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OUAZ Athletics

MVB_01/31/26
MVB_01/31/26
3
Winner Ottawa-Arizona OUAZ 3-1
0
Morningside MC 6-1
Winner
Ottawa-Arizona OUAZ
3-1
3
Final
0
Morningside MC
6-1
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Ottawa-Arizona OUAZ 25 25 25 (3)
Morningside MC 18 18 17 (0)
3
Winner OUAZ OUAZ 4-1
1
Olivet Nazarene ONU 3-4
Winner
OUAZ OUAZ
4-1
3
Final
1
Olivet Nazarene ONU
3-4
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
OUAZ OUAZ 25 25 19 25 (3)
Olivet Nazarene ONU 11 17 25 16 (1)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball | | Jas Singh

Spirit Earn Two More Wins at MOVAL Invitational

Marshall, MO—The OUAZ men's volleyball team wrapped up the Missouri Valley Invitational on Saturday with back-to-back victories. The team started their day by defeating Morningside University, a team they had previously defeated last year, with a resounding victory of 25-18, 25-18, 25-19. Following a brief break, the team resumed the invitational against Olivet Nazarene, emerging victorious with scores of 25-11, 25-17, 19-25, and 25-16. In the last four games, the team has only dropped one set and started out hot with a (4-1) record ahead of its home opener next Friday evening.

In the early morning matchup, the theme of the game throughout was the Spirit's overall defense. The team was able to hold the Mustangs to a .106 hitting percentage overall and even force them to hit a .000 in set 2. GSAC All-Conference middle, Horatio Maumasi, continues his fiery start with a tied team-high 10 kills on 13 swings. The heavy hitter had quite the game blocking as well, overwhelming Morningside hitters with 6 blocks, with 2 of them being solo blocks. Phoenix native Jack Hubbard, who has loaded up the stat line this tournament, kept up his momentum with a 9-kill performance. Hubbard, who was in and out of the lineup like many starters, stayed consistent all game, hitting. 389. Graduate senior Caeden Salmen also added 10 kills on 20 attempts and easily tracked down Mustang hitters with 2 blocks of his own. With the Spirit building several early leads in many matchups, Coach Afusia is constantly given the flexibility to switch through lineups and get some starters much-needed rest. Sophomore Owen Draeger came in towards set 2 and poured on to a solid Spirit lead. Draeger added an efficient 4 kills on 5 swings, as the team almost doubled the amount of kills on the Mustang side.

The final matchup in the invitational came against Olivet Nazarene later in the afternoon. If you thought last game's defensive victory was impressive, this game turned into a Spirit masterclass. The team held ONU to three sets of a negative hitting percentage and, at the end of the match, forced a total of 33 errors. Coach Afusia trotted out the starting lineup in set one, and they absolutely dominated. The team notched a .600 in set one while forcing their opponent into having more errors than kills. Caeden Salmen carried his surge from the first game into this matchup, being the most efficient Spirit hitter with 9 kills on a .500 hitting percentage. Salmen, who had started set one, took two sets off and still was able to score with ease in set 4. Jack Hubbard delivered another 9-kill performance on 17 swings and gave ONU passers trouble all game long with his fastball-like serve. After maintaining huge leads in sets one and two, the Spirit struggled offensively in set 3, ultimately allowing ONU to pull away late in the set. Set 4 was likely the best of the game, as the team was able to string out several 4-plus-point runs that resulted in several timeouts. Overall, the team immediately picked up their offense, hitting .450, and again forced ONU into more errors than kills.

The Spirit men's volleyball team continues their 2026 campaign into next week with their home opener against a tough Westcliff team. The game will be on Friday, February 6th, at 7pm (MST) inside Faith Arena. Make sure to attend and show your support for a team that is poised to make waves in the national polls. Stay locked in with Spirit Athletics on Instagram and X (Twitter) for livestream info and live game updates!
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