Spartans defeated St. Ambrose 25-20, 25-17, 25-23 in the first match of the day followed by a 25-19, 25-11, 25-18 win over Saint Xavier.
 
The two sweeps helped MBU improve to 17-3 overall and brings the Spartans' sweep total to 10 on the year. Joining MoBap on Friday with a 2-0 start to the MBU Classic was No. 8 Park (Mo.), which sets the stage for an exciting Top-10 battle. The former American Midwest Conference rivals last meet in the 2021 NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship where the Spartans defeated the Pirates in an epic, five-setter to secure back-to-back titles.
 
(7) Missouri Baptist def. St. Ambrose, 3-0 [25-20, 25-17, 25-23]
Kicking off the MBU Classic slate at 10 a.m., it was back-and-forth to begin the match. The visiting Bees surged in the middle of the set to take a 16-13 lead thanks to three big blocks. The Spartans regrouped after a Chris Nichols timeout and managed to erase the deficit with Natalie Edson at the service line. A 6-0 run gave the Spartans the ammo and momentum needed to take Set One, 25-20.
 
After trailing 4-1 to begin the second stanza, Edson once again gave MBU a spark serving and helped orchestrate a 5-0 run and a larger 8-1 stretch to put the Spartans in the driver's seat. Twice, St. Ambrose narrowed the gap to two but that was the closest they'd get in the 25-17 set win for the Spartans.
 
The third set had plenty of twists and turns with 14 ties and nine lead changes. At the midway point [13-13], SAU delivered a significant blow with back-to-back aces and back-to-back blocks to go up 17-13. The Spartans slowly chipped away at the Bees' lead and eventually evened the set at 20-all. No. 7 MoBap traded points with St. Ambrose and was on the brink, trailing 23-22. That is, before three straight points from a Kassie Lee kill, Sara Klunder kill, and a Klunder-van Houwelingen block to secure the sweep.
 
Middles Sara Klunder (13) and Kassie Lee (11) led the way offensively teaming up for 24 kills and two blocks apiece. Lee was error free in the match and hit a career-best .647% against the Bees. While Maiana Coelho got the starting nod, it was Sidney Hogan, who dished out a match-best 23 assists.
 
Other stat leaders against SAU included Kaylee Hanger (17 digs), Maria Hanusik (4 service aces), and Klunder (3 blocks).
 
(7) Missouri Baptist def. Saint Xavier, 3-0 [25-19, 25-11, 25-18]
The Spartans looked looser in their second match of the day which played a big role in the team's .150 improvement on attack.
 
Both the Spartans and Saint Xavier started strong in Set One with momentum swings aplenty. Following a SXU 5-0 run to knot the game at 17-all, MBU answered with a 5-0 run itself and finished off the set scoring eight of the final 10 points.
 
The Spartans rode that momentum into the second frame and exploded out of the gate with a 10-1 start. And it didn't stop there. MBU outhit the Cougars, .419 to .065, with 15 kills and just two attack errors in the set. The Spartans won Set Two handily, 25-11.
 
While there was some jockeying to begin Set Three, MoBap pulled away from Saint X with an 11-2 run capped by a Paige Glueck service ace to reach match point. Sara Klunder notched the final kill of the match to put it away, 25-18.
 
The middle blocker duo of Klunder and Kassie Lee stole the show again. Klunder led all scorers with 14 kills on .435 hitting, while Lee posted nine kills and a .533 hitting %.
 
Other notable stats:
Sidney Hogan – 19 assists, 3 digs
Maiana Coelho – 17 assists
Maria Hanusik – 6 kills, .357%, 8 digs, 2 aces
Tayler Neal – 8 kills, 7 digs, 2 aces
Kaylee Hanger – 9 digs, 2 aces, 2 assists