ST. LOUIS – After an opening weekend playing unranked opponents, the 12^th-ranked Missouri Baptist University men's volleyball got its first true tests with (RV) Ottawa University (Kan.) and No. 8 Saint Xavier University coming to town. The undefeated Spartans passed the tests coming out of the weekend with a 3-0 sweep of Ottawa on Friday evening and a gritty 3-2 win over Saint X on Saturday afternoon.
 
While MBU's sets won streak [17] ended in the five-set thriller, the team kept its winning streak intact, improving the overall record to 6-0.
 
The Spartans' three-game homestand wraps up on Tuesday when they host NCAA DII Maryville University for the fifth edition of the Conway Clash. MBU is 4-0 all-time against its neighbor down the Conway Road corridor.
 
(12) Missouri Baptist def. (RV) Ottawa University (Kan.), 3-0 [25-11, 25-20, 25-17]
In a series dominated by the Spartans, who improved to 15-0 all-time against the Braves, it was once again MBU that flexed its muscles early and often. The Spartans hit a match-high .524% with 13 kills in the opening set, but it wasn't just MBU's attack that overpowered Ottawa. Enter the Spartans' serving. Between two different service runs for freshman Aleksa Mandic and sophomore Marko Jovanovic, the Serbian pair stockpiled four aces apiece in Set One, picking on OU outside Nazmi Bayoglu's serve receive.
 
Never trailing in the first set, No. 12 Missouri Baptist rinsed and repeated in the following frame, jumping out to an early 7-3 lead. The Braves didn't struggle nearly as much fielding the Spartan serves. However, they still couldn't find an answer to MBU's attack. Led by middle Kyle Merzweiler (4) and outsides Auston Bonte (3) and Marko Jovanovic (3), MBU hit .417 in the second set and pulled away late in a 25-20 win.
 
The third frame was a set of runs, and Ottawa finally broke through to take its first lead of the match at 5-4. The Braves went up by three [8-5] and were met with a timely service run from Michael Olson and an 8-0 stretch to regain the lead. Ottawa responded and knotted the set at 15-all before MBU's dagger. The Spartans countered and didn't leave any room for OU to return the favor as they ended the match on a 10-2 scoring run, finished off with three more aces in the final five points.
 
MBU posted a season-best 16 service aces, the most by a Spartan squad since putting up 16 against Olivet Nazarene in 2022. Mandic and Jovanovic set new season- and career-highs with six aces apiece, while Michael Olson pitched in a season-high three. The Spartans won the service ace battle 16-3, held a 39-25 advantage in kills and a .395-.188 advantage in hitting efficiency.
 
Individually, Auston Bonte led all scorers with 11 kills on .455 hitting and was joined by seniors Michael Olson and Kyle Merzweiler, who combined for 11 kills on .400 hitting. Defensively, Veljko Culibrk led the team with three blocks, while Marko Jovanovic collected a match-high 10 digs.
 
(12) Missouri Baptist def. (8) Saint Xavier University, 3-2 [25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 22-25, 15-12]
The Top-15 matchup didn't disappoint, as both teams were locked in from the get-go. The difference maker in Set One was MoBap's blocking and defense, holding the Cougars to a match-low .031 attack %. It also helped that MBU got the final push, as the two teams traded multiple runs throughout the set. After trailing 20-19, the Spartans finished on a 6-2 run capped off by back-to-back kills from Auston Bonte and Aleksa Mandic.
 
Battling from behind for half of Set Two, MBU finally took its first lead at the 15-14 mark. The Spartans seized the momentum and won seven of the last 10 points to take a two sets to none lead against the eighth-ranked Cougars.
 
Missouri Baptist found itself down by as much as four in Set Three but rallied to even it at 22-22. Ultimately, the Cougars turned to their sophomore sensation, Jan Lopuch, who had eight kills in the third set. SXU edged the Spartans, 25-23, to extend the match at least another set.
 
Despite leading early, the Spartans struggled in the middle of the Set Four. Much like the previous set, Saint X surged late and took a six-point lead at 24-18 this time. MBU scored four straight points, but it was too late for the Spartans. A decisive fifth set was in the cards for Saturday.
 
MBU made noise early in the fifth set with a 4-0 start. And, following the theme of the match, the Cougars responded to even the tiebreaker at 7-all. The Spartans never trailed and got clutch kills down the stretch from Michael Anderson, Aleksa Mandic, and Michael Olson to put the game away, 15-12.
 
Mandic and Bonte led the Spartans in both kills and aces with 15 and 3 apiece, respectively. Michael Olson joined them in double figures with 12 kills and registered his second career double-double with a team-high 15 digs. Junior middle blocker Michael Anderson was just one kill shy of double digits with nine kills and five blocks.