CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – One day after winning its 10th consecutive match, the No. 6-ranked Missouri Baptist men's volleyball team saw one the NAIA's longest winning streaks come to a screeching halt at the mercy of (RV) Mount Mercy University. The Spartans defeated Clarke, 3-1, on Friday evening before dropping a straight-set loss to Mount Mercy on Saturday afternoon.
 
With the split in Iowa, Missouri Baptist dropped to 14-3 overall and 8-3 in Heart of America Athletic Conference matches. All three of the Spartans' losses so far have come in conference play on the road in the state of Iowa to now No. 2-ranked William Penn, No. 4 Grand View and (RV) Mount Mercy. Saturday's loss marks the first sweep that MBU has encountered this year.
 
The Spartans will attempt to bounce back from its first straight-set loss of the year when it travels to Chicago for matches with Trinity Christian, No. 14 Saint Xavier and (RV) Aquinas, which just upset No. 5 and previously unbeaten Indiana Tech on Saturday.
 
(6) Missouri Baptist def. Clarke, 3-1 [25-23, 25-16, 18-25, 25-18]
While Clarke (4-13, 0-8 HEART) remained winless in conference play, Friday's victory didn't always come easy for the Spartans. Both teams hit well to begin the match and were knotted up on 11 different occasions in Set One. With a tie as late as 22-all, Missouri Baptist kicked into overdrive and scored in three of the last four rallies.
 
MBU gave the Pride fits in the second stanza holding the home team to just four kills on 25 attempts and a -.240 hitting clip. The Spartans won by a good margin defeating CU, 25-16, to move one set away from a sweep.
 
Clarke had other plans as it capitalized on MBU miscues and forced a fourth set following a 25-18 win over the Spartans.
 
Luckily, the Spartans saved their best set for last hitting .450 against the Pride to wrap up the match.
 
The outside hitting duo of Auston Bonte and Miljan Kastratovic shouldered a heavy load offensively for the Spartans on Friday finishing with 19 and 18 kills, respectively. Freshman setter David Rudic had a productive day with 48 assists (12.00 a/s), eight digs, and four blocks. Other notable performances included Stephen Menzel with a match-best 14 digs and Gabe Norsigian with five blocks to go along with his five kills.
 
(RV) Mount Mercy def. (6) Missouri Baptist, 3-0 [26-28, 21-25, 21-25]
Missouri Baptist opened Saturday's match with 18 kills in the first set, however, 11 attack errors including six MMU blocks did the Spartans in. MBU, which trailed late, avoided two Mount Mercy set point opportunities and had two of its own at 25-24 and 26-25. The Mustangs scored the last three points and outlasted MoBap, 28-26.
 
The next frame was evenly matched, but Mount Mercy once again had more left in the tank in the later stages of the set.
 
Looking to avoid a sweep, No. 6 MBU jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in Set Three. The Spartans led up until the 16-15 mark which eventually was the turning point for the Mustangs. Their win over Missouri Baptist was the first in program history.
 
The Spartan pin hitters – Miljan Kastratovic, Auston Bonte, and Stephen Bilkey – combined for 39 of the team's 46 kills on Saturday. Kastratovic led the Spartans with 15 kills, followed by Bonte's 13 and Bilkey's 11.
 
For the second straight match, the Spartans were relatively quiet from the service line with just two service aces.