St. Louis, Mo.- In one of the best matches of the year for the right to win the MAVIC West Conference championship, the Missouri Baptist men's volleyball team was up 2-0 against Graceland looking to win the title. The Yellow Jackets, however, battled back for the 2-3 win.
The first set started out very well for the Spartans, as the team jumped out to an early 12-6 advantage. The team continued its offensive pressure throughout the game, and cruised to a 25-14 win. Missouri Baptist had a kill advantage of 14-9, with Jonathan Roldan, Zach Zeris, Gustavo Cintron and Jordan Pinto each having three kills.
In game two, the Yellow Jackets grabbed a 9-12 advantage. The Spartans, however, tied the game up at 14-14. MBU then went on an 11-6 run, capped off by a Robert Esser kill for the 25-20 win. Missouri Baptist was helped out by Graceland, having seven errors and a hitting percentage of .040.
Graceland didn't leave quietly in the third set, as the Yellow Jackets grabbed a 7-8 lead and held on the rest of the way for the 22-25 win. Missouri Baptist had eight errors in the third game, and Anthony Robinson led Graceland with five kills.
The fourth set was a back and forth matchup, until the Spartans took an 18-16 lead, after a Zeris kill. The Yellow Jackets went on a 0-7 run, taking an 18-23 lead. Missouri Baptist battled back, but Robinson got another kill for Graceland, closing out the set 21-25 and forcing a final fifth set.
The Spartans came out strong in the fifth set, looking to shut down the pesky Yellow Jackets. Roldan gave the Spartans an 11-9 lead, after a monster kill. Graceland continued to battle, and grabbed a 13-14 lead. A serving error by Robinson, tied the game up at 14-14, giving the Spartans another life.
After another error by Graceland, MBU took a 15-14 lead. The Yellow Jackets tied the game up at 15-15, after an Andres Quinones kill, silencing the MBU crowd. The Spartans took a one point lead again, after a thunderous kill by Cintron. Graceland didn't let the crowd or the momentum shift phase them, as the Yellow Jackets took the final three points, for the 16-18 set and match win.
Offensively the Spartans were led by Cintron and Roldan, as the two hitters combined for 28 kills. Robert Esser added 40 assists and Travis Collard played well defensively, adding 12 digs. Robinson led Graceland with 20 kills, also having a strong game was Quinones with 15 kills.
The team will now wait and see if they will be given a bid to Nationals in Davenport, Iowa.
