The No. 9-ranked Missouri Baptist University women's volleyball team finished off the regular season effortlessly with straight-set wins at Williams Baptist and Central Baptist on Thursday and Friday.
 
For the third time under the guidance of head coach Chris Nichols, MBU Women's Volleyball went undefeated in American Midwest Conference play. While the No. 1 seed and hosting rights for the AMC Volleyball Tournament Semifinals and Final were already wrapped up on Thursday, the Spartans claimed the AMC regular-season title outright with their unscathed 9-0 AMC record. The regular-season crown is the fourth for the program.
 
MBU will host No. 8-seed Hannibal-LaGrange University on Tuesday at the Petty Sports & Recreation Complex at 7 p.m. Because it is a conference tournament event, tickets must be purchased in advance through the AMC's Hometown Ticketing portal: https://amcsportsonline.com/sports/2021/9/8/general-HometownTicketing.aspx.
 
(9) Missouri Baptist def. Williams Baptist, 3-0 [25-11, 25-4, 25-9]
Williams Baptist showed some promise early in the opening set on Thursday, but the Spartans were unfazed. The Lady Eagles jumped out to a 5-2 lead and then watched the slim margin disappear in a heartbeat. MBU erased the three-point deficit and scored in 22 of the next 28 rallies. Powered by five aces, including three from setter Maiana Coelho, and four kills apiece for Sara Klunder and Gabi Jakubowska, the Spartans won comfortably, 25-11.
 
As if 25-11 wasn't comfortable enough, MBU put on a clinic in Set Two and allowed WBU just four points in the set. Offensively, the Spartans were near flawless with 14 kills, just one attack error, and a red-hot .591 hitting percentage. MoBap also kept the aces coming, with five more in the second stanza. Defensively, the Spartans held Williams Baptist to its lowest hitting clip (-.158).
 
Set Three was much of the same as the Spartans hit above .500 for a second straight set with 16 kills and a .538 hitting %. On the other side of the net, WBU registered just two kills on 20 swings.
 
For the match, the Spartans led the kill battle, 44-9, outhit the Lady Eagles .514 to -.053, and finished with a 14-1 advantage in service aces.
 
Sara Klunder and Gabi Jakubowska teamed up for 27 of the Spartans' 44 kills and hit an impressive .675% inside the Southerland-Mabee Center. Libero Kaylee Hanger led the Spartans in digs (12) and aces (4) on Thursday, while other stat leaders included Jakubowska with four blocks and Sidney Hogan with 20 assists.
 
(9) Missouri Baptist def. Central Baptist, 3-0 [25-8, 25-8, 25-10]
Friday's sweep was never in question as the Spartans led the entire contest outside of one point early in the third set.
 
MBU was on fire to start, rattling off an 8-0 run to begin the match. The sophomore duo of Kassie Lee and Gabi Jakubowska dominated Set One, putting down six kills apiece in the 25-8 win.
 
The second set started and ended with a Kirsten van der Vleuten-Tayler Neal block at the net. Everything in between was a blur for the Mustangs as the Spartans went on a monster 13-0 run after the set was tied at 3-all.
 
No. 9 MoBap orchestrated another runaway set thanks to a 16-2 run. The Spartans finished off the sweep with a 25-10 win in Set Three.
 
Against Central Baptist, the Spartans hit .397% and held the home squad to a -.111-attack percentage. It marked the second match in a row and the fourth time this season that MBU held its opponent in the negatives.
 
Jakubowska and Klunder once again paced the Spartans on attack with 13 and 9 kills, respectively. The two also accounted for seven block assists in the match. Joining them with 2+ blocks on the night were Kirsten van der Vleuten (5), Syan Larmond (3), and Tayler Neal (2).
 
Maiana Coelho posted a match-high 21 assists, while libero Kaylee Hanger once again led the team in both digs (14) and service aces (3).