SIOUX CITY, IA – The No. 2 Missouri Baptist Spartans traveled to Sioux City, Iowa to take on the Defenders of Dordt University. In their fifth conference matchup, the Spartans defeated the Defenders 3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-21, 25-14). With the win, the Spartans move to 13-1 overall, and 5-0 in conference play.
The Spartans were led by outside hitter
Steven Rodriguez with 12 kills and seven digs, followed by sophomore outside hitter
Luka Cajic who finished with 11 kills and six digs. Freshman opposite Clayton Mathison chipped in 11 kills and six digs, while setter
Kyle Foley dished out 23 assists. Junior libero
Colton Inman picked up seven digs.
With the score tied at five early in the first set, the Defenders began a scoring run to take a quick lead. After a Spartan timeout, errors began to plague the Defenders. Six consecutive errors brought the Spartans within one point (13-14). Dordt then took their first timeout of the set in an attempt to slow down the Spartans momentum. However, it would not be enough as the Spartans continued their scoring run, taking set one, 25-20.
Things started off slow again as the Spartans quickly fell behind in the second set. A couple kills from Rodriguez and
Drew Illif changed that, as they evened things out. However, it was to no avail as Spartan errors caused the team to give up the second set, 25-20.
The third set began with both teams trading points until the Spartans took a four-point lead, forcing a timeout by the Defenders. Out of the break, the Spartans continued to push their lead, using kills from Rodriguez and Cajic. Three more kills from Rodriguez gave the Spartans the third set win, 25-21.
Looking to close out the game, the Spartans jumped to an early lead in the fourth set. Foley spread the offense well throughout the set with Norsigian, Rodriguez, and Cajic each producing multiple kills. With the lead pushed to eleven, two errors from the Defenders gave the Spartans the fourth and final set win, 25-14.
The Spartans are back in action Friday, March 2. They will face off against Briar Cliff University for their second conference matchup. Game time is set for 7 pm.
