Missouri Baptist MBU 0-2

Valley City State VALLEY C 1-1

Missouri Baptist MBU

0-2

Final

Aug. 17, 2024

Valley City State VALLEY C

1-1

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	F
Missouri Baptist MBU	25	18	25	(0)
Valley City State VALLEY C	27	25	27	(3)

Missouri Baptist MBU 1-4

Dakota State (SD) DAKOTA S 1-2

Missouri Baptist MBU

1-4

Final

Aug. 17, 2024

Dakota State (SD) DAKOTA S

1-2

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	5	F
Missouri Baptist MBU	24	25	16	25	15	(3)
Dakota State (SD) DAKOTA S	26	22	25	18	9	(2)

SportsMediaDB

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | 8/17/2024 5:06:00 PM | Tyler Andrus, Assistant Athletic Director - Media & Communications

Arsov’s 21 Kills Leads MBU Volleyball to First Win of 2024

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Freshman Elina Arsov tallied 21 kills to lead Missouri Baptist University women's volleyball to a five-set victory over (RV) Dakota State University in Saturday's second game. The victory was Head Coach Claire Ochs' first of her career and gave the Spartans a Saturday split after being swept by No. 22 Valley City State University in the morning match.

(22) Valley City State University
Tayler Neal put MBU out in front of set one early with a pair of kills to fuel a 5-2 advantage. Valley City State tallied four of the next five when a kill from Gabi Jakubowska sent one down to tie the opening frame at seven.

A trio of attack errors from the Vikings along with a pair of points from Kassie Lee put MBU ahead 12-9. The Spartans kept with the momentum riding a 4-1 run to a 19-15 lead.

VCSU responded by notching three in a row to force an MBU timeout. They continued the streak out of the timeout to tie the match at 20 before consecutive kills from freshman Elina Arsov pushed the Vikings to the brink.

Trailing 24-21, VCSU was gifted three Spartan errors to tie set one. A service ace from Danielle Hagler, and a kill by Morgan Freije finished the comeback bid and put their team up 1-0.

After making just four errors with a .255 hitting percentage in the first set, MBU hit -.200 with 14 errors to lose set two 25-18.

Looking to avoid the sweep in set three, the Spartans found themselves behind 13-9 when a kill from Neal and a service ace from Luiza Arsufi swung the momentum. Jakubowska and Lee followed with kills and a Freije attack error put Missouri Baptist up 15-14.

Tied at 18, Tiia Heikkinen set up Jakubowska for the lead followed by another from Arsov off an assist from Milica Radicevic. A kill from Heikkinen made it 22-20 but the Vikings continued to battle until Emma Lucas made it 25-25 with a kill.

With the sweep in focus, VCSU forced an attack error and got an ace from Hagler to complete the set 27-25 and a sweep of the 11th-ranked Spartans.

Spartan Stat Leaders
Kills: Gabi Jakubowska (11)
Assists: Tiia Heikkinen (33)
Hitting %: Kassie Lee (.286)
Aces: Luiza Arsufi (2)
Digs: Julia Pereira (21)
Blocks: Kassie Lee (5.0)

(RV) Dakota State University Recap
Missouri Baptist went into their final game of the Keiser University Vipers Sports Academy Classic still looking to secure their first win of the season. Kirsten van der Vleuten had them off to a good start with a couple of kills off assists from setter Maiana Coelho that tied the game at two.

Trailing 13-7 later in the set, another van der Vleuten tally sent MBU on five straight points to pull within one. The Trojans pulled away again at 19-15 but made four consecutive attack errors to let the Spartans tie the game. Down to the set point at 24-22, Dakota State rattled off four consecutive points and took a 26-24 set one win.

Three early kills from Neal in set two put the ball in the hands of serving specialist Arsufi and she did not disappoint. The senior from Brazil sent five tough serves over the net, including one ace. Three kills from Arsov in that stretch helped build an early 10-2 lead.

With Missouri Baptist up 24-17 later in the frame, DSU came storming back with five straight. Lee took a feed from Coelho at 24-22, however, and tied the match at one set a piece.

After hitting .032 in set three and losing 25-16, the Spartans took set four in comeback fashion. Down 16-15, Arsov tied the game and a few plays later put her team up 18-16. Lee and Arsufi registered kills as well to make it a four-point game. The momentum eventually forced a Trojan timeout at 22-17, but Neal sent down two more kills to help finish things off at 25-18.

In the final set, the Spartans capitalized on a bad set at 2-1 and took seven of the next eight points. The team continued to ride the hot-handed Arsov as she added five more kills in the fifth set to bring her total in the contest to 21. Her final kill ended the fifth set with a 15-9 score and gave MBU the first win of the 2024 campaign.

Spartan Stat Leaders
Kills: Elina Arsov (21)
Assists: Maiana Coelho (44)
Hitting %: Elina Arsov (.308)
Aces: Luiza Arsufi (3)
Digs: Julia Pereira (35)
Blocks: Fernanda Andrade Perini (4.0)

Records
No. 11 MBU: 1-4
No. 22 VCSU: 2-1
(RV) DSU: 1-2

Next Game
The Spartans are back in St. Louis for their home opener on Wednesday, Aug. 21, against No. 13 Oklahoma Wesleyan University. The opening serve is scheduled for 3 p.m.

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