ST. LOUIS, MO. – The Spartans took care of business against a tough Culver-Stockton program on Wednesday night with a 3-1 victory. Missouri Baptist took their fourth consecutive win over their conference opponent, improving their record to 9-2 overall and 7-2 in the conference.
 
The Wildcats might have rolled up to the Carl and Deloris Petty Sports and Recreation Complex with a 1-8 record, but they came out of the gates ready to upset the No. 6 ranked Spartans. They collected four blocks in the first set alone that severely stifled the home team's attack.
 
Luckily for the Spartans, their defense came ready to play until the offense woke up. Stephen Menzel led the way with seven digs as his team collected 16 in the first frame.
 
Down 15-16, Kyle Merzweiler sent a pass from Jason Harman down to tie the set, followed by two kills from Auston Bonte.
 
Culver-Stockton took the lead back on three attack errors from MBU.
 
Tied at 22, a CSC service error, a Daniel Borsi service ace, and a Miljan Kastratovic kill gave the Spartans a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
Sloppy play from the Spartans cost them the second set. The Spartans found themselves up 18-17 late in the match but could not reign in the mistakes, losing 25-21 in set two.
 
The next two sets were vintage Missouri Baptist volleyball. They took each of them with a score of 25-17, moving their record to 7-2 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
 
Menzel continued his strong play after the first set, ending with 16 digs on the night. Kastratovic carried the offense with 21 kills with heavy support from Kyle Merzweiler who had 10 kills. Other notable stats include Jason Harman's 44 assists, Daniel Borsi's 11 digs, and Gabe Norsigian's six kills on 12 swings.
 
The schedule gets a little tougher next week where a road trip will lead MBU to take on (RV) Mount Mercy on February 25, (1) Grand View on February 26, and William Penn the day after.