COLUMBIA, Mo. –
Kirsten van der Vleuten's career-high 13 blocks and
Gabi Jakubowska's 28 kills against Columbia College helped Missouri Baptist University claim the American Midwest Conference regular season title on Friday night. The Spartans defeated the Cougars in four sets to remain unbeaten in the AMC at 10-0 and moved to 21-11 overall in 2024.
(RV) Columbia Recap
Jakubowska was taking attempts early and often to open the game between two programs undefeated in conference play, registering three kills in the first four plays. A few plays later,
Luiza Arsufi cooked up an ace to extend the lead to 6-1.
Columbia tied the game at 11 when van der Vleuten,
Elina Arsov, and Jakubowska strung three kills together. Freshman
Madison Moore got into the match late in the first set and put the Spartans up two with a kill off an assist from
Maiana Coelho. A flurry of errors from the home time put them on the brink before Jakubowska's 10
th kill of the frame ended it at 25-21.
MBU struggled in the second set with a .097 hitting percentage, but they still made it competitive with a 23-25 loss that tied the match at 1-1.
They rebounded in the third set but first came a 16-10 deficit. The resilient Spartans fought their way back with six consecutive points including three total kills and a block from Moore. Later, MBU found themselves on the verge of another set loss when van der Vleuten swooped in and picked up her third kill to go along with four blocks in the frame to tie the game at 25. Coelho sent over an ace, CC tied the game with a kill from Katerina Pappa, and then van der Vleuten and Jakubowska wrapped up the set 28-26 with kills off assists from Coelho.
Riding high from the momentum of a comeback in set three, the Spartans found a lead at 14-12 in the fourth and rattled off seven points in a row. Jakubowska notched five more kills, van der Vleuten three more blocks, and Coelho 13 more assists to complete the four-set win over Columbia to clinch the AMC Regular Season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
On defense,
Julia Pereira helped lock down the Cougars with 21 digs while van der Vleuten ended the night with a career single-game high 13.0 total blocks. Coelho led the team in assists (47) and aces (2), while Jakubowska left with 28 kills on 73 attack attempts.
Coach's Corner:
"The team showed a lot of resilience tonight which is a testament to all the work we've put in," said Head Women's Volleyball Coach
Claire Ochs. "After the second set, we talked about not falling into old habits and learning from the losses we experienced at the beginning of the year. Gabi had a great match with 28 kills and Kirsten with double-digit blocks at 13. They stepped up tonight, but every single person had moments where they stepped up at crucial points."
Spartan Stat Leaders
Kills:
Gabi Jakubowska (28)
Assists:
Maiana Coelho (47)
Hitting %:
Kirsten van der Vleuten (.400)
Aces:
Maiana Coelho (2)
Digs:
Julia Pereira (21)
Blocks:
Kirsten van der Vleuten (13.0)
Records
(RV) Missouri Baptist: 21-11, 10-0 AMC
(RV) Columbia: 19-11, 8-1 AMC
Next Game
The Spartans are back at home for Senior Night on Wednesday, Nov. 6, against Hannibal-LaGrange University. The opening serve is set for 6 p.m.
Watch: SpartanDigitalNetwork.com
