ST. LOUIS – Coming off a massive win over No. 3 Park University on Saturday, there was no dropoff for No. 15-ranked Missouri Baptist Men's Volleyball in its regular-season finale. The Spartans broke out the brooms on Tuesday night, sweeping their Conway Road neighbor Maryville University, 25-23, 25-22, 25-18.
With the win, MBU claimed both matches of the home-and-home series and moved to 4-0 all-time against the Saints. The Spartans won in four earlier in the season at Maryville. MoBap improved to 20-7 overall and closed out the regular season with a five-game winning streak as it heads into postseason play. In contrast, Maryville has dropped its last three matches and moved to 9-14 on the year.
Recognizing the careers of Theo McKnight and four-time NAIA All-American Miljan Kastratovic on Tuesday, the two Spartans – both in their fifth seasons in the MBU Volleyball program – played a significant role on Senior Night. McKnight led the team in digs with a career-high 10 while Kastratovic reached double-digit kills for the 18th time this season recording 11 kills (.240%) in addition to three service aces.
The Saints started the opening frame hot as they took seven of the first 10 points, forcing head coach Tom Young to call an early timeout. Following the timeout, the Spartans responded with seven of the next 10 to knot it all up at 10 apiece. MBU took its lead of the night a few points later on a set error by Maryville. Both teams continued to trade punches as each set sights on taking the first frame. MU had the lead late but could not hold off a late run by the Spartans. Senior Auston Bonte closed the set with a service ace to take Set One, 25-23.
Following a solid opening frame where the Spartans hit .583%, their offense went dry in the second frame as they finished with a hitting clip of .040%. However, they were able to find points in other ways, as they recorded four service aces and two blocks during the set. MBU kept a six-point cushion for much of the set and stretched the lead to as much as eight at 23-15 before the Saints came marching back. Maryville avoided four MBU set point opportunities to get back within two, but Michael Olson put Set Two to rest with a kill and a 25-22 win.
Senior libero Theo McKnight opened the third frame with his first career service ace to give his team an early lead as they looked to sweep Maryville for the first time. The Spartan defense shined in Set Three as they held the Saints to a hitting clip of -.130%. Michael Olson made a strong contribution to the defensive effort, who recorded three blocks in the set, two of which were solo blocks. MU couldn't find any answers as MBU controlled most of the set. Subbing the seniors off for a curtain call, setter Francesco Michelini came in for the final rally on the right side and took advantage of the opportunity with a kill on the next play. The Spartans collected their 13th sweep of the season, finishing the match with a 25-18 set win.
Junior Michael Olson had himself a night, leading the team in kills with 13 on .429 hitting. He also pulled up six digs and matched middle blocker Michael Anderson for the team lead in blocks (3). Setter David Rudic dished out 26 assists on the night.
No. 15 Missouri Baptist enters the conference tournament, which begins this Saturday, as the No. 5-seed. The Spartans are traveling to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to face No. 4-seed Mount Mercy University at 5 p.m. They will look to avenge their losses to the Mustangs, as the two previous meetings were tightly contested, ending in favor of MMU.
