DENVER, Colo. – The Missouri Baptist men's volleyball team earned a spot in the semifinals of the NAIA National Championship Invitational by beating the No. 5 St. Ambrose Bees 3-1 (30-28, 25-23, 28-30, 25-15) on Friday afternoon.
In the first set, the Spartans and the Bees fought hard back and forth as neither team wanted to be the first to go back home without a win. MBU worked out to a five point 15-10 lead about half way through the set. It took a few extra points for MBU to get the win in the first set as the put away the Bees 30-28 to take a 1-0 lead in the match. The Spartans had 22 kills in the set.
MBU came out strong in the second set. The Spartans jumped out to a 3-0 early lead and looked to take control of the set from the beginning. However, the Bees were not going down without a fight. The Spartans never had a lead larger than three points in the set and the Bees never had a lead larger than one point. Both teams battled back and forth, but it was MBU that had the lead at the end of the set 25-23.
The third set was just as tough as the first two. The Bees worked out to a five point 11-6 lead in a win or go home set for them. MBU fought back and tied and the set at 14. After that point, neither team had larger than a one point lead until St. Ambrose scored the final two points to win the set 30-28.
The Spartans came out on fire and ready to end the match. MBU took control and built an 11-4 lead early in the fourth set and they did not let up. St. Ambrose was forced to call a timeout after two straight errors which allowed the Spartans to take a 15-7 lead. MBU dominated the fourth and final set the whole way. The Spartans had an attack percentage of .632 in the set while holding the Bees to under a positive hitting percentage.
Missouri Baptist moves on to the semifinals match this afternoon at 4 p.m. The Spartans will take on the No. 1 ranked Park Pirates. The Pirates are 26-1 on the season with their one and only loss coming against MBU in a five set match at home on March 22. The first serve in the match is set for 5 p.m. central time.
