Women's Volleyball Drops Two Matches Saturday

Parkville, Mo., (Sept. 9, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College women's volleyball team traveled to Parkville, Mo., for two matches, Saturday.  The Vikings went to five games with No. 14 Ottawa (Kan.), but fell by scores of 25-21, 7-25, 23-25, 25-21, 11-15.  The team then lost to St. Mary (Kan.) in three games.

The opening game against Ottawa featured the two teams trading points at the start.  Junior Outside Hitter Jisell Chumacero (Greeley, Colo.) and Senior Outside Ksenija Simun (Kotor, Montenegro) each had one kill early, while Junior Outside Hitter Juliana Oliviera (Ribeirao Preto, Brazil) added two kills to keep the teams even at 6-6.  Missouri Valley pulled in front from there, as Simun and Junior Middle Blocker Esther Muhingira (Nairobi, Kenya) each had one kill to make it an 11-8 score.  Ottawa answered back by taking four of the next five points to tie the teams, this time at 12-12.  The Vikings answered with four-straight points, helped by three kills in-a-row from Oliviera, who then teamed up with Sophomore Middle Blocker Nekane Parera (Barcelona, Spain) on a block to give the team a 16-12 advantage.  Another kill from Simun, along with two OU errors, helped push the lead to 20-14.  The Braves tried to pull back, and cut the deficit to 23-20 late in the game.  However, Chumacero landed a kill to make it game-point, and Oliviera ended a 25-21 win with one more kill.

Ottawa controlled most of the second game, eventually earning a 25-7 win to even the match at 1-1 in games won.  The third game started with the teams staying close.  Oliviera put down two kills, and Muhingira added one kill to help make it an 8-8 score.  Ottawa went on a run that included taking four of the next five points to pull in front, 12-9.  The deficit for Missouri Valley eventually grew to 17-11.  Simun ended the MVC drought with a kill, and the team slowly worked back into the game.  Muhingira and Oliviera finished off two-straight kills to pull the team closer at 19-17.  Oliviera totaled two kills late in the game, and Simun responded with a late run to take things over.  Sitting behind 23-20, the Vikings used five-straight kills from Simun to come from behind and close out the game, 25-23, to move in front, 2-1 in games won in the match.

Early kills from Simun, Chumacero and Oliviera, along with an ace from Oliviera, helped keep the score tied at 5-5 in the fourth game.  The Braves followed with a run, and won four-straight points, then pushed its advantage out to 13-8.  Ottawa extended its lead by winning three of the next four points, and making it a 16-9 score.  Simun and Oliviera each had one kill, and OU committed a pair of errors to help pull the deficit down to 19-14.  Ottawa maintained at least a three point lead through the rest of the game, and eventually earned a 25-21 win to extend the match into a fifth game.

The start of the final game featured four of the opening five points going to Ottawa.  Missouri Valley used a block from Junior Middle Blocker Brooke Wright (Mansfield, Ark.) and Oliviera, and one kill each from Wright and Junior Setter Lynsey Day (Kingman, Ariz.) to cut the deficit down to 8-7.  Simun and Junior Outside Hitter Maria Bertholdo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) each had one kill, while Day put down an ace to tie the score at 11-11.  However, Ottawa won the final four points in the game, and ended the match with a 15-11 win over the Vikings.

Oliviera led with a double-double of 22 kills, on a .436 hitting percentage, and 11 digs.  Simun added a double-double of 20 kills and 14 digs.  Day totaled a double-double of 36 assists and 15 digs.  Junior Defensive Specialist Momoko Yokoyama (Tokyo, Japan) led the team with 24 digs, while Junior Setter Mencia Rodriguez Medio (Gijon, Spain) had 15 assists.  Missouri Valley totaled three aces and four blocks as a team.

The second contest of the day against St. Mary featured the Spires jumping out to an early 6-1 lead in the first game.  Bertholdo had one kill and an ace from Mencia Rodriguez pulled MVC into an 8-5 deficit.  One kill from both Simun and Chumacero put the score at 10-8.  However, USM followed with a run to win six-straight points, and push its advantage out to 16-8.  The Spires gradually built up its lead, eventually making it a 22-13 score.  The Vikings answered back with a six-point run that featured three kills from Bertholdo and two aces from Oliviera to bring the team into a 22-19 gap.  St. Mary pulled away from there, and won three of the final four points to earn a 25-20 win.

Game two opened with an early block from Chumacero and Simun, along with two kills from Oliviera and another kill from Chumacero to put MVC in front, 4-1.  St. Mary responded by winning four of the next five points to tie the teams at 5-5.  Chumacero and one kill and Day put down an ace over the next stretch of play as the Vikings went in front once again, this time at 11-7.  The Spires won four-straight points to even the score, then built up an 18-14 advantage.  Muhingira and Wright each had one kill, while Bertholdo put down two more kills to cut the gap down to 20-18.  A late kill from Simun made it a 21-20 score, but Missouri Valley could not complete the comeback and the Spires earned a 25-22 win the game.

Missouri Valley held on to a lead early in the third game, as Chumacero, Oliviera and Parera each had one kill, and Bertholdo landed an ace, to make it a 6-4 score.  Simun finished off two more kills, to go with one kill from Chumacero, to help keep the team on top, 9-7.  St. Mary won three of the next four points to tie the score at 10-10.  Oliviera added two more kills, while Chumacero finished off an ace, and Bertholdo landed a kill to help MVC win five of the next six points and take a 15-11 lead.  The Spires responded, and eventually got the teams into an 18-18 tie.  Bertholdo came back with two-straight kills to put the Vikings on top once again, at 20-18.  The score was tied, at 22-22, but a kill from Oliviera and an error by USM gave Missouri Valley its first game-point at 24-23.  St. Mary won the next two points, and held its first match-point.  A service error extended the match at 25-25, but the final two points were won by St. Mary to end the game, at 27-25, and finish off the sweep.

Bertholdo led with 14 kills, while Oliviera had nine kills and nine digs.  Simun totaled 18 digs and six kills, and Yokoyama had 13 digs.  Day finished with 25 assists, and Rodriguez Medio had 10 assists.  Missouri Valley put down six aces in the match.

The Vikings drop to 5-6 on the season.

Up next, the Missouri Valley women's volleyball team will open play in the Heart of America Athletic Conference with a match at No. 6 Park (Mo.), Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Ottawa Box Score-Click Here

St. Mary 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.