Women's Volleyball Falls in Five Games to William Penn

Marshall, Mo., (Sept. 12, 2025)- The Missouri Valley College women's volleyball team welcomed in William Penn (Iowa) for a Heart of America Athletic Conference match, Friday evening, inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  The Vikings led early, but fell in five games, by scores of 26-24, 25-21, 23-25, 31-33, 9-15.

The first game started with the two teams trading points, as Sophomore Outside Hitter Olivia Ranoldph (Columbia, Mo.), Senior Middle Hitter Jisell Chumacero (Denver, Colo.), Senior Outside Hitter Juliana Oliveira (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Junior Outside Hitter Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) each landed one kill.  Oliveira recorded an ace during the stretch to help the Viking hold a 7-5 lead.  After William Penn tied the teams at 7-7, Missouri Valley responded with a run.  Five-straight errors from William Penn, including a solo block from Freshman Outside Hitter Rylee Adams (Odessa, Mo.), who also teamed up with Senior Middle Hitter Kinga Romanowicz (Krepiec, Poland) on a block to keep the team on top, 12-7.  William Penn worked down its deficit over the next several points, eventually making it an 18-17 score.  Tavares responded with one kill, followed by one kill each from Randolph and Romanowicz, while a pair of WPU errors eventually put the Viking advantage at 23-18.  The next five points were won by William Penn to tie the teams at 23-23.  Romanowicz stopped the WPU run with an ace to make it game-point, but the teams were tied once again, at 24-24.  Randolph followed with a kill, and Oliveira ended the opening game with one more kill to finish a 26-24 score in favor of Missouri Valley.

Play in the second game began with William Penn gradually building up a lead, out to 7-4.  One kill from Tavares and an ace by Sophomore Setter Kellen Fitzgerald (Frisco, Texas) allowed the score to be tied at 8-8, while a block from Oliveira and Romanowicz, and a kill by Randolph gave MVC a 10-9 lead.  William Penn came back to win six-straight points to pull ahead, 15-10.  Chumacero, Randolph and Tavares each landed one kill over the next stretch, but the MVC deficit eventually reached 19-14.  The Vikings took control from there, using one kill from Tavares and three-straight WPU errors to shrink the gap down to 19-18.  A five-point run followed, on one Tavares kill and four-straight William Penn errors, to move MVC in front, 23-20.  Randolph put down a kill to make it game-point, and an ace by Oliveira ended a 25-21 win for Missouri Valley, and gave the team a 2-0 edge in the match.

The two teams traded points through much of play in the third game.  Oliveira and Tavares each put down two kills, while Chumacero and Adams had one kill to help make it an 8-8 score.  The Vikings eventually went on top, as Randolph had one kill, then teamed up with Junior Right Side Alana Burton (Ogden, Iowa) on a block to put the score at 12-10.  Three William Penn errors allowed MVC to hold a 15-14 lead midway through the game.  William Penn responded by taking five of the next six points to hold a 19-16 advantage.  Adams came back with one kill, and two WPU errors tied the teams at 19-19.  Four of the next five points were won by William Penn, to give the team late control at 23-20.  Oliveira and Tavares each had one more kill in the game, but WPU finished out a 25-23 win to extend the contest into a fourth game.

William Penn gradually built up a lead in the fourth game, sitting in front 9-6.  The next four points were won by Missouri Valley, as Oliveira put down a block and Fitzgerald landed an ace to move the team ahead, 10-9.  Both Randolph and Adams had two kills apiece as the advantage reached 15-13.  William Penn then won five-straight points to make it an 18-15 score, before one kill apiece from Senior Right Side Maria Bertholdo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Oliveira trimmed the deficit down to 18-17.  The Vikings were unable to tie the score over the next stretch of play, and WPU held its first game-point at 24-21.  Missouri Valley came back to win four-straight points, as Adams and Bertholdo had one kill each, and Senior Setter Avery Crain (Shell Knob, Mo.) put down an ace to give the team its first match-point, 25-24.  From there, the teams traded chances.  William Penn held four more game-points, and MVC had one more match-point until the teams were tied at 31-31.  The next two points were won by WPU to close a 33-31 score and send the match into a fifth game.

An early run by William Penn put Missouri Valley into a 6-1 deficit.  The gap eventually grew to 9-3 later in the fifth game, but the Vikings began to work back.  Oliveira had an ace, while Bertholdo and Tavares each finished off one kill to make it a 9-7 score.  Two-straight William Penn errors brought MVC to within one point, at 10-9.  However, WPU took control, and won the final five points of the game to close a 15-9 win in the game, and a victory in the match.

Randolph had 14 kills and Tavares added 14 kills.  Crain led with 22 assists to go with five digs, and Fitzgerald totaled a double-double of 21 assists and 16 digs.  Senior Libero Ana Franco (Cascais, Portugal) had 29 assists, while Oliveira had 18 digs, seven kills and three aces.  Missouri Valley totaled nine blocks and six aces as a team.

The loss drops Missouri Valley to 5-7 overall and 1-3 in the Heart.  William Penn improves to 13-5 on the season and 3-0 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking women's volleyball team hosts Grand View (Iowa) in a Heart match, Saturday at 2 p.m., inside the Burns Athletic Complex.

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About Missouri Valley College

Standing out as one of the most innovative and student-focused liberal arts colleges in the Midwest, Missouri Valley College (MVC) is committed to preparing students for success beyond the classroom. Through the Viking Voyage program, MVC prioritizes career readiness from day one, equipping students with the knowledge and skills needed to excel after graduation. Each of MVC's 30+ in-demand majors—including nursing, business, cybersecurity, computer science, criminal justice, and exercise science—integrates personal instruction, experiential learning, and professional opportunities to prepare graduates to thrive in a rapidly changing and globally connected world. At Missouri Valley College, higher education is more than earning a degree—it's a transformative journey that begins with the end.