St. Louis, Mo. - The Missouri Baptist men's volleyball team took care of business at home against #4 ranked Missouri Valley, winning in four sets 3-1.
The team was looking to avenge a tough previous night home loss to #2 ranked Park University. The Spartans came out with a lot of energy and were able to grab a 16-15 lead, after a Gustavo Cintron kill. Cintron had himself a game, recording 20 kills and helping out defensively with six digs. The Vikings crawled back into the game, gaining a 19-17 advantage. However, the Spartans fought back winning the first set 26-24.
The second set was a battle, with the Vikings grabbing a 9-10 lead. The rest of the set didn't fair to well for the Spartans, the team had 10 errors and fell 15-25. It was a much better showing in the third set for MBU. The team held a 20-17 lead, looking to grab a one game advantage. Sam Platt ended the set on a high note for the Spartans with a service ace and the 26-24 win.
Missouri Valley didn't go away early in the fourth set. The teams matched each other point for point, until the Spartans grabbed a 16-14 lead. Missouri Baptist went on to win the set 25-19 and the match.
The Spartans had a kill advantage of 60-49, with the final set being the best getting 18 kills. Zach Zeris had a strong game with 11 kills for a hitting percentage of .500. Robert Esser had another great game with 46 assists and nine kills. Travis Collard dove all over the floor for his team leading, eight digs.
The teams' record moves to 11-6 on the year and will be on the road at Hannibal-LaGrange on February 21st at 7:00 p.m.
