ST. LOUIS- [BOX SCORE] No. 1 ranked Missouri Baptist Men's Volleyball opened their 2017 campaign in Ottawa, Kan. on Tuesday night and fell in a surprising 3-0 sweep (25-21, 25-20, 25-16). 

Coming off their second consecutive NAIA National Championship in 2016, the top ranked Spartans found themselves in an early hole and could not recover. The Braves came out of the gate fast and rode the energy of a rowdy home crowd.

Led by junior outside hitter, Daniel Jacobs, Ottawa shut down repeated comeback attempts from MBU in each of the first two sets, claiming 25-21 and 25-20 victories. The Spartans briefly forced a tie at nine in the third set but the Braves put their foot down and once again pulled away. Missouri Baptist struggled on the attack all night, hitting just .023. In comparison, the Braves hit .200 as a team.

Senior Mico Janicijevic led the Spartans in kills (12) and digs (7), while 2016 NAIA Player of the Year Kyle Foley dished out 26 assists.

The Spartans will have to quickly put the defeat behind them as they get right back at it on Wednesday night. They'll open the home part of their schedule at 7 pm against the Vikings of Missouri Valley College.