Box Score
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The NU Eagles fell to No. 13 ranked Missouri Baptist in straight sets (26-24, 25-16, 25-19) in opening pool play this evening at the NAIA Volleyball National Championships.
Northwest U trailed the entire first set, but with Missouri Baptist at set point, 24-20, the Eagles came back strong with a 4-0 run capped off by an Amanda Waterman kill and Sarah Warner service ace to tie the set at 24-24. But, two straight attack errors by NU would give MBU the set win, 26-24.
The No. 13 ranked Spartans from Saint Louis would break out to a 15-9 lead in set two and never trail. Northwest U would close to within seven, 22-15, but after a MBU timeout, the Spartans would wrap up the second set on a kill by Caterina Cigarini to go up 2-0 in the match.
Set three would almost be a mirror image of set two with MBU taking a 15-9 lead after an ace by Marion Couraud. NU would make it a 19-15 score after a Sarah Warner Kill and MBU error, but the Spartans would gather themselves after a timeout to push their lead to 22-15 as they would go on to close out the set.
Northwest U (23-9) was led by Sarah Warner's 7 kills with Amanda Waterman adding 6 kills and 10 digs. Morgan Pilon had 22 assists while Alysanne Van Dyke added 14 defensive digs for the Eagles. NU was held to .137 hitting for the match and totaled 8 blocks.
For Missouri Baptist (30-8), Caterina Cigarini had 11 kills with 7 digs. Teammate Marion Couraud added 10 kills and 10 digs and Rachel Poole finished with a match high 37 assists. Rachel Leubbers led all players with 19 digs.
Said Coach Steven Bain following the match, "It was a tough night for the Eagles but most of our problems were a result of the solid play of Missouri Baptist. They did a very good job of pressuring us with their serve, which forced us into a lot of tough swings. As it so often does, the team that serves and passes at a high level usually comes out on top and that was the story of this match. But, our ladies have bounced back all year so I am confident that they will learn from the experience and be a better team the next time we take the court."
Next Up: Northwest U faces No. 4 ranked Dordt tomorrow evening in the Tyson Events Center who defeated Ottawa, 3-0, in pool play earlier in the day.
