The 2020 NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Champions end the regular season with a 24-2 record. After the winning season, four players earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors this week: Giovanna Tapigliani, Isidora Stojovic, Manuela Vargas and Ariana Macies. As the Spartans open the first round of this season’s National Championship games, MBU photojournalists captured some victorious memories for the defending champions.
Junior Kaili Smith, the 5-foot-11 opposite hitter for the Spartans, battles the opposing team to spike the ball over the net in a game at the Carl and Deloris Petty Sports and Recreation Complex. Photo by Emily Heflin
The women’s volleyball team at Missouri Baptist University has used this season during COVID-19 to grow as a team and as individuals. Led by Coach Chris Nichols, the team quickly approaches competing in the postseason as one of the best teams in the nation.
Balancing homework and sports is challenging for any student-athlete, especially during a pandemic. The women’s volleyball team at MBU has successfully learned to adapt and have found success on and off the court. Photo courtesy of MBU Athletics
Caterina Cigarini, 23, has known since she was 12 years old that she would play volleyball, but the sport has brought much more to her life than she originally imagined. Now, as her collegiate volleyball career comes to a close, she is taking a look back at the relationships she made and the lessons she learned during her time as a Spartan.
Caterina Cigarini celebrates a scored point against Texas Wesleyan University with teammates during the NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Championship in Sioux City, Iowa, in 2019. Cigarini would post a season-high 22 kills to help lead the Spartans to a 3-2 victory. Photos courtesy of MBU Athletics
The Spartan women’s volleyball team has had a large amount of success since the 2005 season, as they have become a pillar of consistency at Missouri Baptist University.
Photos courtesy of University Communications
The Missouri Baptist University women’s volleyball team stands for the singing of the national anthem before their season home opener. The Spartans are currently enjoying a 14-game winning streak.
Here are some interesting facts about MBU Timeline, the student newsmagazine of Missouri Baptist University, in St. Louis:
*Our mission statement is: MBU Timeline is the student news network of Missouri Baptist University, a private Christian university that embraces the essential core value of “social change through service and leadership.”
*The Bible verse that drives our mission is 2 Timothy 2:15 (Worldwide English Version): “Tell the true message in the right way.”
*The WordPress website has been up since late-fall 2013. We average about 3,000 sessions and about 5,000 pageviews per month.
*Our stories and galleries get as few as 40 or 50 hits, or as many as 8,000 hits.
*We have readers in every state and more than 90 countries around the world. We have several readers in South America, the United Kingdom, India and Australia.
*Most of our readers are in Missouri, followed by Illinois, California and Texas.
*We do not accept advertising as we are a not-for-profit online newsmagazine.
*We welcome contributors from all walks of MBU life, regardless of your major. Reach out to us on Twitter at: @mbutimeline.
Junior Kaili Smith, the 5-foot-11 opposite hitter for the Spartans, battles the opposing team to spike the ball over the net in a game at the Carl and Deloris Petty Sports and Recreation Complex. Photo by Emily Heflin
