DES MOINES, Iowa—The No. 1 ranked Spartans of Missouri Baptist University continued play at the NAIA National Invitational with their second pool play matchup against the No. 5 Gray Wolves of Lourdes University. In a back-and-forth battle, the Spartans earned a 3-1 win (25-15, 23-25, 25-16, 27-25). With the win, the Spartans improve to 24-1 overall record, and 2-0 in tournament pool play.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Luka Cajic led the Spartans, once again, with 20 kills and five digs. Junior outside hitter Steven Rodriguez followed with 13 kills and four digs. Junior middle blocker Cameron Hibbler added nine kills of his own, while redshirt-freshman Jack Huizinga finished with eight kills and five digs. Senior setter Kyle Foley handed out 42 assists to go along with three service aces and nine digs. Junior libero Colton Inman picked up 14 digs while also serving three aces.
 
The Spartans proved to be too much for the Wolves at the net, as MBU finished with a team 12 blocks, compared to just seven from Lourdes. The Spartans also hit an impressive .308 percent, while holding the Wolves to .184 percent.
 
The Spartans got out to a hot start in set one, taking an early nine-point lead, forcing an early timeout from the Wolves. Out of the timeout, the Spartans continued to push, using kills from Hibbler and Cajic to push their lead, 16-8. Tough serving from MBU continued to cause problems for the Wolves, forcing another timeout. Lourdes attempted to bring themselves back into the game, but a big kill from Cajic put the Spartans at set point, 24-15, before an attack error closed out the first set win for MBU, 25-15.
 
Both teams traded points early on in the second set until a service ace from Huizinga put the Spartans ahead, 7-5. MBU struggled on serve receive, allowing the Wolves to take a two-point lead. Blocks from Hibbler, Rodriguez, and Huizinga tied things up at 14 a-piece. The teams traded points back and forth, once again, until a kill from the Wolves and an attack error from the Spartans put the Wolves ahead 21-19, forcing a timeout from MBU. The Spartans continued to struggle against the Wolves defense and fell behind further, causing MBU to take their second timeout. An attack error from Lourdes followed by a kill from Rodriguez brought the Spartans to within two, 21-23. A timeout from the Wolves, followed by a kill, put them at set point, 24-21. A service error from Lourdes and a kill from Hibbler gave the Spartans a chance at a comeback, but it would not be enough as a kill from Lourdes caused the Spartans to drop the second set, 23-25.
 
The third set started much like the second, as both teams traded points. A kill from Cajic, followed by a block from Cajic and Hibbler put the Spartans ahead by two. Three points in a row from MBU forced a timeout from the Wolves. With an 18-14 lead, a service ace from Foley and a big block from Cajic continued to push the Spartans to a 21-14 lead. After a second timeout from Lourdes, Foley served another ace (22-14). The Spartans earned the next three points off of kills from Huizinga and Gabe Norsigian, followed by a powerhouse block from the pair. The Spartans took set number three, 25-16.
 
The Spartans got out to a quick lead in the fourth set (7-4) with big kills from Hibbler and Rodriguez. Lourdes scored three consecutive points to tie the score, but another kill from Hibbler put the Spartans back ahead, 8-7. From there, the teams began to trade points back and forth, yet again. Two big blocks from Foley helped give the Spartans some momentum, but it was halted by another kill from the Wolves. Eventually, a service error from MBU put the Wolves at set point, 24-23. Kills from Cajic and Rodriguez quickly tied things up, then put the Spartans at match point, 25-24. Out of a timeout from Lourdes, a kill from the Wolves tied the game at 25. Another kill from Huizinga gave MBU their second match point opportunity. Inman finally sealed the deal with a service ace, as the Spartans took the fourth set and match.
 
The Spartans return to the court on Thursday, April 19 for their final pool play match. They will face off against conference foe Briar Cliff University. With a 2-0 record against the Chargers, the Spartans will look to finish out pool play undefeated.