No. 5 Men's Volleyball Wins Twice at Home Invitational

Marshall, Mo., (Jan. 31, 2026)- The No. 5 Missouri Valley College men's volleyball team played two matches Saturday at the Viking Invitational inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  The team opened with a sweep of Hastings (Neb.), and followed with a win over Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) in four games.

Game one against Hastings began with the two teams trading points.  Senior Middle Blocker Arthur Martenelli (Curitiba, Brazil), Senior Opposite Luca Hasse (Paderborn, Germany), and Junior Middle Blocker Joao Tavares (Parana, Brazil) each landed one kill to help Missouri Valley move in front, 4-3.  Tavares added another pair of kills and Hasse had one more kill to help the team stay on top, 8-7.  The Vikings won five of the next six points, as Hasse put down two kills to stretch the lead out to 13-8.  Hasse added another kill and one ace, while Junior Outside Hitter Pierro Porras (Lima, Peru) landed one kill to make it a 16-12 score.  Hasrings cut down its deficit to 16-15, while one kill from Freshman Outside Hitter Bart Mulder (Hoogeveen, Netherlands) and two Bronco errors gave MVC a 19-15 advantage.  Another three-point run for Missouri Valley, featuring a block from Martenelli, gave the team a 22-16 lead.  Hasse landed one kill and Porras added a block to move the Vikings to game-point, and one final kill from Tavares ended game one, 25-18, for Missouri Valley.

The Vikings started game two by taking five of the opening six points.  Junior Outside Hitter Andrey Bastos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) put down an ace, while both Martenelli and Porras had one kill each to give the team a 5-1 lead.  Points were traded over the next stretch as Porras had one kill and Tavares added an ace as the advantage sat at 9-6.  Missouri Valley then won four of the next five points, coming on two kills from Hasse and one kill by Bastos.  Hasse also teamed up with Martenelli on a block, and the advantage sat at 13-7.  Later in the game, MVC won four-straight points, on one kill by both Porras and Tavares, to go with an ace from Hasse, as the score sat at 18-10.  A five-point run late in the game featuring one kill from both Freshman Outside Hitter Timothee Carpentier (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Mulder, while a Tavares ace made it game-point.  Mulder finished off the game with one more kill, and the Vikings won by a 25-15 score.

Hastings took an early lead in the third game, eventually sitting on top by a 9-6 score. Missouri Valley responded with a run, taking 10 of the next 11 points.  Hasse, Freshman Setter Alberto Fontanabona and Mulder each had one kill and Carpentier added an ace.  Freshman Outside Hitter Stefan Radovanovic (Slovenia) and Senior Middle Blocker Pedro Berti (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) added a solo block each, while Hastings committed five-straight errors during the run.  The Vikings eventually held an 18-11 advantage after one kill apiece from Berti and Tavares.  Missouri Valley maintained its lead through the rest of the game, as one kill from Tavares and Hasse, along with an ace from Radovanovic, helped the team reach match-point.  A Bronco service error ended the game at a 25-18 score, and finished off the sweep for Missouri Valley.

Hasse led with 11 kills on a .769 hitting percentage.  Tavares added seven kills.  Sophomore Setter Leonardo Goncalves (Ribierao Preto, Brazil) led with 18 assists.  The team finished with seven aces and six blocks, and hit at a .435 percentage in the contest.

The contest against Olivet Nazarene began with Missouri Valley gradually building up an early advantage.  Bastos and Hasse each had two kills, while Porras added one kill to help the team hold a 10-4 advantage.  Olivet Nazarene answered with four-straight points to close the gap down to 10-8.  Hasse, Bastos and Sophomore Middle Blocker Martin Tseyera (Salta, Argentina) each had one kill over the next stretch to keep MVC in front, 14-10.  Points were traded through the rest of the game.  A late kill from Berti gave Missouri Valley a 23-18 advantage, but ONU won three-straight points to trail, 23-21.  Hasse sent MVC to game-point with a kill, and a final Olivet Nazarene error ended the first game in favor of the Vikings, 25-22.

Missouri Valley took control early in the second game, as three-straight ONU errors started play.  The first kill for MVC came from Bastos to make it a 4-1 score.  The Vikings then won five-straight points, helped by one kill from Mulder, along with solo blocks from Porras and Berti to open up a 9-2 lead.  Missouri Valley later won six of seven points midway through the game, as Bastos landed two kills, and both Tseyera and Mulder added one kill apiece to put the advantage at double-digits, 17-7.  Another five-point run extended the lead, as Carpentier and Junior Middle Blocker Jaxson Gonzales (Dallas, Texas) each had one kill, followed by a block from Gonzales and an ace by Tseyera to make it a 22-8 score. Radovanovic added one more kill and two ONU errors closed the game for Missouri Valley, 25-12.  Olivet Nazarene won held to a -.040 hitting percentage in the game.

Needing a win in the third game to extend the match, Olivet Nazarene gradually built up a 7-5 advantage.  Missouri Valley followed by taking eight of the next nine points.  One kill apiece came from Mulder, Radovanovic, Carpentier and Tseyera, while Radovanovic added an ace to send MVC in front, 13-8.  The advantage grew to 16-10 after Mulder put down a kill and Carpentier added a block and one kill.  The Vikings maintained their advantage over the next stretch of play, sitting in front 21-17 after a Mulder kill.  Olivet Nazarene responded, and won four of the next five points to trail, 22-21.  A late kill from Carpentier put MVC at match-point, 24-23, but ONU won the final three points of the game to extend the match with a 26-24 victory.

The two teams traded points at the start of the fourth game.  Radovanovic, Berti, Mulder and Fontanabona each had one kill as Missouri Valley moved ahead, 7-6.  The team gradually added to its lead, as Mulder put down two kills, while Fontanabona and Carpentier added one kill each through a 12-9 score.  Olivet Nazarene countered by taking six of the next seven points to go in front, 15-13.  Mulder came back with a block, and MVC tied the score at 15-15.  The teams stayed close through a 20-20 score, with Missouri Valley using one kill from Mulder and an ace by Freshman Setter Leonardo Poiatti (Sao Paulo, Brazil) to take a late 22-21 lead.  Two of the next three points were won by ONU to put the teams into a 23-23 tie, but a Hasse kill gave Missouri Valley match-point.  A block from Tseyera ended the game at 25-23, and gave MVC a 3-1 win in the match.  Missouri Valley hit at a match-high .500 percentage in the game.

Mulder led with 15 kills, while Hasse added seven kills.  Fontanabona had 26 assists and Poiatti added 17 assists and seven digs.  Sophomore Libero Bernardo Wolf Roese (Nova Petropolis, Brazil) totaled nine digs.  Missouri Valley had 10 blocks and five aces as a team.

The pair of wins move Missouri Valley to 6-0 on the season. 

Up next, the Viking men's volleyball team will open play in the Heart of America Athletic Conference, with a road contest at Missouri Baptist, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m.

Hastings Box Score-Click Here

Olivet Nazarene Box Score-Click Here

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.