ST. LOUIS, MO. – Missouri Baptist men's volleyball started the year off right, picking up a 3-0 victory over Heart Conference opponent Culver-Stockton College. The Spartans hit a collective .425 with eight service aces to down the Wildcats on opening night.
 
The men found themselves down 8-7 early in the first set until a kill by Drew Berthlett got the team going. Jason Harman followed that up with a service ace to give MBU their first lead of the night. The first set ended with 16 of the next 23 points falling in favor of the Spartans, giving them a 1-0 advantage.
 
The second set was much closer than the first. Culver-Stockton took their first lead of the set when Jeremy Belgrave sent down a kill off the assist from Kris Sorenson to put the Wildcats up 13-12. MBU responded with a kill from transfer Auston Bonte and two kills from freshman Milos Markovic.
 
The Wildcats tried their best to stay in the race, but ultimately the visitors pulled away in the latter half. The Spartans went on to take a 2-0 match lead with a 25-17 set two victory.
 
The third set was more decisive than the second. Kills from Bonte and Gabe Norsigian put their team up early and they never looked back, completing the sweep with a 25-18 victory in game three.
 
Auston Bonte had a huge night in his Spartan debut, collecting thirteen kills, a .476 hitting percentage, and two digs. Miljan Kastratovic was not too far behind, with twelve kills of his own to go along with a .360 attack percentage and five digs. Other notables include Jason Harman with 35 assists and Stephen Menzel with eight digs.
 
MBU will look to make it 2-0 to begin their inaugural season in the Heart Conference against the University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy on Tuesday. The opening serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Carl & Deloris Petty SRC.