ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The No. 1 ranked Spartans of Missouri Baptist University played host to the Defenders of Dordt College. It was a 3-0 sweep for the Spartans on senior day; 25-13, 25-16, 25-23. With the win, the Spartans finish the regular season with a record of 20-1 overall and 12-0 in conference play.
Sophomore outside hitter
Luka Cajic led the Spartans with 13 kills, while junior outside hitter
Steven Rodriguez followed with seven.
Drew Iliff,
Cameron Hibbler, and
Christian Barnes each finished with five kills, as well. Senior setter
Kyle Foley finished with 36 assists, six kills, and eight digs. Senior libero
Trent Oakes picked up 16 digs.
The Spartans got out to a quick lead with kills from Cajic and Hibbler, forcing a timeout from the Defenders. Out of the timeout, the Spartans continued to roll, using a strong offense that saw multiple players producing kills. MBU posted an impressive .400 hitting percentage to a 25-13 first set win.
The second set started with both teams exchanging points until a three-point service run from Oakes put the Spartans ahead, 7-4. From there, the Spartans continued to use a strong offense with kills coming from Foley and Rodriguez to help push their lead by 13 points. The Defenders attempted to bring themselves back into the game, scoring 9 of the final 5 points of the set. However, a kill from MBU closed out the second set win, 25-16.
In the third set, the Defenders were determined to keep the game close. Facing a four-point deficit Dordt took their first timeout of the set in an attempt to slow the Spartans momentum. Out of the timeout, the Defenders continued to battle to a 14-18 deficit. The Spartans struggled defensively and allowed Dordt to bring themselves within two-points, 21-23. Back-to-back errors from the Spartans tied the score at 23, before a kill from junior middle blocker
Mason Crabtree set-up match point for MBU. A kill from Cajic sealed the win for the Spartans, 25-23.
The Spartans host the conference tournament on Friday, April 6 and Saturday, April 7 at the Petty SRC. They'll later head to Iowa for the National Tournament.
