ST. LOUIS – Following a tightly-contested match on Wednesday against Quincy, it was smooth sailing for 12^th-ranked Missouri Baptist Men's Volleyball on Friday as the Spartans won handily in straight sets over Olivet Nazarene, 25-8, 25-16, 25-9. With one of the more dominant performances in recent memory, MBU controlled every aspect of the match and held the Tigers to just 12 kills and 16 points on the night.
 
The Spartans are now 2-0 on the young season, while Olivet Nazarene, in its first year as a varsity program in the NAIA, dropped to 0-7 overall. The Tigers are still in search of the first-win milestone.
 
An early 2-1 advantage for the visitors didn't keep MoBap down for long. The Spartans assembled a massive 19-2 run that set the tone for the rest of the match. In a completely one-sided affair, MBU took Set One by a score of 25-8. The Spartans didn't hold back at the service line and were rewarded with seven service aces. Senior outside hitter Miljan Kastratovic paced the Spartans with four kills on four swings and three of the seven aces. While Missouri Baptist was efficient with a match-best .533 hitting clip, the Tigers were the opposite. ONU hit -0.263% and managed just three points in the set from a pair of kills and one service ace.
 
The Tigers did enough in the second frame to prevent another runaway win for MBU, yet the outcome was still 25-16. ONU just couldn't find a way to slow down opposite hitter Stephen Bilkey, who was near perfect in the set with seven kills on eight swings (.875%) and had two service aces. Also providing a spark offensively was freshman Michael Anderson, who had two big solo blocks in his Spartan debut.
 
MoBap kept it rolling in the Set Three with a similar action plan of spreading the ball around, serving aggressive and blocking at the net. Several Spartans stepped up in the final set including Miljan Kastratovic with four more aces and pair of blocks, Kyle Merzweiler with three kills and three block assists, and Auston Bonte with four kills.
 
The Spartans finished with a hitting clip of .460%, the highest attack percentage since Feb. 27, 2020. MBU, which served up 16 aces on Friday, eclipsed 15 service aces just once during the 2021 season.
 
Leading the way for the Spartans were Stephen Bilkey in kills (9), Mijan Kastratovic, who tied a career high in service aces (7), David Rudic in assists (25), Stephen Menzel in digs (7) and Kyle Merzweiler in blocks (3).
 
No. 12 Missouri Baptist will take its show on the road Tuesday, but not far, as the Spartans open Heart of America Athletic Conference play at University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy. First serve is set for 7 p.m.