No. 3 Men's Volleyball Finishes Off Sweep of Dordt at Home

Marshall, Mo., (March 21, 2025)- The No. 3 Missouri Valley College men's volleyball team hosted Dordt (Iowa) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference match Friday evening inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  The Vikings rallied for wins in the first two games, then finished out a sweep by scores of 26-24, 25-23, 25-18.

Points were traded between the two teams at the start of the first game, as Missouri Valley used two kills from Junior Opposite Samuel Essilfie (Tema, Ghana) to keep the score tied at 4-4.  Dordt followed with four-straight points, and maintained its advantage through an 11-7 score.  The Defenders then won four of five points over a stretch midway through the game to extend the team's lead to 15-9.  The Vikings began to chip away at the deficit, as Freshman Outside Hitter Tymoteusz Zadeberny (Gliwice, Poland), Sophomore Middle Blocker Joao Tavares (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Essilfie each had one kill to pull the team back to 18-15.  Dordt stayed in front, and held a 21-16 advantage late in the game.  Missouri Valley came back, and won six-straight points, helped by two kills from both Junior Opposite Luca Hasse (Paderborn, Germany) and Essilfie, along with one kill by Senior Middle Blocker Arthur Martenelli (Curitiba, Brazil) to send the team in front, 22-21.  The Defenders answered by taking three of the next four points, and holding game-point for the first time, at 24-23.  Essilfie extended the game with one kill, then a DU error gave Missouri Valley game-point.  Hasse ended the game with one more kill, and the Vikings won the opener, 26-24.

Game two started with both teams trading points early, which included two kills by both Essilfie and Hasse, to go with one kill from Martenelli and four Dordt service errors to keep the score tied at 9-9.  After back-to-back kills from Zadeberny and Hasse made it an 11-11 game, the Defenders countered by taking five of the next six points to move in front, 16-12.  Missouri Valley won three-straight points, helped by two kill from Essilfie, to cut the gap down to 16-15.  Dordt increased its lead out to 20-16, but MVC came back late in the game.  Seven of the next eight points were won by the Vikings, which included two kills from Hasse and one kill each by Essilfie and Zaderberny to put the team in front, 23-21.  Another Hasse kill put Missouri Valley at game-point, and one more Defender service error closed out the second game, 25-23, in favor of the Vikings.

Looking for the sweep in game three, Missouri Valley used five-straight points to build up an early lead, as Martenelli put down one kill, then teamed up with Hasse on a block, and an Essilfie kill made it a 6-2 score.  Zadeberny finished off four kills over the next stretch, while Martenelli, Hasse and Senior Setter Lucas Rodrigues (Balnelariu, Cambriu, Brazil) each added one kill to put the advantage at 13-15.  The lead grew to 17-8 after Tavares finished off one kill and an ace, to go with a block by the pair of Rodrigues and Martenelli.  The teams traded points through the rest of play.  Essilfie closed out the game with two more kills to seal a 25-18 win and a sweep for the Vikings.  Missouri Valley hit at a match-high .538 percentage in the game.

Essilfie led with 16 kills, on a .636 percentage, while Hasse added 12 kills, on a .409 percentage, to go with seven digs.  Zadeberny totaled nine kills.  Rodrigues led with 37 assists, and added eight digs, while Senior Libero Leonardo Leao (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) led with 12 digs.  Missouri Valley hit at a .438 percentage in the game, and Dordt totaled 18 service errors.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 13-2 overall and 9-2 in the conference.  Dordt falls to 12-10 on the season and 6-9 in the Heart.

Up next, the Viking men's volleyball team hosts Morningside (Iowa) in a Heart match, Saturday at 1 p.m., inside the Burns Athletic Complex.

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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.