OSKALOOSA, Iowa – In a battle for the ages, No. 13-ranked Missouri Baptist University Men's Volleyball overcame a two-set deficit on the road to defeat fifth-ranked William Penn University, 26-28, 22-25, 25-23, 25-17, 15-13. Coming off a disappointing four-set loss the night before at No. 1 Grand View, the Spartans bounced back thanks to career nights from the Spartan trio of Miljan Kastratovic, Veljko Culibrk, and Michael Anderson.
Kastratovic tied his career-high and led all players in kills with 27 (.362%) and seven digs, followed by Culibrk, who also had a career-high in kills with 22 and three blocks. Sophomore Michael Anderson continued his strong form with a career-best nine kills (.615%) and a team-high four blocks.
With the victory, Missouri Baptist (3-2, 2-1 HEART) got back over the .500 mark and registered its first ranked win of the year. Last season, the Spartans recorded five Top-15 wins. The statement win for MBU also snapped William Penn's (1-4, 0-2 HEART) 15-match home winning streak that dated back to March 2021 as WPU's current skid grew to four on Friday.
The Spartan attack started the night slow, waiting till the 17th point of the opening frame to record their first kill. The defense kept them in the back-and-forth duel holding William Penn to a hitting clip of .182%. Poor attacking by the Statesmen allowed the Spartans to go on a late run to push the set to extra points, where they eventually fell 28-26.
Missouri Baptist started to find its groove offensively, with Kastratovic and Anderson leading the charge for a combined 10 kills. The Spartans slightly out-hit William Penn, .300% to .290%. However, the Spartans' late lead would be undone as the Statemen went on a late run to steal the set from the Spartans 25-22.
After another slow start for the Spartans, the tide began to turn in their favor when Kastratovic put the team on his back with five massive points in the middle of the frame. Then, Culibrk started to hit his stride with six kills after a quiet start to the night. Needing a win to force a fourth set, MBU turned to their star players. With 11 points between Kastratovic and Culibrk, the Spartans were able to survive a late run by William Penn to secure their first set of the night, 25-23.
MoBap wasted no time in the fourth set claiming eight of the 11 opening points. The hot start put them in the driver's seat as they never surrendered the lead to dominate William Penn. Kastratovic and Culibrk continued carrying the Spartans' offensive load with 12 kills. Anderson also stepped up for MBU with a significant block to stop a run by the Statesmen, allowing the Spartans to close out the set 25-17.
In the tiebreaker set, Missouri Baptist jumped out to an early lead over William Penn, who would not go down without a fight. WPU marched back to knot it all up at 10 apiece as the game drew to a close. Over the last eight points, MoBap and William Penn took turns trading blows. Finally, junior Michael Olson put the match to rest at 15-13 with an ace to complete the uncommon reverse sweep.
Sophomore setter David Rudic finished the night with a double-double registering 55 assists and 11 digs. Fellow sophomore Noah Varga put together an excellent game with a match-high 14 digs. Milos Markovic was another stat leader for the Spartans, delivering a match-best four service aces.
No. 13 Missouri Baptist finishes its three-match road swing on Tuesday night with crosstown foe University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
