Sparkill, N.Y. - After delaying their home opener by one day due to snow, the St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Volleyball team took to the court at the Spartan Athletic Complex on Monday to face Missouri University of Science and Technology for the first time in the history of both programs.

Despite winning the first set, then battling battling back down 2-1 to force a deciding fifth set, the Spartans succumbed to a tough Miners attack in a thriller, 3-2.

STAC slips to 1-5 on the season, while Missouri S&T improves to 4-1.

Set Results

Set 1: STAC 25/MST 23

Set 2: MST 27/STAC 25

Set 3: MST 25/STAC 14

Set 4: STAC 25/MST 23

Set 5: MST 15/STAC 9

How it Happened

• As a team, St. Thomas Aquinas recorded 62 kills compared to Missouri S&T's 60. The Spartans also had 8 blocks and 56 assists, while the Miners tallied 13 blocks and 60 assists.
• Missouri S&T outhit STAC by a .294 to .194 margin for the match.
• Kyran Versteegen and Jakob Schwarz paced the Spartans offense with a team-high 13 kills apiece. Versteegen also registered two serve assists, a service ace, 12 digs and three block assists, while Schwarz had three digs and two block assists.
• Marcus Franck tallied a team-high 49 serve assists (9.8 assists/set). Franck also accumulated three kills and seven digs for the maroon and gold.
• Luis Grath picked up ten kills, a dig and a block assist on Monday.
• Ylan Tapper racked up nine kills, five digs and a block assist against the Miners.
• Santiago Valenca contributed eight kills, a serve assist, five digs and three block assists.
• David Weiss accumulated four kills, a service ace, two digs and a team-high five block assists in the match.
• Ivaylo Todorov put together a two serve assist, 11 dig effort for the Spartans.

Up Next

STAC hosts D'Youville University on Saturday, Janaury 24 at the Spartan Athletic Complex. First serve between the Spartans and Saints is scheduled for noon in Sparkill.