MARSHALL, Mo. – No. 17 Missouri Baptist University women's volleyball took a three-set victory at Missouri Valley College on Friday night, hitting .467 while holding the Vikings to a .185 percentage. The Spartans improve to 16-5 overall and 8-1 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
The Spartans took a 25-22, 25-15, 25-19 victory, overcoming an 18-20 deficit in the first set before dominating the next two. MBU had 43 kills, nine aces, and five blocks, compared to MVC's 33, seven, and one.
The reigning Heart Defender of the Week,
Fernanda Perini, paired four blocks with seven kills on a .778 percentage. Senior
Allana Capella hit .526 with 13 kills to lead the Spartan attack, while
Gabi Jakubowska had a .471 with 11 kills,
Madison Moore had a .313 and five kills, and
Kassie Lee had a .308 with six kills. Freshman
Nina Cillo continued her hot stretch at setter, posting a new personal game-high of 35 assists with a pair of service aces.
Missouri Valley had the Spartans on the edge in the opening set, overcoming a 14-12 deficit after kills from Laura Tavares and Juliana Oliveira, eventually expanding the advantage to 20-18. Cillo found Jakubowska twice to take the lead and continued a 5-1 run by finding Capella and
Madison Moore to complete a 25-22 win.
In set two,
Mary Potteiger tallied three consecutive aces to fuel a long service run to jolt MBU in front 14-8. Jakubowska and Capella took charge in the frame with 10 combined kills as the Spartans went up 2-0 on a 25-15 victory.
Lee helped finish off the sweep in the third set, notching five kills in a 25-19 rout as the team hit .400 with 13 kills on 25 attacks.
The Spartans are back at home on Tuesday, Oct. 7, for another conference match against Culver-Stockton College after sweeping them on the road back on Sept. 9. The opening serve in the Carl & Deloris Petty SRC is set for 7 p.m.
