ST. LOUIS [BOX SCORE LOURDES] [BOX SCORE GRAND VIEW] - The Missouri Baptist men's volleyball team went undefeated in pool play with a 3-2 (19-25, 21-25, 25-15, 25-13, 15-13) win over Lourdes (Ohio) and a 3-1 (28-26, 23-25, 26-24, 25-19) win over Grand View (Iowa) MBU became the first team to receive a spot in the semifinals.
The Spartans (31-1) started the day off with a match-up against Lourdes.
MBU was sluggish in set one and only recorded a hitting percentage of 0.161, the team's lowest of the match.
After dropping set one, Missouri Baptist looked to make a comeback in set two. The Gray Wolves, however, continued to capitalize on the Spartans slow start as Lourdes went up two sets to none with its second highest hitting percentage of 0.303.
MBU in a pickle with a due or die set three, flipped the momentum in its favor as the team regained its footing and posted its highest total of kills in the match with 18.
The pressure remained on Missouri Baptist in the fourth set as the Gray Wolves were still one set away from taking the match, but the Spartans were on a roll. MBU recorded it's highest hitting percentage at 0.842.
The Spartans had evened the score as their first deciding fifth set of the season stared them in the face. MBU, however, maintained the momentum from set four to take the set and recorded only three errors off of 18 attempts.
Race Munger led the offense with a new career-high of 17 total kills.
Kyle Foley quarterbacked the team with a new season-high of 59 total assists for an average of 11.8 assists per set.
Robert Hall cleaned-up in the back row with 13 total digs.
The team closed out the first day of pool play against Grand View (Iowa).
The teams started the match with a nail biter as they posted hitting percentages that had only an 0.003 difference. The Vikings may have taken an early lead, but MBU closed the scoring gap and pushed past 25 to take the first set 28-26.
In set two three roles flip-flopped as the Spartans took the early lead and Grand View came from behind to swipe the match from MBU as the Vikings recorded their second highest hitting percentage of the match.
GVU was hot on Missouri Baptist's tail but were unable to capture the third set win. As MBU held the lead for the majority of the set, the Spartans also held the Vikings to their lowest hitting percentage of 0.
Set four was the most contested set in the match-up with 21 total ties as each team fought for the upper hand in the beginning. MBU, however, had a four point run for a 23-19 lead. After an attacking error from Grand View and a service ace from Hall the Spartans punched their ticket to the semifinal round.
Grant Carder led the offense with 12 total kills. Outsides Chris Flood and Mico Janicijevic followed with 10 kills apiece.
As the number one team in pool A, Missouri Baptist will advance to play in the first semifinal match at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 21 against the number two team out of pool B.
