FREMONT, Neb. - A difficult final day of competition in Nebraska saw the Spartans split their two contests, defeating No. 14 St. Thomas University and dropping three straight sets to the No. 1 overall Northwestern College Red Raiders.
St. Thomas Recap
It took five sets for Missouri Baptist University to take down St. Thomas University in Saturday morning's matchup.
A slew of kills from St. Thomas' Raya Mlyakova and Alexandra Bruno helped the Tomcats maintain the lead for the majority of the opening set. However, the Spartans battled back with a 6-0 run to tie the score at 16, fueled in large part by defensive efforts from Katie Hunt. Ultimately, St. Thomas held on to take the opening set, 25-23.
Sets two and three saw both teams battle back and forth for control, but the Spartans came out on top in each instance, winning 25-22 and 25-21. A major difference-maker was MBU's success from the service line, as the Spartans recorded seven service aces across the two sets.
The Tomcats responded in the fourth set, evening the match with a 25-20 victory and forcing a decisive fifth set.
MBU took control early in the final frame, jumping out to a 2-0 lead behind a Fernanda Perini kill and a Martina Ligabue service ace. The momentum continued for the Spartans as they raced to a 15-9 victory to secure the match.
The match was relatively even across the stat sheet, with the biggest difference coming from behind the service line. MBU finished with a commanding 17-5 advantage in service aces.
Northwestern Recap
The Spartans suffered their first loss of the Midland Showdown in their final match of the weekend, falling to No. 1 Northwestern College in straight sets (25-22, 25-23, 25-21).
Despite keeping each set competitive, the Red Raiders capitalized on Spartan errors and proved to be more consistent defensively during extended rallies.
MBU will now receive a much-needed break from competition before returning to the court for its first home match of the season against Central Methodist University on September 11 at 7 p.m.
