ST. LOUIS – No. 17 Missouri Baptist University continued its dominant run through conference play Friday afternoon, sweeping No. 25 MidAmerica Nazarene University (26-24, 25-20, 25-20) inside the Petty SRC. The Spartans improved to 25-5 overall and 16-1 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference with their 10
th straight win.
Allana Capella and
Gabi Jakubowska each recorded 13 kills to lead MBU, while Arsov and Perini added nine apiece. Perini also hit a match-high .562 and contributed four block assists. Setter
Valentina Navarro orchestrated the attack with 36 assists and 11 digs, while Potteiger served two aces. Libero
Julia Reis Pereira tallied 10 digs to anchor the back row.
As a team, the Spartans hit .273 with seven total blocks and three aces while holding the Pioneers to a .138 hitting percentage.
The opening set saw MBU race ahead 12-4 behind two early kills from
Fernanda Perini and a pair of blocks from
Kassie Lee and Arsov. MidAmerica Nazarene clawed back late to tie it at 24-24, but kills from Jakubowska and Arsov sealed the 26-24 win.
In the second frame, the Spartans again found momentum early. A service ace from
Mary Potteiger and back-to-back kills from Capella put MBU ahead 11-8. MBU went on to hit .306 in the set and never trailed after the midway point, closing it out 25-20 with a Perini kill down the middle.
The third set mirrored the second as Missouri Baptist jumped to a 10-4 lead, highlighted by Capella's ace and two kills. MNU fought within three at 18-15 before Capella took the match over. The senior from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, propelled a 6-1 run with three kills before Navarro found Perini to end the sweep.
MBU volleyball ends the regular season with Senior Night on Saturday, Nov. 1, against Park University inside the Petty SRC. The opening serve is set for 7 p.m.
Buy tickets on
MBUSpartans.com/Tickets or watch on the
Urban Edge Network!
