ST. LOUIS, Mo.--The No. 1 ranked Spartans of Missouri Baptist played host to the No. 4 ranked Braves of Ottawa University. In a crucial conference matchup, the Spartans rolled to a 3-0 win (25-21, 25-16, 25-14) to improve to 18-1 on the season and 10-0 in conference.
 
Junior outside hitter Steven Rodriguez paced the Spartans with 19 kills (.455 hitting percentage), while fellow outside hitter Luka Cajic followed with 14 kills (.565 hitting percentage). Senior setter Kyle Foley finished with 37 assists and five service aces, and libero Colton Inman picked up 11 digs. The Spartans hit an impressive .443 percent as a team, compared to just .108 from Ottawa. More impressively, the Spartans out-blocked the Braves 14-0.
 
Ottawa held the lead for the beginning of the set, taking a lead over the Spartans. Two kills from Cajic and a kill from Drew Iliff allowed the Spartans to even things out at 10 apiece. An attacking error from the Braves sparked a four-point service run by Inman, pushing the Spartans ahead by four. A kill from Rodriguez forced a timeout from Ottawa as they continued to fall behind. Out of the timeout, the Spartans continued to push their lead to 18-14, and then again to 23-21. A kill from Rodriguez followed by an attacking error from the Braves gave the Spartans the first set win, 25-21.
 
The second set saw the Spartans jump out to a quick 4-1 lead, but it would not last long as the Braves followed with a 6-2 scoring run take the lead. Tough serving from the Spartans caused problems for Ottawa as they would commit multiple errors to put the Spartans back ahead by two. A service ace from Cameron Hibbler was followed with a 6-1 scoring run by the Spartans. Facing an eight-point deficit, the Braves called a timeout in hopes of mounting a comeback. Out of the timeout, however, the Spartans continued to roll to a 24-16 lead before another attacking error from the Braves closed out the second set win for MBU, 25-16.
 
MBU jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the third set and never looked back. More tough serving from the Spartans continued to cause problems for the Braves. Kills from Rodriguez and Cajic helped push the Spartan lead to 16-9, and then again at 20-12. Errors from the Braves combined with more kills from Rodriguez set up match points for the Spartans, 24-14. Another error from Ottawa gave the third and final set to the Spartans, 25-14.
 
The Spartans will now prepare for their next conference matchup against the Park University Pirates. MBU travels to Parkville, Mo. on Thursday, March 29 to square off with the Pirates at 6:00 pm.