SPARTAN VOLLEYBALL SURVIVES TOUGH TEST; REMAIN UNDEFEATED

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Missouri Baptist women’s volleyball nearly ran into its first loss of the season, but a late rally led to a five-set victory over American Midwest Conference foe, William Woods University on Tuesday evening.

Missouri Baptist (19-0, 8-0 AMC) continued its impressive season run in the first set. Led by a balanced attack, the Spartans forced William Woods on its heels late in the first set. Ally Krus, Maddy Hammack and Cassie Nesbit all posted three kills, while British import Hannah Carey recorded four, leading MBU to a narrow, 25-23 first set victory.

After the win, Missouri Baptist seemed to settle-in a bit. Krus found chemistry with Hammack early and often. Hammack posted a remarkable 10 kills and only three errors in the set, leading MBU to a 25-19 win heading into, what looked like, a three-set match similar to many that the team had played thus far. The Owls, on the other hand, had other plans.

From the outset of the third set, MBU seemed out of focus while the WWU defense was airtight. While Carey and Hammack again led the Spartans, it was the Owls’ Emily Nolte and Abbie O’Mara that were fantastic. The two combined for 12 digs in the set while Kristen Bauer recorded five kills and a .364 attack percentage to take the third game 25-21.

Seeming to ignite a fire into the William Woods squad, the Owls were persistent in the fourth set. The team forced Missouri Baptist’s hand throughout, playing consistent and sound defense, allowing its offense to see several chances. Emily Becker posted 8 kills in the set, leading her team to a 26-24 win, forcing a fifth and decisive game.

After a 3-3 tie, the Spartans came to life, going on a 6-2 run to make it 9-5. The Owls responded in-kind with an 8-1 run of their own to make it a 13-10 advantage in the first to 15 set.

Missouri Baptist called a timeout and rallied the team. After the break, the team notched three straight points to tie the set. Gut-wrenching point after point went back and forth as MBU continued to take a lead and William Woods tied the set on the next point. The Spartans served for match point three times, until finally breaking through with an 18-16 win.

For Missouri Baptist, three players stood out in the match. Hannah Carey ended her night with 20 kills, a new career match record. Maddy Hammack ended with 27 kills, tying her career match best. Setter Ally Krus outmatched them all, posting a new career match-high of 61 assists, a remarkable number.

Missouri Baptist remains one of only three teams in the NAIA that is undefeated on the season, but was again dropped in the Tachikara-NAIA Coaches Top 25 down to No. 20. Missouri Baptist also owns the best record in the NAIA, besting No. 2-ranked Concordia (Calif.) who is 18-0 and University of Texas at Brownsville who improved to 16-0 this evening.

The Spartans will head down the road to Harris Stowe on Thursday night for a 6:00 p.m. showdown later this week before a Friday night contest with Hannibal LaGrange at home.