St. Louis – Despite 10 kills and six digs from Luke Kraft, the Maryville men's volleyball team was unable to upset No. 12 Missouri Baptist as the unbeaten Spartans prevailed 25-21, 22-25, 25-19, 25-16. David Fleischer added seven kills and hit .400, while Ethan Beyreis-Heim distributed 24 assists.
 
Missouri Baptist recap
The Saints scored the first five points of the match to take the lead. Kraft started the match with a kill, and MBU committed two errors. Cameron Chambers served up a pair of aces for the 5-0 lead. Makai Scott had a kill before back-to-back service aces by Kraft pushed the advantage to 10-4. The Saints stayed in front on a kill by Fleischer for an 18-15 lead. The Spartans scored five straight to take the lead. The Saints tied the score again at 19-19 but the Spartans edged back in front and held on.
 
Maryville scored five of the first seven points and edged to a 5-2 margin in set two. The Saints stayed in front with three consecutive points and a Fleischer aced put the margin at 11-7. MBU chipped away at the deficit and forged a tie at 18-18. Luke Van Handel had a kill, and after a Spartan error, Beyreis-Heim tipped in a kill for a 21-18 cushion. The Saints stayed in front and tied the match at 1-1.
 
Another strong start put the Saints up 3-0 and still at 6-3. The Spartans used a 7-1 run to take their first lead in the third set. Maryville stayed closed and a block by Kraft and Fischer trimmed the gap down to 15-13. The Saints never let MBU pull away but were unable to get back to within one point as the Spartans took a 2-1 lead in sets.
 
The fourth set finally saw the Spartans grab the early momentum. The Saints chopped the lead to 5-2 after a Fleischer kill but MBU went up by six. Scott had a kill to make it 8-4 but the Spartans pushed back up. Scott again had a kill as Maryville closed to 13-9. However, the host scored seven of the next eight points and slowly closed out the match.

Statistical Leaders
Kills: Luke Kraft - 10
Hitting Percentage: David Fleischer - .400
Assists: Ethan Beyreis-Heim - 24
Service Aces: Luke Kraft - 3
Digs: Luke Kraft - 6
Blocks: Jacob Fischer - 6
 
Records
Maryville: 4-3
Missouri Baptist: 7-0
 
What's Next?
The Saints are back at home Friday when they welcome Central State for a 7 p.m. match in Moloney Arena.