No. 5 Men's Volleyball Tops Central Christian at Home Invitational

Marshall, Mo., (Jan. 30, 2026)- The No. 5 Missouri Valley College men's volleyball team hosted the Viking Invitational, Friday, inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  The Vikings topped Central Christian (Kan.) in four games by scores of 25-27, 25-12, 25-15, 25-13.

Game one began with the two teams trading points early.  The first kill of the game for Missouri Valley came from Freshman Outside Hitter Timothee Carpentier (Sao Paulo, Brazil) to tie the teams at 4-4.  Carpentier added an ace later in the game, but Central Christian eventually built up a 10-7 advantage.  Freshman Outside Hitter Loan Fargier put down two kills, while Carpentier added another kill to cut the deficit down to 12-11.  Senior Middle Blocker Pedro Berti (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) followed with one kill and a solo block to tie the teams at 13-13.  The Vikings eventually won four-straight points, helped by an ace from Carpentier and one kill apiece from Farbier and Berti to go in front, 18-14.  Central Christian closed the gap down to 18-17, while back-to-back kills from Sophomore Oppposite Guilherme Lorenzini (Florianopolis, Brazil) and an additional kill by Junior Middle Blocker Jaxon Gonzales (Dallas, Texas) moved the advantage to 21-17.  Central Christian responded with a run to eventually move back on top, 23-22.  Missouri Valley answered with one kill from Fargier and a block by Gonzales and Senior Opposite Vasil Stoimenov (Pazardzhik, Bulgaria) to hold game-point, 24-23.  After CCC tied the score on the next point, Carpentier gave the Vikings another game-point with one more kill.  Central Christian took control late, and won the final three points to take the first game, 27-25.

Missouri Valley fell into an early deficit in the first game, as CCC held a 5-2 lead.  The Vikings chipped away at their deficit, as Senior Opposite Luca Hasse (Paderborn, Germany), Sophomore Middle Blocker Martin Tseyera (Salta, Argentina) and Lorenzini each put down one kill, and Freshman Setter Alberto Fontanabona finished off an ace to tie the score at 7-7.  Missouri Valley then went on a long run, winning 12 of the next 13 points.  Junior Outside Hitter Pierro Porras (Lima, Peru) and Berti each had two kills, while Hasse and Porras both recorded solo blocks.  Freshman Setter Leonardo Poiatti (Sao Paulo, Brazil) had two aces and Carpentier finished off the stretch with one kill to make it a 19-9 score. Another kill from Carpentier, followed by one ace from Berti and another kill from Tseyera put the lead at 23-11.  The final two MVC points came on Tseyera kills to close out the game, 25-12, and tie the match at 1-1.  Central Christian was limited to a -.038 percentage in the game.

The third game started with four-straight Central Christian errors to give Missouri Valley a 4-0 advantage.  Hasse had two kills, Perti added one kill and Carpentier finished off a block over the next stretch to keep MVC in front, 8-3.  The Vikings then won five of six points during a run of play, featuring one kill from both Carpentier and Tseyera to stretch the lead out to 13-6.  Central Christian responded midway through the game to win five of six points and cut the team's deficit down to 16-13.  One kill from Hasse opened a run for Missouri Valley, as the team won seven of eight points late in the game.  Berti had one kill, and Hasse closed the run with another kill to make it a 23-14 lead.  Two-straight kills from Freshman Outside Hitter Stefan Radovanovic (Slovenia) ended the game, 25-15, and the Vikings held a 2-1 lead in the match.  Central Christian hit at a -.316 percentage in the game.

Points were traded to begin play in the fourth game, as one kill from Berti, Hasse and Carpentier put MVC in a 4-3 deficit.  Missouri Valley then won six-straight points, as Hasse and Carpentier each landed one kill, while Fontanabona finished off back-to-back aces and eventually put the advantage at 9-4.  The Vikings gradually built up its lead from there, using two kills from Lorenzini, one kill from both Hasse and Radovanovic and an ace by Carpentier to make it a 15-8 score.  Missouri Valley eventually won seven-straight points, as Hasse and Radovanovic each finished off two kills and Carpentier added one kill to eventually reach a 23-10 lead.  Tseyera moved the team to match-point with one kill, and Poiatti ended the contest with one final kill to finish with a 25-13 win in the game.  The Vikings hit at a .520 percentage in the game.

Hasse led with 13 kills on a .524 hitting percentage.  Carpentier added nine kills and three aces and nine digs.  Poiatti led with 33 assists, while Fontanabona had 13 assists.  The team totaled seven blocks and nine aces as a team. 

Missouri Valley improved to 4-0 with the win, while Central Christian sits at

Up next, the Vikings play two matches, Saturday, at the event.  First match starts at 10 a.m., against Hastings (Neb.), followed by a 4 p.m., contest against Olivet Nazarene (Ill.).

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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.