Coming off a win midweek against (RV) Missouri Valley College midweek night to kick off a four-match road swing, the No. 11-ranked Missouri Baptist University men's volleyball team split its weekend series in Heart of America Athletic Conference play. The Spartans opened the weekend with a win against Graceland University, who gave them all they could handle 25-18, 18-25, 25-15, 24-26, 15-3, but were unable to overcome No. 8-ranked Park, falling in straight sets to the Pirates, 25-14, 25-14, 25-19.
 
(11) Missouri Baptist University def. Graceland University, 3-2 [25-18, 18-25, 25-15, 24-26, 15-3]
The Spartans spent much of the first set in a battle with Graceland before going on a four-point run with freshman Veljko Culibrk at the service line. Miljan Kastratovic (3), Michael Anderson (3), and Auston Bonte (2) carried the MBU offense combining for a hitting clip of .533%.
 
In the second set, MoBap struggled to keep the ball on the court, recording just as many errors as kills (11). Graceland controlled the set and seized the opportunity to level the score at 1-1 as they connected on .333% of their swings.
 
Missouri Baptist responded in the third set on both sides of the ball. On attack, the Spartans hit .600%, with 12 kills coming from Bonte and Culibrk. The latter started the night slow before turning it on in the third, connecting on six out of his seven swings. Defensively, they held Graceland to only six kills, forcing four errors. The Spartans would ride their strong play to a Set Three win.
 
With their backs pressed against the wall, the Yellow Jackets put together a solid set as the Spartans squandered an opportunity to put the game away. Kastratovic and Bonte added eight more kills as they tried to push MoBap over the line.
 
Saving their best play for last, the Spartans took care of business in the fifth set of the night, connecting on all six of their attacks and holding their opponent to a hitting clip of -.200%. The Spartans went on an eight-point run while Milos Markovic was at the service line, including three service aces to help close the set.
 
Bonte and Kastratovic led the Spartans with 15 kills apiece. Michael Anderson put together a strong night with a career-high 11 kills (.500%) and four assists. Defensively, Noah Varga also reached a career-best mark with 16 digs.
 
(8) Park University (Mo.) def. (11) Missouri Baptist University, 3-0 [25-14, 25-21, 25-19]
The afternoon started rough for both teams as both offenses were held under a .100% hitting clip. Park is the first team this season to hold the Spartans to a negative hitting percentage in a set. Kastratovic would be the lone bright spot as he collected three kills (.600%).
 
Park found its footing in the second set and went off for a .435 hitting percentage. Kastratovic continued to put the team on his back but struggled to bring the Spartans even with the Pirates despite eight kills in the set. MBU was within striking distance and trailed by just one (22-21) before Park went on a 3-0 run to wrap up Set Two.
 
Heading into the third, the Spartans needed to take a set to keep their hopes of winning alive. They put together their best set offensively, but it wasn't enough to overcome a second straight set of Park hitting above .400. MBU tied the game at 17-all, coming out of a Park timeout. Unfortunately, the Pirates took seven of the last nine points to secure the sweep over the Spartans.
 
Miljan Kastratovic led the Spartans in kills for a second straight match totaling 15. Michael Olson made the most of his time in the game, collecting five kills on seven swings with no errors (.714%). Freshman Marko Jovanovic led the team in digs (5), while fellow newcomer Veljko Culibrk had a team-best three blocks.
 
No. 11 Missouri Baptist concludes its road swing on Tuesday with a Conway Clash down the road at Maryville University. First serve is set for 7 p.m.