PARKVILLE, Mo. – The Spartans suffered their first sweep since April 1, 2015, at the hands of the sixth-ranked Park University Pirates on Wednesday night.  Despite their best efforts, Missouri Baptist did not find many holes in a tenacious home defense.
 
The Spartans came out of the gates strong, leading for most of set one. With their backs against the wall and down 19-22, the Pirates went on a late set run to emerge with a 26-24 victory.
 
The roles were reversed in set two as Park dominated a majority of the time. The Spartans found themselves in a 21-17 hole and searched for some late-set heroics of their own. A kill from Mario Lucas and a Pirate service error created some momentum for MBU.
 
That momentum was quickly crushed. Park established a 2-0 grip on the match after a kill by Felipe Chagas and two Spartan attack errors.
 
A 25-21 defeat in set three sent the Spartans to their first sweep in nearly five years. Coincidentally, the last team to sweep MBU men's volleyball was Park University in Parkville, Missouri.
 
Miljan Kastratovic and Luka Cajic both collected 16 kills in the match while the team combined for 41 digs. Park's blocking ability was the difference tonight, as they collected 10 blocks to Missouri Baptist's two.
 
The Spartans are back home on Friday afternoon for the MBU Spartan Invitational. The men play Clarke University at 2 p.m. and take on the seventh-ranked Saint Xavier Cougars at 7 p.m.