ST. LOUIS – No. 13-ranked Missouri Baptist University Men's Volleyball ended its road swing on a high note Tuesday with its sixth straight sweep of University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy, 25-17, 25-18, 25-18. MBU put together an all-around team performance with 16 Spartans getting in on the action.
MoBap improved to 4-2, 3-1 HEART after completing the three-match road swing which included a pair of top-five matchups. The Eutectics (1-5, 0-4 HEART) losing skid grew to three games as they concluded their own run of matches against ranked opponents.
The Spartans started the night off firing on all cylinders connecting on 18 swings for a hitting clip of .577% while holding UHSP to only eight kills and a hitting clip of .154%. Senior Auston Bonte made an instant impact in his return after a two-game absence with seven kills on eight attempts (.875%). HEART Defender of the Week Michael Anderson continued his strong run of play with two kills (.667%) and a block. Following a kill by freshmen Veljko Culibrk at 3-3, MBU took the lead and never looked back as they cruised to a Set One victory, 25-17.
UHSP followed up their first set loss by taking the first four points of the second frame, three of them being service aces. MBU played most of Set Two from behind until a nine-point run to close out the set spearheaded by junior Milos Markovic's four kills. MoBap's defense would also be on display as they held the Eutectics to a hitting clip of .000% on 31 attacks. The Spartans stole back Set Two, 25-18.
Entering the third set, UHSP came out went blow-for-blow with the Spartans. Markovic landed a kill at four-all to put the MoBap in the driver seat as they never surrendered the lead. Outside hitter Michael Olson ended his night on a high note hitting 4-for-4 on attacks in the final frame. MBU secured its third sweep of the season with a 25-18 Set Three victory.
Missouri Baptist head coach Tom Young shuffled the lineups over the last two sets and Markovic seized the opportunity with seven kills on 11 swings (.455%) as he led the Spartan attack that hit .276% and .360% in Sets Two and Three, respectively. Freshman middle blocker Johnathan Kreke also stepped up with three kills and a block in the second game of his MBU career.
Offensively, the Spartans totaled 46 kills with 35 assisted by setter David Rudic in his two sets of action, for a hitting clip of .400%. The defense enjoyed a solid night as they faced 79 attacks, only allowing the Eutectics to convert on .114% of them for 24 kills.
Outside hitter Michael Olson posted a match-high 12 kills on .474 hitting while pulling up five digs. Not far behind was senior Austin Bonte recording 10 kills (.643%) and five digs and junior Michael Anderson with six kills (.750%) and a block.
No. 13 Missouri Baptist begins a tough homestand on Thursday afternoon hosting No. 6-ranked Georgetown College (Ky.) at 4 p.m.
