ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Missouri Baptist men's volleyball started the MAMVIC West conference tournament in a big way, beating the Grand View Vikings in straight sets, 25-16, 25-13, 25-22.

The Spartans (15-12) looked dominant in the first two matches. Spartan outside Gustavo Cintron led the team in the first set with four kills, adding an ace and three digs in the set. Sam Platt was also very good for MBU, leading the team hitting percentage with a perfect 1.000.

After taking the first game, the Spartans continued their success in game two. Cintron continued to roll, posting another four kills in the game. Jordan Pinto was light's out, however. The sophomore middle had four kills as well with a 1.000 hitting percentage to lead the team.

Grand View, true to form, came out on a mission. The Vikings Nikola Vukicevic led the team with four kills in the set. As the game progressed, Grand View kept pace with the Spartans throughout and took a brief 19-18 lead late.

Though Grand View was impressive, Missouri Baptist made key plays down the stretch to earn the sweep.

Cintron finished the match with 17 kills, while setter, Robert Esser recorded 36 assists. With the win, the Spartans will advance to the semifinals and play the top-seeded Park University at 2:00 p.m. Friday afternoon. The third-place and championship games are scheduled for Saturday at the Carl and Deloris Petty Sports and Recreation Complex.

For live updates, fans can follow @MBUAthletics on Twitter. Brackets will be published on www.mbuspartans.comthroughout the tournament.