CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Missouri Baptist University men's volleyball swept UC Merced to open the NAIA National Championship in Pool D on Tuesday evening.
 
The Spartans continue pool play on Thursday, May 1, in another 4 p.m., contest at Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
 
UC Merced Recap
The MBU attack picked apart the UC Merced defense to the tune of a .407 attack percentage, which included 47 kills and 12 errors on 86 attacks.
 
Michael Olson led the way with a .636 percentage and 15 kills. Veljko Culibrk had 14 kills, Marko Jovanovic had 11, and David Rudic notched 36 assists. On defense, Johnathan Kreke had five blocks, Jovanovic had four, and Alex Seyer had 10 digs.
 
The Spartans hit .417 in the first set behind six kills from Olson. Michael Anderson started a 5-0 run to put his team up big midway through, but UC Merced fought back. With their backs against the wall, the Bobcats rattled off four in a row to pull within 24-21, which forced a timeout from MBU Head Coach Tom Young. Olson came out of the break with a kill off a Rudic assist to end the set and to put his team up 1-0.
 
The UC Merced hitting percentage dropped to .154 in the second set as the Spartans dropped them 25-18 behind 12 combined kills from Culibrk and Olson.
 
Four blocks from MBU in the third set sent the Bobcats to a sub-zero percentage as they wrapped up the sweep with a 25-13 win.
 
Spartan Stat Leaders
Kills: Michael Olson (15)
Assists: David Rudic (36)
Hitting %: Michael Olson (.636)
Aces: Three tied (1)
Digs: Alex Seyer (10)
Blocks: Johnathan Kreke (5.0)
 
Pool D:
Missouri Baptist: 1-0
UC Merced: 0-1
St. Thomas: 0-0

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