Men's Volleyball Sweeps Past Ottawa on the Road

Ottawa, Kan., (Feb. 6, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's volleyball team traveled to Ottawa, Kan., for a non-conference match with Ottawa (Kan.), Tuesday evening.  The Vikings won two close games to open the contest, then finished off the sweep by scores of 25-21, 26-24, 25-13.

Missouri Valley went out in front at the start of the first game, helped by one kill from both Freshman Outside Hitter Benjamin Webb (Auckland, New Zealand) and Sophomore Right Side Samuel Essilfie (Tema, Ghana) to hold a 4-1 lead.  Ottawa answered back, and won four of the next five points to go tie the teams at 5-5.  The Braves moved in front from there, and eventually jumped out to a 12-9 advantage.  Essilfie finished off an ace, while Senior Middle Blocker Daniel Isernhagen (Curitiba, Brazil) and Freshman Outside Hitter Driss Gousson (Nante, France) put down one kill each.  Isernhagen added three-straight aces midway through the game, and pushed MVC on top, 16-15.  The two teams traded points over the next stretch of play, as Freshman Middle Blocker Samuel Stafford (Taringa, Australia), Webb and Essilfie each totaled one kill to make it a 20-20 score.  The Vikings took control from there, winning four-straight points, which included one kill from Webb, who teamed up on a block with Isernhagen.  Essilfie ended the opening game with one more kill, and Missouri Valley won, 25-21.

Game two started with the teams trading points early.  Webb and Junior Setter Lucas Rodrigues (Balnelariu Cambriu, Brazil) each had one kill, while Essilfie added an ace to move the Vikings ahead, 4-3.  Ottawa worked back to tie the score at 6-6, but MVC responded with a run.  Stafford and Webb both finished off one kill as the team won four of the next five points to build up a 10-7 lead.  Junior Libero Leonardo Leao (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) added an ace, while Essilfie put down one kill, but OU worked its deficit down to 14-13.  Points were traded between the teams over the next stretch of play, as the score eventually became tied at 21-21.  Isernhagen and Stafford responded with one kill apiece to move MVC to game-point, 24-22.  The Braves extended the game, making it a 24-24 score, but one kill from Essilfie and a block from Webb and Stafford finished off the second game, 26-24, and gave Missouri Valley a 2-0 lead in the match.

Missouri Valley took control of the third game from the start as Isernhagen put down three kills, then teamed up with both Rodrigues and Grousson on a pair of blocks to eventually build up an 8-2 lead.  Rodrigues and Stafford had the next two kills for MVC, making it an 11-2 score.  Six-straight points followed for the Vikings, which included a kill from Webb, who then teamed up with Stafford on a block.  Essilfie finished off the stretch of play with a kill as the advantage grew to 17-5.  The teams traded points from there until the end of the game.  Sophomore Right Side Luca Hasse (Paderborn, Germany) added two late kills, including the kill that moved the team to match-point.  Webb ended the contest with one final kill, and the Vikings won game three, 25-13, to sweep the match.  The team hit at a .619 percentage in the game, and limited OU to a -.069 percentage.

Webb led the team with 11 kills on a .409 hitting percentage.  Isernhagen totaled nine kills on a .357 hitting percentage.  Rodrigues finished with 33 assists, and Leao led with nine digs.  Missouri Valley totaled six aces and six blocks as a team.

Missouri Valley improves to 2-0 on the season, while Ottawa drops to 1-6.

Up next, the men's volleyball team will travel to Sioux Center, Iowa, to play a non-conference game against Dordt (Iowa), Friday at 4:30 p.m., followed by another match against St. Ambrose (Iowa) at 7:30 p.m.

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ABOUT MISSOURI VALLEY COLLEGE

Known for its dynamic, richly diverse, and friendly educational environment, Missouri Valley College offers many opportunities to grow in mind, body, and spirit. Grounded in the liberal arts, undergraduate studies empower students to master interdisciplinary skills needed to succeed in a knowledge-based global society. MVC offers over 30 academic programs, study abroad program, extracurricular activities, and a wide variety of sports. The most popular majors include education and business, criminal justice and exercise science. Above all, Valley is committed to student success. For more information, call (660) 831-4000 or visit www.moval.edu.