ST. LOUIS—The No. 1 seeded Spartans kicked off pool play at the Men's Volleyball Inaugural National Championship Tournament on Tuesday afternoon. After a slow first set, Missouri Baptist came back to defeat the (8) Cougars of St. Xavier (Ill.) in four sets.

St. Xavier gave the Spartans a run for their money, as the teams went point for point early on. The score was tied 12 times in set one alone. Tied at 18 apiece, a kill from the Cougars gave them possession, while another kill extended their lead by two (18-20). SXU would maintain the lead, sliding past the Spartans, 25-22.

Set two started in the Cougars favor, as well, as they jumped out to a quick two-point lead. From there, the teams continued to battle it out. The score was even (11-11) when a Cougar error would give MBU the ball. The Spartans continued to push their lead, but St. Xavier stayed right on their tail, eventually tying the score yet again (18-18). Spartan errors would give the Cougars the lead at 19-20 and 20-21 until a kill from Miljan Kastratovic, followed by one from Luka Cajic put MBU ahead (22-21). From there, errors from SXU would grant the Spartans set two, 25-21.

The third set followed suit with the teams trading points back and forth, once again. At 5-5, more errors from St. Xavier combined with kills from MBU would ultimately give the Spartans a six-point lead (16-10). The Cougars re-claimed possession a few times, but MBU proved to be too much, as they took set three, 25-18.

Errors from Missouri Baptist would allow St. Xavier to eventually roll out to a four-point lead in the fourth set (13-9). The tables turned, however, as mistakes costed SXU, allowing the Spartans to even things out at 17 apiece. Four consecutive kills would extend their lead even further (23-18). The Cougars tried for the last chance comeback, but it was to no avail. A kill from Steven Rodriguez granted the Spartans set four, 25-21.

Newcomer of the Year, Miljan Kastratovic led the match in kills, putting down a total of 20 on a .471 attack percentage. Senior Cameron Hibbler clocked out with a .500 attack percentage, earning 10 total kills from the middle.

Libero Skyler Capllonch put up 11 digs, while setter Jason Harman tabbed 54 total assists.

With this win, the Spartans start off pool play with a record of 1-0. They will face the No. 5 seeded Park University (Mo.) Pirates for the fourth time this season on Wednesday, April 17. The highly anticipated rematch begins at 4 p.m.