ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] No. 2 Missouri Baptist fended off NCAA Division II Quincy Friday night. The Hawks didn't go down quietly, however, after dropping the first two sets. MBU eventually hung on to win 3-1 (25-16, 25-19, 21-25, 28-26).

The Spartans came out firing on all cylinders. They hit .545 as a unit in a dominant set one win. Two early kills from Daniel Prada put the Spartans ahead 4-0 and they never looked back. MBU went ahead 24-11 and ended the set after Quincy strung together five straight.

Set number two wasn't as dominant, but the Spartans still handled with relative ease. After falling behind 5-1 early, back-to-back aces from Kyle Foley put the home team ahead 14-10. They maintained a steady margin throughout and eventually led 24-15. Once again, MBU struggled to earn the final point, but still went ahead 2-0.

The second half of the match was an entirely different story. Quincy became the aggressors and went back-and-forth with the navy and white. The Hawks hit a team-best .276 in the third set to eventually win 25-21 and force set four. Quincy took an 11-10 lead in the third and never gave it up. The Spartans desperately tried to retake it, but never could. A kill from Jacob Sheets ended the third with the score 25-21 in the Hawks favor.

Once again, Quincy showed up to play in the fourth. The set featured 20 lead changes, with each team holding a lead on 10 separate occasions. Quincy had set point at 24-23, but a huge kill from Donald Flemming tied and extended the match. A costly service error eventually put the Spartans ahead 27-26 and they won it when Luka Cajic and Cam Hibbler teamed up for a block.

The freshman Cajic led MBU with 15 kills on 31 swings. Mico Janicijevic finished second with 11. Flemming had an efficient night, posting seven on eight swings. Foley finished his night with 43 assists and a team-high three service aces. Janicijevic also posted a team-high nine digs.

The Spartans next game is on Tuesday at No. 3 Park. That match is set to start at 6:00 pm.