DES MOINES--The No. 2 Missouri Baptist Men's Volleyball team was back in action at the Molten Invitational. They faced Benedictine University at Mesa first and closed things out with tournament host, Grand View University.
  
After falling behind at the beginning of the first set, the Spartans took control and led the rest of the way. Capitalizing off of multiple Redhawk errors, the Spartans took set one, 25-21. The second set followed suit as MBU came out on top, 25-16.
 
The Spartans ran into some trouble in the third set as the Redhawks came out with newfound momentum. They would eventually have a successful run, taking an eight-point lead. Errors from the Spartans proved to be their downfall, as they dropped the third, 17-25.
 
Set four was another game of back and forth for the Spartans. However, Luka Cajic changed all of that with three successful serves, putting the Spartans ahead. The squad would maintain the lead, and take set four and the match, 25-19.
 
The second contest of the day paired the Spartans with the No. 1 Vikings of Grand View University. It was nothing short of a thrill, as each team competed in their first five-set match of the 2018 season.
 
Each team came out hot, well aware of the competition they were about to face. The set may have begun with a Spartan service error, but they eventually found themselves holding the lead after being tied at eight. MoBap managed to stay there until they dished out three attack errors, allowing the Vikings to tie things up at 23. A couple Spartan errors later, and the Vikings took set one 26-24.
 
Set two proved to be similar to the first, but with much smarter plays on the Spartans end. Outside hitter Steven Rodriguez made his debut, putting up 26 kills, 12 in set two alone. MBU claimed the second set as theirs, 25-17. They would then take set three (26-24), but give up set four (18-25), pushing the game into a crucial tiebreaking set.
 
Set five followed the trend of those before it, as the teams battled it out, back and forth. Grand View eventually began to pull away by just a couple points, but MBU hung in throughout. The match was tied at 15-15 when Grand View regained possession and sealed the deal, 17-15.
 
Cajic led the offensive charge for the day with a grand total of 37 kills. On the defensive leading end was libero Colton Inman with 21 digs, and middle blocker Cameron Hibbler with six blocks.
 
Kyle Foley finished the day with 94 total assists.
 
The Spartans will be back in action on Wednesday, January 31. The squad looks to start another winning streak as they begin conference play, taking on Lindenwood-Belleville. The match starts promptly at 7 pm at the Carl and Deloris Petty SRC.