Women's Volleyball Falls at Baker in Five Games

Baldwin City, Kan., (Oct. 1, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College women's volleyball team traveled to Baldwin City, Kan., for a Heart of America Athletic Conference match with Baker (Kan.), Tuesday evening.  The Vikings went the distance against the Wildcats, but fell by scores of 25-20, 21-25, 22-25, 25-23, 12-15.

Missouri Valley opened the first game by building up a lead as Senior Defensive Specialist Momoko Yokoyama (Tokyo, Japan) put down a pair of aces and Senior Outside Hitter Ana Oro (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Junior Outside Hitter Blanca Arciniega Palma (El Paso, Texas) each had one kill to make it a 5-0 score.  One kill from Junior Middle Hitter Kinga Ramonowicz (Krepiec, Poland) put the advantage at 7-3, while Baker responded to win four of the next five points to cut the team's gap to 8-7.  The Wildcats continued to work back, and eventually moved in front, 11-10.  The next nine points were won by MVC, including one kill from Oro and Palma, along with another ace from Yokoyama, to help the team reclaim the lead at 19-11. Baker gradually cut down its deficit, eventually to 24-20, but one final kill from Senior Outside Hitter Ksenija Simun (Kotor, Montenegro) finished off a 25-20 win for Missouri Valley.

The second game featured an early advantage built up by Baker, out to 5-1.  One kill from Senior Middle Hitter Emma Schulte (Marshall, Mo.), followed by two-straight kills from Simun helped MVC work back to a 7-7 tie.  The Wildcats gradually built up another lead from there, out to a 16-10 score.  Palma landed two kills, and Oro added one kill to cut the deficit down to 18-13.  Missouri Valley continued to work back, as Simun and Oro each had one kill over the next stretch, and Junior Libero Ana Franco (Cascais, Portugal) put down an ace to make it a 21-19 score.  One more kill from Oro cut the gap to 22-21, BU won the final three points to finish off the game, 25-22, and tie the teams at 1-1 in games won.

The two teams traded points at the start of the third game, as Oro put down three kills, Yokoyama added an ace and Ramonowicz finished off one kill to put the team in a 7-6 deficit.  Baker began to build on its advantage from there, out to an 18-11 score.  Eventually sitting in a 19-13 deficit, MVC rallied with six-straight points.  Palma had one kill and two aces, while Simun put down one kill, then teamed up with Ramonowicz on a block.  Junior Setter Ana Santos (Curitiba, Brazil) capped the run with one final kill, and the two teams were tied, 19-19.  Baker answered back, and won four of the next five points to make it a 23-20 score.  Simun and Oro each had one late kill, but BU won the third game, 25-22.

Needing a win in the fourth game to extend the match, Missouri Valley used one ace from Franco, one kill from Palma and two-straight kills from Simun to stretch out a 7-3 lead.  The Vikings kept their distance from Baker, as Simun Senior Middle Hitter Alanah Best (Lima, Ohio) added one kill and Simun had a solo block to make it a 10-6 score.  The Wildcats worked their deficit down to one point multiple times over the next stretch of play, eventually trailing, 18-17.  Best followed with one kill, then teamed up on a block with Oro to put the score at 20-17.  Freshman Outside Hitter Kenley Thornhill (Columbia, Mo.) teamed up with Palma on a block, then put down a kill to make it game-point.  Thornhill ended the game with one final kill to make it a 25-23 score, and send the contest into a fifth game.

Missouri Valley had early kills from Thornhill and Palma to sit on top, 2-0.  Baker responded, and eventually moved ahead, 7-4.  The Vikings won five of the next six points, as Oro and Palma each put down two kills, while Simun added one kill to pull the team ahead, 9-8.  The Wildcats responded and won four of five points later in the game to sit with match-point, 14-11.  Simun extended the game with one more kill, but Baker won by a 15-12 score to take the match.

Oro led with a double-double of 18 kills and 18 digs.  Simun totaled 17 kills and nine digs.  Palma had a double-double of 11 kills and 12 digs.  Santos led with 39 assists to go with five digs.  Franco led with 27 digs, and Yokoyama had 16 digs and five aces.  As a team, Missouri Valley totaled 10 blocks and nine aces.

Missouri Valley drops to 10-8 overall and 2-3 in the Heart.  Baker improves to 9-5 on the season and 2-4 in the conference.

Up next, the women's volleyball team returns to the Burns Athletic Complex for a Friday Heart match with No. 14 Park (Mo.), at 7 p.m.

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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.