Women's Volleyball Suffers Home Loss to MidAmerica Nazarene

Marshall, Mo., (Sept. 26, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College women's volleyball team hosted MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference match Tuesday evening inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  The Vikings fell by scores of 19-25, 23-25, 22-25.

Missouri Valley received one kill early in game one from Junior Right Side Maria Bertholdo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Junior Outside Hitter Juliana Oliviera (Riberial Preto, Brazil) and Sophomore Middle Blocker Nekane Parera (Barcelona, Spain), but sat in a 7-4 deficit.  The Pioneers gradually increased their advantage out to 13-7.  An ace from Junior Outside Hitter Jisell Chumacero (Greeley, Colo.) cut the gap to 13-9, while another Parera kill put the score at 17-12.  The Vikings were unable to work back into the game, as MNU finished out a 25-19 win.

The second game started with a four-point run for the Vikings, as Oliviera landed two kills, with one kill from Bertholdo and an ace from Chumacero to put the team in front, 5-3.  A kill from Junior Setter Lynsey Day (Kingman, Ariz.) moved the advantage out to 11-7.  Missouri Valley stayed on top through the next stretch of play, using a pair of Bertholdo kills to hold a 16-12 advantage.  MidAmerica Nazarene responded and gradually worked down its deficit, and moved ahead at a 21-20 score.  Bertholdo tied the game at 21-21 with a kill, but MNU won three of the next four points to hold game-point, 24-22.   A Pioneer service error extended the game, but MidAmerica Nazarene claimed the final point to win, 25-23, and hold a 2-0 lead in the match.

Missouri Valley went on another four-point run early in the third game, helped by two kills from Oliviera and an ace from Bertholdo to sit in front, 6-5.  Parera put down a kill, then teamed up with Senior Outside Hitter Ksenija Simun (Kotor, Montenegro) on a block, while Day finished off another kill to push the lead out to 9-7.  The Pioneers responded and won five of the next six points to go on top, 12-10.  The lead went back-and-forth as the game played on.  Three-straight points for MVC, including an ace from Bertholdo, gave the team a 16-15 advantage, while the Pioneers regained the lead, at 17-16.  Back-to-back MNU errors, followed by two-straight Simun kills resulted in a four-point run for the Vikings, and allowed the team to regain the advantage at 19-17.  Another Simun kill helped to make it a 21-18 score late in the game.  However, the Pioneers won six-straight points to hold match-point, 24-21.  Simun tried to mount a late rally with one more kill, but MidAmerica Nazarene won the final game, 25-22, to sweep the match.

Olliviera led with nine kills, while Bertholdo had seven kills.  Day finished with a double-double of 25 assists and 12 digs.  Simun led with 14 digs, to go with five kills.  Missouri Valley totaled six blocks and six aces as a team.

The loss drops Missouri Valley to 8-11 overall and 2-5 in the Heart.  MidAmerica Nazarene improves to 17-7 on the season and 4-2 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking women's volleyball team will host a triangular, Saturday afternoon inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  The team will host Stephens (Mo.) at 12 p.m., followed by a 4 p.m., match with Baptist Bible (Mo.).

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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.