DES MOINES, Iowa—The No. 1 ranked Spartans of Missouri Baptist University began the hunt for their third national title with a first-round matchup against the Knights of St. Andrews University (N.C.). In the first game of pool play, the Spartans earned a 3-0 sweep over the Knights (25-21, 25-18, 25-19). With the win, the Spartans improve to 23-1 overall, and 1-0 in NAIA National Invitational pool play.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Luka Cajic led the Spartans with 15 kills and four digs. Junior outside hitter Steven Rodriguez followed with seven kills, while opposite hitter Jack Huizinga finished with six kills and two service aces. Middle blocker Cameron Hibbler hit an impressive .800 percent with four kills. Senior setter Kyle Foley dished out 30 assists to go along with five service aces and five digs. Junior libero Colton Inman led the defensive effort with seven digs.
 
The Spartans used a strong offense to take an early 12-9 lead in the first set. Errors from the Knights helped push the Spartans further ahead, before a service error halted their momentum. The Spartans gained back possession, allowing tough serving from Foley to put them back on top. St. Andrews attempted to stop the Spartans scoring run with a timeout, however, they were no match for Foley as he served back to back aces. Errors plagued the Knights in the closing moments of the set, allowing MoBap to reach game point, 24-20. After the Knights burned their last timeout, a kill from Rodriguez closed out the first set, 25-21.
 
MBU got out to a slow start in the second set. Facing a 3-5 deficit, kills from Rodriguez and Hibbler tied the score at five a-piece before another kill from the Knights put them back in the lead. Multiple errors from the Spartans helped St. Andrews hold a tight lead, until Huizinga hit the service line. His tough serving helped the Spartans take their first lead of the set, 16-14. Kills from Cajic and Norsigian pushed the Spartans ahead by four, forcing a timeout from St. Andrews. Out of the timeout, a kill from Huizinga kept things rolling for MBU. Errors from the Knights combined with tough blocking from the Spartans put MoBap at game point, once again. A block from Foley earned the Spartans the second set win, 25-18.
 
St. Andrews jumped out to another quick lead in set three, but three consecutive points from the Spartans put them ahead, 4-3. More kills from Rodriguez and Cajic, followed by errors from the Knights pushed MBU to a 14-10 lead. Following a timeout from St. Andrews, tough serving from the Spartans continued to cause problems for the Knights, as MBU would take leads at 16-12, and again at 21-15. Following another timeout from St. Andrews, the Spartans capitalized off of errors and took a 23-17 lead. A service error from the Knights followed by another service ace from Foley closed out the third set and match win, 25-19.
 
The Spartans continue pool play on Wednesday, April 18 with a 1 o'clock matchup against the Grey Wolves of Lourdes University.