Men’s Volleyball Halted by the Spartans

St. Louis, Mo. – The Graceland University Men's Volleyball went up against Missouri Baptist University Spartans, and were defeated 3-0. The Yellowjackets move to 5-15 on the season and 2-13 in conference play.

Graceland (5-15; 2-13) vs. Missouri Baptist (18-7; 11-6)
Set 1: Graceland 10 | Missouri Baptist 25
The Spartans were able to get on the board and find a 9-1 run early (2-9); a kill from Rylon Raczka, dished out by Josh Santana, broke the run. Missouri Baptist would locate another run and would be stopped by a kill from Jeremiah Ta'amu (8-19). The Spartans would snatch six of the eight remaining points to take the first set.
Set 2: Graceland 20 | Missouri Baptist 25
Missouri Baptist would pull an early 4-1 lead, and the Yellowjackets would retaliate with a 4-1 run to even the score (5-5); kills from Josh Santana, Rylon Raczka, Isaac Elliott, and an ace from Jeremiah Ta'amu would contribute. The Spartans would answer with their own run of four points (5-9); Will Simmers and I. Elliott would close the gap to three points. Late in the set, the Yellowjackets would close their deficit to two points, and the Spartans would answer to a six-point jump and take the set.
Set 3: Graceland 21 | Missouri Baptist 25
Both teams would start the third set going point for point. Graceland would pull a 5-1 scoring run to lead by three points (10-7), and an ace from Josh Santana and a kill from Jeremiah Ta'amu would contribute. The back-to-back kill from Rylon Raczka and Isaac Elliott would put the Yellowjacket advantage to four points (14-10). The Spartans would answer with a 5-1 run to even the score (18-18). Missouri Baptist would take the six points from the victory.

Graceland Leaders-
DIGS: Logan Book – 4
KILLS: Rylon Raczka – 10
ASSISTS: Josh Santana – 12
SERVICE ACES: Josh Santana / Jeremiah Ta'amu – 1
BLOCKS: Sonny Tofi / Malakai Christian – 2

Missouri Baptist Leaders-
DIGS: Michael Olson – 5
KILLS: Miljan Kastratovic – 15
ASSISTS: David Rudic – 29
SERVICE ACES: Auston Bonte – 4
BLOCKS: Auston Bonte / Michael Anderson – 4

Up Next:
The Yellowjackets will be back on the road on Saturday, March 18 when they compete in the UHSP Tri-Match. They will take on the University of Health Science and Pharmacy Eutectics at 10:00 am. At 1:00 pm they will compete against the Central Christian College of Kansas Tigers.

-Yellowjackets-