DES MOINES, Iowa – The No. 11-ranked Missouri Baptist University men's volleyball team suffered its first setbacks of the season this weekend losing on the road to (RV) William Penn University and No. 1 Grand View University. On Friday at William Penn, the Spartans fell victim to a reverse sweep, while on Saturday, they were unable to upend the defending NAIA Men's Volleyball national champions on their home court.
 
With the losses in Iowa, Missouri Baptist dropped to 4-2 overall and finished its first week in Heart of America Athletic Conference play at 1-2.
 
(RV) William Penn def. (11) Missouri Baptist, 3-2 [21-25, 19-25, 35-33, 29-27, 15-8]
In the opening frame, the Spartans emerged victorious from a back-and-forth battle by using a 6-1 run to close out the set. Paired with three WPU errors, MBU surged with a Kyle Merzweiler block, Miljan Kastratovic kill, and Auston Bonte kill to take the set, 25-21.
 
In similar fashion, the Spartans rebounded from an early deficit and began distance themselves from the Statesmen. Coming on strong in the second set was junior outside hitter Auston Bonte, who had six kills in the set, and opposite hitter Stephen Bilkey, who added four kills to the mix. The Spartans also leaned on aggressive serving for five aces in the 25-19 set win.
 
The third set was a memorable one as the two teams were in it for the long-haul with 68 rallies in total. MBU was once again battling from behind and trailed by as much as five at one point. The David Rudic to Stephen Bilkey connection was undeniable as Bilkey went off for 12 kills. Down 23-21, MBU scored three in a row (K. Merzweiler, Bilkey, Kastratovic) for its first chance at match point. Unfortunately, the Spartans could not close it out in the 35-33 marathon set despite having match point on five separate occasions.
 
From a stat standpoint, Missouri Baptist and William Penn couldn't have been more identical in the fourth set: MBU – 12 K, 6 E, .214% ; WPU – 13 K, 7 E, .214%. The momentum swings carried forced yet another set with extra points. Following a Kyle Merzweiler-Stephen Bilkey block at 26-26 all, the Spartans had one last match point opportunity. The ability to close out on the road was not in the cards as William Penn scored three straight points to force the tiebreaker set.
 
The Statesmen were virtually unstoppable in the fifth, hitting a red-hot .750% with six kills on eight swings. WPU pulled off the improbable comeback and reverse sweep defeating the Spartans, 15-8 in the final set. It marked the second win in a row over a ranked opponent for the Statesmen.
 
Stephen Bilkey surpassed his previous career high with 24 kills at WPU. He was joined in double digits by Miljan Kastratovic and Auston Bonte, who both finished with 14 kills apiece.
 
(1) Grand View def. (11) Missouri Baptist, 3-1 [25-21, 28-26, 18-25, 25-19]
Although the Spartans got off to a fast 11-6 start, the top-ranked Vikings climbed back slowly but surely and took Set One, 25-21. Keeping the theme from Friday night, the Spartans went the distance with Grand View in Set Two, but were edged by the Vikings, 28-26 to fall two sets behind.
 
With their backs against the wall, the Spartans answered with a 25-18 set win in the third to avoid a sweep. Top-ranked Grand View flipped the script from Set Three to Set Four outhitting the Spartans 13-7 in kills and .375%-.050% in hitting percentage.
 
Senior outside hitter Miljan Kastratovic had a well-rounded performance against the Vikings, finishing with a match-best 17 kills along with seven digs, four blocks and four service aces. Other notable performances included Auston Bonte (8 kills, 3 blocks, 2 service aces) and Kyle Merzweiler (6 kills, .625%, 6 blocks). Merzweiler's six blocks marks a new career high for the sophomore middle blocker.
 
MBU will look to bounce back from this weekend on Tuesday when it visits conference foe Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo.