CANTON, Mo. – It was smooth sailing on the road Tuesday for 11^th-ranked Missouri Baptist University Men's Volleyball as the Spartans downed Culver-Stockton College in straight sets, 25-9, 25-14, 25-14.
 
Earning the series sweep over the Wildcats, Missouri Baptist improved its overall record to 21-5 and 10-5 in conference play. Meanwhile, Culver-Stockton is still searching for its first conference win, dropping to 3-25, 0-15 HEART.
 
MBU never trailed in Set One, and while C-SC stayed within a few points early on, the Spartans closed out the opening frame with authority. Ahead 8-6, No. 11 Missouri Baptist rattled off a 5-0 run and scored 17 of the last 20 points. The Spartans scored in a variety of ways, including three consecutive service aces by Marko Jovanovic, four blocks with three from Michael Anderson, and a combined nine kills from Auston Bonte (5) and Sam Goedde. MBU hit .360% compared to Culver-Stockton's -.214% in Set One.
 
The second frame had a similar feel. MBU began to pull away with a 6-1 run at the 11-8 mark. Despite a short lapse in which the Spartans had four straight attack errors to get C-SC within three, MBU once again finished strong. With an excellent service run from Jovanovic, the Spartans went on a 9-1 run to close out the 25-14 Set Two win. The Spartans put on a clinic defensively, holding the Wildcats to a -.305 hitting percentage while adding five more blocks. Senior middle blocker Kyle Merzweiler was at the heart of the action, contributing to all five team blocks in the second set.
 
Scoring first in Set Three, Missouri Baptist never fell behind and steadily pulled away for the clean sweep of the Wildcats. Four different Spartans registered kills in the final set, including four from Marko Jovanovic, who slid to the outside from libero, two apiece from Francesco Michelini and Zach Noles, and one for Michael Anderson. The group was efficient, recording nine kills on 13 swings for a .615 attack percentage.
 
Senior outside hitter Auston Bonte led the Spartans in kills for the fifth straight contest with nine. Marko Jovanovic was second in kills (7) while recording a team-high four service aces and five digs. Other stat leaders on the night included Kyle Merzweiler with nine blocks, David Rudic with 22 assists, and Jake Richardson with seven digs.
 
The Spartans' final regular season road trip commences on Friday with a visit to No. 15 Mount Mercy University and Clarke University on Saturday.