ST. LOUIS, MO. –The men's volleyball program responded in a big way on Saturday after back-to-back losses for the first time in over five years.  The Spartans took a pair of sweeps over Cumberland University (Tenn.) and Heart Conference rival William Penn (Iowa) to improve their record to 7-2 (5-2 Heart).
 
An early set one run gave the Spartans breathing room against William Penn, propelling them to a 25-17 win. Sophomore transfer Auston Bonte was instrumental in the first set, hitting .462 with seven kills.
 
Missouri Baptist got off on the wrong foot in the second set. They trailed 15-12 until a kill followed by three straight service aces from Bonte pushed the Spartans in front. Miljan Kastratovic continued the run with another kill.
 
An attack error gave William Penn a serve, but they were shut down on a kill from Daniel Borsi to extend the lead to 18-16. The Statesmen only collected two more points in the set before Kastratovic sealed up a set two win with a kill off the pass from Jason Harman.
 
Set three was a battle early on, but MBU pulled ahead 7-6 with a Milos Markovic service ace. Once the Spartans held the lead, they never looked back. A 14-5 mid-set run built an insurmountable lead, giving the home team a 3-0 sweep of their conference foe.
 
Bonte led the team in the first match with 13 kills and a .381 hitting percentage followed closely by Kastratovic's nine kills and .381 hitting percentage. Harman also had a solid game with 28 assists, three aces, eight digs, and three blocks.
 
After losing in five sets to William Penn in the 10 a.m. game, Cumberland University came ready to play in the first set against the Spartans at the start of game two. They jumped out to an early 8-3 lead and held the lead for a majority of the set.
 
Down 14-10, MBU got five straight points on some help from the visitors and a kill from Bonte and Markovic. Later in the set, two kills from Jordan Pierce helped Cumberland to a 20-18 lead.
 
Two Phoenix errors tied the game. Kastratovic came in when it counted the most for the Spartans, collecting kills when the score was tied at 20, tied at 21, and on the set point. The first set went to the home team with a 25-22 final.
 
At the start of set two, Cumberland found themselves behind 13-8 before battling back with four straight points to draw within one. The Spartans remained unphased, taking set two 25-19 after strong play from Gabe Norsigian and two more kills from Kastratovic at 23-19 to end it.
 
MBU lost the first two points of set two but responded with five straight. With little resistance from the Phoenix, the Spartans coasted to a 25-17 set three win and their second sweep of the day.

Kastratovic and Bonte paced the offense in game two with 20 combined kills. Stephen Menzel dug 13 balls and collected a service ace while Harman posted 26 more assists.
 
Next up on the schedule is (2) Park University. The Pirates come to St. Louis on Wednesday, February 10 after an undefeated start to the 2021 season. The opening serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.