ST. LOUIS—The Spartans kicked off the unaffiliated conference tournament on Friday afternoon at the Petty SRC. After a slow start, MBU rallied back for a four-set victory over the Briar Cliff (Iowa) Chargers, advancing them to the championship match on Saturday.

The Chargers got out to an early lead as errors held off the Spartans to start. Mistakes continued to cost MBU, allowing Briar Cliff to take a six-point lead before Coach Tom Young called for the first timeout (11-17. The Spartan offense would gain some momentum, going on a run to close the deficit to two (21-23). Unfortunately, two more Spartan errors would grant BCU set one, 25-21.

The teams went point for point in the second set, as the Spartans slowly began to come alive. The teams found themselves tied 12 times before MBU could finally run away with a lead. The Spartans led by three when Briar Cliff called for a timeout, but it was to no avail. An error from the Chargers would put the Spartans at set point, and a kill from Steven Rodriguez would seal the deal. Missouri Baptist evened out the match, taking set two, 25-21.

Set three was another game of back and forth early on. Tied at nine apiece, errors began to plague the Chargers while the Spartans dominated at the net. The teams continued to battle it out, but MBU managed to stay ahead, taking the third, 25-20.

Sophomore Gabe Norsigian kicked off the fourth set with a kill from the middle, followed by two attack errors from BCU to give the Spartans an early lead (3-0). Briar Cliff would continue to fight back but ultimately could not keep up. Missouri Baptist stayed on top, cruising to the fourth-set and match win, 25-19.

Junior Luka Cajic tied his season high for total kills, leading the way with 23 (.486 attack percentage). The outside hitter recorded 12 digs to lead the match, as well. Miljan Kastratovic finished up just behind, putting up 15 kills and 10 digs.

Setter Jason Harman also tied his personal season high, dishing out 55 total assists.

The Spartans will face off with No. 2 seeded Pirates for the championship title on Saturday at 12 p.m.