ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] Missouri Baptist snuck by NCAA DII Lindenwood University in the first set Thursday night and carried that momentum to a 3-1 win (26-24, 23-25, 25-17, 25-18).

 MBU (8-2) fell in a 17-12 deficit early in the set before climbing all the way back. The deficit remained at 23-19 until another late push. Five straight points gave MBU set point and a 24-23 lead after a block from Cameron Hibbler.

After Lindenwood tied it, Hibbler and Drew Iliff came up with the deciding block to help MBU escape 26-24. The second set proved to be as even as the first with the Lions taking it 25-23.

In set three, a kill from Mico Janicijevic gave the Spartans a 14-13 lead and eventually the navy and white would pull away. Led by Janicijevic, the Spartans outscored Lindenwood 11-4 the rest of the way. A block from Cameron Hibbler again gave MBU a set, this time set number three and a 2-1 lead.

The deciding set played much more like the previous than the first two. Once again, MBU had a strong end to the set after being tied at 16-16. Janicijevic and Daniel Prada both had multiple kills during the final run. Kyle Foley, who had 34 assists, ended the night at the service line. The Spartans won 25-18 after a ball handling error from Lindenwood.

Janiciijevic led the way with 13 kills for MBU. Prada added 10 on 33 attacks. Cam Hibbler came up big at the service line with four aces and added in 10 blocks, three of them solo. Kyle Foley finished with a team-high eight digs.

The Spartans next compete at home on Tuesday against Ottawa. The match is set to start at 7pm.