No. 11 Men's Volleyball Falls to Park on the Road

Parkville, Mo., (April 6, 2024)- The No. 11 Missouri Valley College men's volleyball team traveled to Parkville, Mo., for a Heart of America Athletic Conference match with No. 12 Park (Mo.) Saturday afternoon. The Vikings fell behind early, and dropped the match by scores of 16-25, 18-25, 25-27. 

The two teams traded points at the start of the first game, as Freshman Outside Hitter Davi Azevedo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Freshman Outside Hitter Andrey Bastos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Sophomore Right Side Samuel Essilfie (Tema, Ghana) each had one kill to make it a 4-4 score. The Pirates won the next four points to take the lead, but one kill each from Essilfie, Azevedo and Senior Middle Blocker Oscar Manana (The Bronx, N.Y.) helped MVC cut its deficit into 8-7. Park answered back winning six-straight points to stretch out their lead to 17-8. Sophomore Right Side Luca Hasse (Paderborn, Germany) had back-to-back kills to make it a 20-13 score, but the Pirates gradually added to their lead and finished out a 25-16 win to take the opening game.

The second game started with the teams trading points through a 5-5 score. Junior Setter Lucas Rodrigues (Balneario Camboriu, Brazil) landed an ace and Park had three service errors during the run. The Pirates won five of the next seven points to hold a 10-7 advantage. The Vikings closed their deficit to 18-15 with a kill from Bastos, three PU errors, and Essilfie teamed up with Manana and then with Senior Middle Blocker Daniel Isernhagen (Curitiba, Brazil) on two blocks. Missouri Valley was unable to climb into the game, as Park won, 25-18, to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Needing a win in the third game to extend the match, the Pirates moved in front early, 4-1. The Vikings won four-straight points, as Manana added one kill, and Hasse and Isernhagen teamed up on back-to-back blocks to tie the game at 4-4. Park responded winning the next four points to take the lead, but MVC used three PU errors to tie the game at 8-8. The two teams traded points over the next stretch, where Isernhagen and Hasse had one kill each, and Bastos put down two kills to keep the scoreboard tied at 12-12. The Pirates won four of the next five points to take the lead, but Missouri Valley answered back, using an ace from Azevedo, four PU errors and a kill from Rodrigues to tie the game again at 21-21. The Vikings eventually went in front, as Manana and Bastos teamed up on a block, and Hasse had a kill to reach game-point, 24-23, but MVC was unable to close the game and Park finished off with a 27-25 win to sweep the match.

Bastos finished with five kills, followed by Hasse with four kills. Azevedo totaled three kills and one ace, while Essilfie added three kills. Rodrigues had 18 assists and one kill. As a team, Missouri Valley finished with a total of eight blocks.  

Missouri Valley falls to 19-5 on the season and 12-5 in the conference. Park improves to 21-5 overall and 13-4 in the Heart.

Up next, the Vikings men's volleyball team will travel to St. Louis, Mo., to play No. 8 Missouri Baptist (Mo.) in a Heart match, Tuesday at 7 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.