ST. LOUIS—The No. 3 ranked Spartans finished up play in Springfield, Mo. on Friday, as they faced off with tournament host Evangel, and (4) Viterbo (Wis.). Missouri Baptist split the day, taking the win over Evangel.

The first match of the day had a bit of a slow start as Evangel quickly took the lead. The Spartans eventually found their groove, but Evangel managed to stay just one step ahead. They took set one over MBU, 25-21.

The second set followed the same trend, as Evangel got out to a quick start. Evangel began to pull away, once again, until multiple kills and service aces from MBU put them back in the game. Evangel led 22-16 when a kill from Mallory Moran gave the Spartans possession. From there, the front line held it down as MBU came back to claim set two, 25-22.

Set three was much like the last, this time with the roles reversed. Evangel nearly pulled off a comeback over MBU, but it was to no avail. An attack error from Evangel gave MBU set three, 25-23.

The fourth set was another tight one as the teams continued to trade points back and forth. Two consecutive kills put Evangel at game point (24-21), however, two kills from Moran and an error from EU tied things up. From there the teams battled it out, pushing the match to 31-29, with the Spartans claiming the match win.

The highly anticipated second match of the day played out as most expected. The first set was neck and neck throughout, but the Spartans managed to pull away, taking the win by three points (25-22). Set two followed suit, only this time Viterbo would come out on top (25-23).

Heading into the third set, MBU seemed to be lacking momentum while Viterbo quickly hit the ground running. The V-Hawks fed off the Spartans sudden loss of energy, taking the lead (25-16), and pushing the match to a fourth set.

Missouri Baptist quickly picked themselves back up halfway through set four, rolling to a 25-12 victory, and pushing the match to a tiebreaking set. The Spartans jumped out to a quick lead, but, ultimately, Viterbo's front line proved to be too much. After five intense sets, the V-Hawks came out on top, 15-10.

Leading the Spartans, Mallory Moran finished the day with a total of 39 kills (.248 hitting percentage). Caterina Cigarini and Maggie Sorensen held things down at the net, each clocking out with one solo block, and nine assisted.

Libero Rachel Luebbers had zero reception errors, and a whopping 40 digs, while freshman setter Nicole Bott finished with 56 assists.

The Spartans return home on Tuesday, August 21 where they'll welcome Trinity International to the Petty SRC. First serve is set for 5:00 p.m.