DUBUQUE, Iowa – Missouri Baptist University men's volleyball split a pair of games in Iowa over the weekend.
MBU went up against No. 11 Mount Mercy University on Friday night and lost in straight sets (16-25, 19-25, 15-25).
On Saturday, MBU rebounded against Clarke University. After losing the first set, the Spartans came back to win the game 3-1 (21-25, 25-14, 25-22, 25-21).
Cruse Aea held down the defensive end this weekend, with a total of 33 digs. Isaac Allgeyer led the team in kills with 24, and Johnathan Kreke led the hitting percentage (.444).
Game One
MBU got the first kill of the game from Isaac Allgeyer with an assist from Josh Kaemmerer. MMU quickly went on a three-point run with two kills from Guglielmo Illotti and an ace from Richard Struska. The next few rallies went back and forth with kills from MBU's Luka Stepanovic, AJ Tufuga, and Allgeyer. After a rough few rallies in the middle of the set, MBU lost the set 25-16.
The Spartans took the lead early in the second set with a kill from Allgeyer, followed by a block from Kreke. Nikos Faoutas and Axel Griguer subbed in and kept the score close. The Mustangs went on to win three straight rallies. After MMU forced an attack error, the set ended 25-19.
The Mustangs started strong in set three with a 3-0 run. The Spartans changed the rotation to a 6-2 in an effort to pull the game back in. The Spartans continued to fight, but the Mustangs did not back down and finished the game 25-15, with a kill from Douglas Fofano.
Spartan Stat Leaders
Kills: Isaac Allgeyer (8)
Assists: Josh Kaemmerer (13)
Hitting %: Johnathan Kreke (.417)
Aces: Luka Stepanovic (1)
Digs: Cruse Aea (12)
Blocks: Johnathan Kreke (2)
Game Two
The Spartans started the game slowly with a few key kills early on from Kreke and Justin McGary. Stepanovic served two aces that gave the Spartans a 10-8 lead. The Pride responded after that and finished the first set 25-21, off a kill from Tanner May, assisted by Benjamin Reiser.
MBU entered the second set strong, winning five rallies in a row with two kills from Faoutas, one kill, and a block from Tufuga. The team posted a high hitting percentage of .478, with 13 kills on 23 total attempts. The Spartans held onto the lead and wrapped up the second with a kill from Kaemmerer with an assist from Cruse Aea.
Allgeyer set the momentum at the start of the third with the first of 14 kills in the set. MBU did not surrender the lead throughout the set, hitting .300. Blocks from Kaemmerer, Tufuga, Kreke, Faoutas, and Stepanovic had the Spartans strong on the defensive end and led to a 25-22 win. Stepanovic finished the set with a kill, assisted by Kaemmerer.
The Pride came out fighting hard in the third, but the Spartans hit .242 to end the contest with a 25-21 win. Allgeyer led the set offensively with seven kills.
Spartan Stat Leaders
Kills: Isaac Allgeyer (16)
Assists: Josh Kaemmerer (46)
Hitting %: Johnathan Kreke (.471)
Aces: Luka Stepanovic (2)
Digs: Cruse Aea (21)
Blocks: Nikos Faoutas (5)
Records
No. 9 Missouri Baptist: 4-6
No. 13 Clarke: 1-9
No. 3 Mount Mercy: 8-2
