No. 4 Men's Volleyball Falls at Home to No. 3 Park

Marshall, Mo., (Feb. 14, 2026)- The No. 4 Missouri Valley College men's volleyball team hosted No. 3 Park (Mo.) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference match Saturday afternoon inside the Burns Athletic.  The contest was this week's Heart Game of the Week, presented by Olathe Chamber of Commerce.  The Vikings fell behind early, and extended the match into a fourth game, but fell by scores of 22-25, 21-25, 28-26, 26-28.

Game one began with Junior Middle Blocker Joao Tavares (Parana, Brazil) teaming up with Senior Opposite Luca Hasse (Paderborn, Germany) on a block, then putting down the first kill of the contest to send Missouri Valley ahead, 2-0.  The two teams stayed close through most of the opening game.  The next kill for MVC came from Sophomore Setter Leonardo Goncalves (Ribierao Preto, Brazil) to put the team in front, 8-7.  Tavares and Hasse each added one kill over the next stretch of play, as the Vikings held an 11-10 lead.  Park responded to win four of the next five points to move in front, 14-12.  The Pirates maintained an advantage through the rest of the game.  Hasse had one kill, then teamed up with Tavares on a block to cut the team's deficit down to 18-16.  Another Hasse kill kept Missouri Valley within a 20-18 score late in the game.  Freshman Outside Hitter Loan Fargier added one more kill, but Park held on to win the first game, 25-22.

The second game began with one kill from Junior Outside Hitter Andrey Bastos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), followed by one kill and one ace from Tavares to put MVC on top, 4-1.  Hasse, Fargier and Bastos each had one kill later in the game, as the lead sat at 7-4.  Park worked back, and won five-straight points to move ahead, 10-8.  The Vikings won four of the next five points, helped by a block from Bastos and Tavares, while Tavares added a kill as MVC claimed a 12-11 lead.  Fargier then landed two-straight kills, and Missouri Valley sat in front, 15-13.  The Pirates again responded, this time winning five of six points in a stretch of play to reclaim the lead at 18-16.  The deficit for Missouri Valley eventually grew to 21-17.  The Vikings were unable to trim down their deficit late, and Park won the second game, 25-21.

Needing a win in the third game to extend the match, Missouri Valley traded the first few points with Park, using two kills from Tavares and one kill by Bastos to keep the score tied at 3-3.  The Vikings won four-straight, as Fargier, Sophomore Middle Blocker Martin Tseyera (Salta, Argentina) and Bastos each had one kill, and Hasse put down an ace, to move the team ahead, 7-4.  The next MVC kill came from Bastos to put the lead at 11-9.  The Pirates then won four of the next five points to take a 13-12 advantage.  Missouri Valley's deficit grew from there, eventually sitting at 19-16.  A four-point run followed, as Bastos had two kills, and teamed up with Tavares on a block.  Tavarres ended the run with a kill, and the Vikings went on top, 20-19.  Park came back again, this time winning three-straight points late in the game, and eventually holding its first match-point, at 24-23.  Fargier extended the game with a kill, then landed another kill to hold off a second match-point for the Pirates.  The score eventually was tied at 26-26, and Bastos gave MVC game-point with a kill.  A Park error ended the third game, and the Vikings held on for a 28-26 win to send the match into game four.

Bastos and Hasse started the fourth game with one kill each to put Missouri Valley ahead early, 2-0.  The Pirates then won six of the next seven points to take a 6-3 advantage.  Park kept its lead through much of the game, eventually staying in front by a 17-14 score.  Hasse then put down two-straight kills, while Bastos added one kill to cut into the gap.  Tavares added a solo block, and teamed up with Bastos on another block to help MVC win four-straight points and claim a 21-19 lead.  A kill from Freshman Outside Hitter Bart Mulder (Hoogeveen, Netherlands) put the score at 22-20, but the Pirates won three-straight to go in front, 23-22.  An error from Park followed by a kill from Fargier made it game-point for the Vikings, 24-23.  Missouri Valley held another game-point, 25-24, after a Tavares kill.  Park eventually held a match-point, 26-25, but Fargier put down another kill to tie the game.  However, the final two points of the game were won by the Pirates to finish game four, 28-26, and end the match at 3-1 in games won.

Fargier led with a double-double of 14 kills and 11 digs.  Bastos had 13 kills and seven digs, while Hasse added 12 kills and six digs.  Goncalves led with 39 assists, and added six digs, while Leonardo Poiatti had 11 assists.  Missouri Valley totaled 10 blocks as a team, and finished with four aces.

Missouri Valley drops to 8-1 on the season and 1-1 in the Heart.  Park improves to 11-0 overall and 3-0 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking men's volleyball team travels to Canton, Mo., for a Heart contest with Culver-Stockton (Mo.), Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Box Score-Cilck 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.