Eutectics Defeat Spartans in Five-Set Thriller

ST. LOUIS, MO. – Tuesday night in the UHSP gymnasium was a men's volleyball barnburner between two St. Louis Heart of America Athletic Conference (HEART) rivals: The UHSP Eutectics (6-3, 3-1 HEART) hosted the Missouri Baptist Spartans (7-6, 1-3 HEART). While the Spartan program held a 10-1 advantage over the Eutectics in previous years, the Eutectics refused to give in this time, fighting through five sets to earn their first win over the Spartans since 2024.

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:

UHSP def. MBU 30-28, 19-25, 25-23, 20-25, 15-12

• The Eutectics got a jump start on the Spartans in the first set, going up 15-10 before the MBU squad was able to tie the score at 19. The Spartans then blew three set-points with service errors as the Eutectics hung on and won the final two points in a row off a kill from Grant Hoover (assisted by Gabriel Schneekloth) and a Spartan error to take the first set 30-28.
• The Spartans cruised to an 8-2 lead in Set 2 before the Eutectics woke up and closed the gap a bit with kills from Hoover and Maxwell McVickers. Still, the UHSP team trailed by at least three points for the rest of the set, falling 25-19.
• MBU held a 16-14 lead in Set 3, when the Eutectics won three points in a row off a kills from Cameron Werner and Hoover and a block from Dickson Colado and McVickers to take the lead at 17-16. The Spartans tied it up and held a 23-22 lead when back-to-back kills from Hoover and Colado gave the Euts set point and an MBU error sealed the UHSP set win 25-23.
• The Spartans, however, were not ready to admit defeat. In Set 4, they stormed out to a 3-0 lead and held onto that three-point lead deep into the set. Up 18-14, MBU won three points in a row off a kill and a block by Aj Tufuga and an ace from Josh Kaemmerer to take a 21-14 lead that proved too much for the Eutectics to overcome. The Spartans won the fourth set at 25-20 to force the fifth and deciding 15-point set.
• At 2-2, back-to-back kills from Cooper Hansen, followed by a kill from Hoover gave the Euts a 5-2 lead. The Spartans would fight back to tie it at 9-9 and then 11-11, at which point, a double block from Hansen and Werner followed a kill from McVickers, and Schneekloth's solo block put the exclamation point on the sentence, putting the UHSP team up 14-11. The Euts would give up one match point, but ultimately found the winning 15^th point through consistent scrappy defensive play, winning the deciding set 15-11.
• Cooper Hansen and Grant Hoover finished the match with 15 and 14 kills, respectively. Gabriel Schneekloth racked up 46 assists in the match, along with 10 digs for a double double. Maxwell McVickers collected eight kills on 21 attempts and recorded four blocks. Xavier Gamayo and David Quinones were acrobatic in the back row, racking up 17 and 14 digs, respectively.
• Isaac Allgeyer recorded 21 kills and 13 digs to lead the Spartans.   

NEXT UP:

The Eutectics will continue with Conference action as they next host #14-Morningside University (13-2, 2-1 HEART) on Friday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m.