MARSHALL, Mo. – Coming off a tough loss at home to (RV) Mount Mercy over the weekend, the 11^th- ranked Missouri Baptist University men's volleyball team bounced back in a big way with a road sweep of (RV) Missouri Valley College on Tuesday. The Spartans worked extra hard in the third set to procure their fifth sweep of the season, defeating MoVal by scores of 25-23, 25-18, and 29-27.
 
Having lost three of their previous four matchups to the Vikings, the Spartans were out for revenge on Tuesday evening. MBU (7-3, 5-2 HEART) avenged the previous losses and in doing so handed Missouri Valley its fourth straight loss to a ranked opponent. Prior to MBU, the Vikings had suffered losses to No. 8 Park, No. 14 William Penn, and No. 4 Grand View.
 
MoBap's defense stood tall and passed well in the opening frame, holding MoVal to a .053 hitting clip. This marked the 10^th set of the season that the Spartans held an opponent to a hitting clip below .100%.
In a set full of momentum swings, Missouri Baptist's five-point lead late in the set was the difference maker. With just enough cushion, the Spartans' escaped a late 6-2 run by the Vikings to take Set One, 25-23.
 
Coming off a strong defensive performance in the opening set, the Spartans continued to keep MoVal at bay, limiting them to a match-low seven kills in the set. Meanwhile, the Spartan attack put together its best set of the night hitting .280 as a team. Outside hitters Miljan Kastratovic and Auston Bonte led the charge with 10 of MBU's 12 kills, while combining for three service aces. The Spartans never trailed in the 25-18 Set Two victory.
 
Trying to stay alive and force a fourth set, Missouri Valley came out with guns blazing scoring seven of the first 10 points of the set. The Spartans responded with a run to knot it up at 10-all. After that point, the two teams exchanged leads multiple times with 12 more ties by the end of the match. Filling in for injured setter David Rudic, Francesco Michelini played an instrumental role in Set Three recording 14 assists in 15 of MBU's kills. Bonte and Kastratovic continued to carry the attacking load finishing with 14 kills in the deciding set. Extending past 25, the Spartans secured the sweep on Auston Bonte's fourth ace of the night to win 29-27.
 
Bonte led the charge with a match-best 16 kills and four service aces, followed by Kastratovic with 13 kills and three aces. Sophomore Noah Varga and junior Michael Olson teamed up for six digs apiece. Other stat leaders included Michelini with a career-high 33 assists, and middle blocker Michael Anderson with a team-high three blocks.
 
No. 11 Missouri Baptist will look to build on their win as the road swing continues into the weekend with conference road matches at Graceland University and No. 8 Park University (Mo.) on Friday and Saturday.