ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Missouri Baptist put together another impressive match against the always dangerous, Graceland University Yellow Jackets on Saturday morning, as they went on to a 3-1 win.

From the word go, the Spartans looked well prepared for a talented and well-coached Graceland team. Missouri Baptist built a 13-6 lead in a span of seven minutes. As Graceland head coach Stew McDole called the first timeout of the set, MBU was up 17-10. The break seemed to renew the focus of the Yellow Jackets, as the team went on a 5-3 run to come within five.

As Graceland upped its game, so did MBU. Junior Maddy Hammack (8 kills, .583 attack %) led the Spartans in the set as the team never relinquished the lead, taking the first set 25-18.

As the whistle blew to start the second set, Missouri Baptist continued to roll. The Spartans built a 9-4 lead early end never let-up, taking the second set 25-19.

Graceland started the do-or-die third set like an entirely different team. The Yellow Jackets, led by the play of Ashley Hausmann (4 kills, .333 attack %) went on a six point run to take an early 7-1 lead, forcing MBU head coach John Yehling to call a timeout.

GU continued its dominant play after the break, taking an 11-2 advantage, the largest lead of the match. Just as it looked like the Spartans were making headway to get back into the match, cutting the lead to 16-19, the Jackets remained firm, holding MBU to 21 points in a 25-21 win, forcing a fourth set.

Missouri Baptist came out firing in the fourth. The Spartans started with a quick 5-2 lead, but Graceland quickly came back to gain a 7-6 advantage as the match seemed to be headed down to the wire. The Spartans led 15-12 and broke through. The team posted key point after key point en-route to a 25-19 victory.

The Spartans are slated to finish play in the inaugural Spartan Invitational on Saturday evening at 5:00 p.m. against Bethel University.