ST. LOUIS – Following a ranked win on Thursday over No. 7 Georgetown, the No. 11-ranked Missouri Baptist University men's volleyball team split its weekend series in conference play. The Spartans swept through Clarke University, 25-14, 25-15, 25-18, but dropped a closely contested match on Saturday to (RV) Mount Mercy University, 25-23, 25-27, 31-29, 25-19.
 
It was a rare loss for the Spartans on their court. Since the Petty Sports & Recreation Complex opened in 2011-12, Missouri Baptist men's volleyball is 133-12 with a .917 winning percentage in home matches. With the weekend split in HEART action, MBU moves to 6-3, 4-2 HEART with a pair of ranked wins under its belt. Meanwhile, Mount Mercy ranked just outside of the Top 15, made a solid case to move up in the next poll, moving to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the HEART.
 
(11) Missouri Baptist University def. Clarke University, 3-0 [25-14, 25-15, 25-18]
MBU surged past the visitors in Set One and used an 8-1 finish to the frame to defeat the Pride 25-14. The Spartans outhit Clarke .500 to .053 in the set, with their pin hitters receiving a bulk of the share. Auston Bonte (4), Miljan Kastratovic (3), and Veljko Culibrk (2) were error-free, combining for nine of the team's 12 kills (.642%).
 
Missouri Baptist head coach Tom Young singled out Set Two in his post-match interview, pointing to the Spartans' energy in the set. After Clarke and MBU traded points early and were tied 8-8, the Spartans ripped off an 11-0 run with Marko Jovanovic at the service line. Behind the strong play of Michael Olson and Veljko Culibrk – five kills apiece in the set – MBU coasted to a 25-15 win. MBU held a 19-4 advantage in kills in the second.
 
Olson continued his productive night with three consecutive service aces to give MBU a 5-1 jumpstart in Set Three. With the quick start, the Spartans never trailed and went deep into their bench to close the set, 25-18.
 
Fourteen Spartans recorded a kill in the match, including kills from reserves Sam Goedde, Petar Lecic, Jake Richardson, Milos Markovic, Francesco Michelini, and Zach Noles.
 
Hitters Veljko Culibrk, Michael Olson, and Auston Bonte tied for the match-high in kills with seven apiece. Other stat leaders included Michael Olson with three aces, Kyle Merzweiler with two blocks, and Noah Varga with five digs.
 
(RV) Mount Mercy University def. (11) Missouri Baptist University, 3-1 [25-23, 25-27, 31-29, 25-19]
The opening set foreshadowed how tight a match Saturday would become, with 13 ties and four lead changes. Both squads hit .222 in Set One, and each leaned heavily on one individual in particular. Mount Mercy's Akeel Oxley, a Culver-Stockton College transfer, was unstoppable, scoring nine of the Mustangs' 11 kills in the set. Senior outside hitter Auston Bonte tried to match Oxley point for point, but his eight kills were not enough to push the tide in favor of MoBap. MMU edged the Spartans 25-23.
 
Set Two was very similar, with 11 ties and four lead changes. Midway through the set, it appeared Mount Mercy had the momentum and was on track to take a two sets to none lead over the Spartans. Trailing by 15-9, MoBap went on a monster 7-1 run to knot it up at 16-all. However, Mount Mercy once again broke away and reached set point at 24-22. Aided by an MMU service error to begin a 5-1 Spartan run, MBU stole the set 27-25. Highlighting the second set were the MBU middles, including sophomore Michael Anderson, who had four blocks and two kills, and Kyle Merzweiler, with three kills and a block.
 
The Spartans played from behind for much of the third set and trailed by as much as five. And like the first two sets, Mount Mercy was the first to reach set point. Down 24-23, the Spartans avoided three Mustang set-point opportunities with kills from Bonte, Merzweiler, and Culibrk. MBU had its chances with three set-point opportunities at 27-26, 28-27, and 29-28. Unfortunately, the Spartans couldn't string together back-to-back points. Mount Mercy escaped a nerve-wracking Set Three with several twists and turns, 31-29.
 
Set Four had eight ties and four lead changes, but one key 5-0 stretch for the Mustangs had MBU with its back against the wall and battling from behind. The Spartans also had to do so without starting setter David Rudic, who went down with a lower leg injury. Backup setter Francesco Michelini came in and kept the Spartans within reach with eight assists, a solo block, and an ace. (RV) Mount Mercy had one more run left in the tank as the Mustangs went on a 5-1 run to close out the fourth, 25-19, and avoid a tiebreaker set.
 
Three Spartans registered 10+ kills, with Bonte and Culibrk leading the way with 18 apiece. Kastratovic added 12 kills, while Merzweiler was approaching double digits with eight kills on 12 swings (.583%). Before exiting the contest, David Rudic had dished out 44 assists and a team-high 10 digs.
 
As a team, MBU had a rough day at the service line supplying just four aces compared to 17 service errors. The Spartans made up for it at the net with 11 blocks and an 11-6 advantage over the Mustangs.
 
No. 11 Missouri Baptist will have another tough test ahead as they visit (RV) Missouri Valley on Tuesday evening.