ST. LOUIS – Missouri Baptist University men's volleyball swept the University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy on Tuesday, March 17, at the Carl & Deloris Petty SRC.
The Spartans came out strong in the first set and kept the energy up through the rest of the game. With the win, the Spartans move up to eighth place in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
Isaac Allgeyer collected 20 kills from 32 attempts, averaging a 0.500 hitting percentage, and AJ Tufuga had an 0.800 hitting percentage. Setter Axel Griguer continued his hot streak with his second consecutive 40-assist performance.
Libero Cruse Aea held the most digs of the game with 10. MBU all around held a strong defense with everyone getting a dig. Luka Stepanovic, Nikos Faoutas, and setter Griguer each pulled six digs from the 35 produced by the team. Middle blocker Johnathan Kreke had four blocks, two solo blocks, and two block assists.
Set 1 (25-22)
Missouri Baptist opened the match with a competitive first set, as UHSP took a large lead before Stepanovic created a spark that led to three straight points. The Spartans created separation late, with a kill from Allgeyer set up by Griguer, making it 22-21. They then pulled through, winning the set 25-22, after the Eutectic failed to get the ball over the net, causing MBU's 25th point on an error.
Set 2 (25-21)
Momentum from the first set carried into the second, where the Spartans went on to gain four points in a row; two were kills from Allgeyer and a block from Johnathan Kreke. With a few close rallies, the Spartans never let go of their grip on the lead.
The attack was strong from the Spartans, with kills from Allgeyer (8), AJ Tufuga(3), and Nikos Faoutas (4). The defense shut down the Eutectics' attacks with blocks from Kreke (2), Tufuga (2), Faoutas (1), Allgeyer (1), and Stepanovic (1).
Set 3 (25-22)
Set three was a back-and-forth affair, beginning with Allgeyer's two kills out of the gate before UHSP ran on a four-point win lead.
The Spartans led 22-19 before three consecutive MBU errors tied the match. Tom Young called a timeout to reverse momentum. His team responded with kills from Allgeyer and Stepanovic, before the final point being given to setter Griguer on a service ace.
Spartan Stat Leaders
Kills: Isaac Allgeyer (20)
Assists: Axel Griguer (40)
Hitting %: AJ Tufuga (.800)
Aces: Isaac Allgeyer (2)
Digs: Cruse Aea (10)
Blocks: Johnathan Kreke (4)
Records
No. 9 Missouri Baptist: 7-7
No. 8 UHSP: 6-7
Next Game
The Spartans take the road for the next game against William Penn University, on Friday, March 20, at 7 p.m.
