ST. LOUIS, MO. – The Spartans dropped their second consecutive contest on Friday night after being swept by the first-ranked Grand View University. The Spartans were overwhelmed by the Viking attack and never found their stride offensively, dropping them to 4-2 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (5-2 overall).
 
The Vikings took an early 7-1 lead in set one and never lost the lead again. The Spartans did pull within two at one point before Grand View pulled away and coasted to a 25-15 victory and a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
Again, MBU found themselves down 8-2 in the second frame. Sloppy play from the visitors and a kill from Auston Bonte put the score at 10-8. Miljan Kastratovic pulled it within one with an ace followed by a Grand View attack error that tied it.
 
Later in the set, a kill by Kastratovic off an assist from Jason Harman gave the Spartans life down by two at 19-17. Unfortunately, that would be the extent of their scoring in the second set. A 6-0 run from the Vikings ended the second set with MBU stuck at 17 points.
 
Set three was more of the same. The Spartans were able to stay in the game until another late push from Grand View secured the first sweep of the Spartans in nearly a year.
 
Bonte led the team with nine kills and six digs on the night. Harman posted 19 assists and put up the most blocks for the home squad with two.
 
Next up is a Saturday double-header against William Penn and Cumberland University in the MBU Spartan Invitational. William Penn takes on Cumberland to start at 10 a.m. The Spartans then play William Penn at 12 p.m. and Cumberland at 2 p.m.