MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - In an amazing come-from-behind performance, St. Thomas (5-0) took down no. 2 ranked Missouri Baptist (5-1) on Friday night at the Fernandez Family Center.  The Bobcats lost the first two sets (19-25, 22-25) then came back to win three consecutive sets (25-23, 25-16, 15-13).  

The victory over the highly ranked Spartans marked the fifth straight win for new Head Coach Christina Ludwick.  The Bobcats, who earlier in the day swept Xavier of Louisiana (25-21, 25-18, 25-11), have won 15 of 17 sets played this season.

Trailing 2-0, the Bobcats faced a must-win situation in the third set and were two points away from losing the match with the score 23-23.  Priscila Ertty then set up Shanotta Bawek for a kill to give STU set point.  With Dana Nowaczyk serving, an attack error by the Spartans gave the Bobcats life with the third-set win.

Now trailing 2-1 in sets, STU  built leads of 15-7 and 18-13.  The Bobcats led 20-16 and sensed the opportunity for another set win and the chance for a fifth set.  STU responded scoring five straight points with four of the points coming under Whitney Battoe' serve, including a kill by Carly Durr on another Ertty assist.

With momentum on their side, the Bobcats jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the fifth set with kills by Battoe and Marisa Markus.  STU then led 10-7 before the Spartans roared back with three straight points to deadlock the decisive set at 10-10.  A kill by Bawek made the score 13-10, then a Battoe kill off a Nowacyk assist gave STU match point at 14-11.  MBU would not go away however winning the next two points to bring the score to 14-13.  On the final match point, Nowaczyk set up Kadeeja Griffin who finished with the match-winning kill as the Fernandez Center erupted in celebration of one of the biggest wins in program history.

In the sweep of Xavier (La.), STU ran off to an early lead in the first set.  The Gold Nuggets battled back in the middle of the set.  Keeping constant pressure, St. Thomas kept the lead for the remainder of the set, winning 25-21.  Heading into the second set, much of the first set action remained identical.  Each team had scoring runs, however the Bobcats ultimately overpowered the Gold Nuggets for the second and third sets.
 
In the two games, Battoe racked up a total of 31 kills, 18 digs and five service aces, to lead all Bobcats.  Bawek recorded 20 kills, 26 digs, and four blocks, while Markus followed with 19 kils, nine digs, and three service aces.  Nowaczyk, tallied a combined total of 49 assists to lead all bobcats, while Errty came up big in the Missouri Baptist win, totalling 20 assists.
  
St. Thomas heads back to the hardwood Saturday looking to continue its winning ways Indiana Tech University and College of Coastal Georgia.  The First match is set to tip off at 12 p.m. followed by the finale at 6 p.m. vs. Coastal Georgia. 

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