Quincy, Ill. - The Missouri Baptist men's volleyball team was one game away from a key road victory against Quincy University. The Hawks battled back against the Spartans, for the 2-3 win.
In set one, the Hawks held a lead for the majority of the game until the Spartans grabbed a 17-16 advantage. Quincy however, was able to regain a 21-23 lead, looking to put Missouri Baptist away. The team tried to battle back, but lost their momentum on a questionable call given to Quincy, falling 23-25.
Missouri Baptist had a hitting percentage of just .192 in the first set, with Jonathan Roldan leading the way with five kills and a .571 hitting percentage.
Things didn't start out so well for the Spartans, with the team down 1-5 early. It was a constant fight back into the game and it was worth it. MBU grabbed a 17-14 lead, forcing Quincy to take a timeout.
After the time out, Gustavo Cintron tipped over the game winning shot for the 25-19 win. Leading the way in the second set was senior Zach Zeris with four kills and a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage. MBU had a kill advantage of 15-9, with an improved hit percentage of .522.
The third set was all Spartans at the start, as the team jumped out to a 15-8 advantage, quieting the crowd and putting the Hawks on their heels. Missouri Baptist closed out Quincy in impressive fashion, for the 25-17 win. The team had just one error in the entire set, helped out by the Hawks nine errors and .000 hitting percentage.
Quincy was able to come out on fire in the fourth set, grabbing an 8-11 lead. The Hawks grabbed an 11-19 advantage, with the help from Joe Ascher, who was earning consecutive serving aces. The Spartans fought back as best they could, but QU closed out the Spartans for the 22-25 win, forcing a fifth and final set. The team had a kill advantage of 15-8, but a hitting percentage of just .211.
In the fifth set, Quincy jumped out to a 5-12 lead, but Missouri Baptist battled back going on a 4-0 run, forcing a Hawk timeout. The Spartans however, couldn't mount a comeback falling 13-15.
The Spartans were led by Cintron who had 17 kills and Roldan adding 16. Zach Zeris chipped in nine kills and a team high hitting percentage of .571. Robert Esser racked up 50 assists and Travis Collard led MBU with 14 digs.
The teams' record falls to 14-11, but will look for a major conference win against Park University on March 15th at 7:00 p.m.
