ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The (RV) Ottawa University men's volleyball team fell to Missouri Baptist University 3-2 (26-24, 25-18, 23-25, 19-25, 4-15) at the Carl & Deloris Petty SRC.
Ottawa showed resilience early, rallying from a late deficit in the opening set before controlling the second set to take a 2-0 match lead. Missouri Baptist responded by tightening its attack and forcing a fifth set, where the Spartans pulled away early to secure the victory.
In the opening set, the Braves trailed 20-15 before mounting a strong comeback behind kills from
Macort Pickup and
Petar Lazic. A service ace from
Leo Betin tied the score at 22-22, and Ottawa capitalized on a Missouri Baptist attack error to close the set 26-24.
Ottawa carried that momentum into the second set, jumping out to an early 7-2 lead.
Marko Zolnjan and
Andrew Ely combined for key kills during the run, while the Braves defense forced multiple Spartan errors. Ottawa maintained control throughout the set and sealed the 25-18 victory with another Lazic kill.
Missouri Baptist began to shift the momentum in the third set, building a mid-set lead before Ottawa rallied to tie it 23-23. The Spartans finished the set with back-to-back points to take it 25-23.
The fourth set remained close early, but Missouri Baptist created separation midway through the frame behind strong attacking from Luka Stepanovic and Isaac Allgeyer. Ottawa attempted a late push, cutting the deficit to 21-16, but the Spartans closed the set 25-19 to force a fifth.
Missouri Baptist seized control in the deciding set, scoring the first six points and never allowing Ottawa to recover. The Spartans used a balanced offensive attack to pull away and finish the set 15-4.
Stats Recap
Ottawa finished the match with
50 kills, 46 assists, 12 blocks, and 43 digs, hitting
.242 as a team.
Who is Next
Ottawa (15-6, 10-4) returns to the court on Tuesday, March 17 in the Mabee Center against (3) Park University. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
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