Women's Volleyball Falls to MidAmerica Nazarene on the Road

Olathe, Kan., (Sept. 24, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College women's volleyball team traveled to Olathe, Kan., for a Heart of America Athletic Conference match with MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan). The Vikings fell in three games, by scores of 25-21, 25-23, 25-17.

Game one featured both teams trading points through a 7-7 score, where Senior Outside Hitter Ana Oro (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina) landed three kills and Senior Outside Hitter Ksenija Simun (Kotor, Montenegro) had two kills. The Vikings went in front using an ace by Senior Defensive Specialist Momoko Yokoyama (Tokyo, Japan) and three attack errors by MNU to make it an 11-9 score, but the Pioneers responded winning four-straight points to take the lead, 13-11. Senior Middle Blocker Alanah Best (Lima, Peru) and Simun added a kill each to tie the game at 15-15, but MidAmerica Nazarene won six of the next eight points to hold a 21-17 advantage. MVC took the next two points with one kill each from Junior Middle Blocker Kinga Ramonowicz (Krepiec, Poland) and Simun to keep the scoreboard close, 22-20. However, the Pioneers finished out a 25-21 win to take the opening game.

The second game started with the Vikings going in front as Junior Setter Ana Santos (Curitiba, Brazil) had a kill and an ace, followed by an ace from Oro, 4-2. MNU answered back winning nine of the next eleven points to make it an 11-6 score, but Santos stopped their rally with a kill. Missouri Valley worked back its deficit over the next stretch and eventually took the lead, 20-16, using three kills from Best, four MNU errors, along with a kill from Oro, who also had an ace. The Pioneers tied the game at 21-21, then MVC moved ahead, 23-21 with a kill from Simun, but the Vikings were unable to close game two and MidAmerica Nazarene won four-straight points to finish off with a 25-23 win.

With Missouri Valley needing a win in the third game to extend the match, the Pioneers moved in front early, 7-3. The Vikings won three-straight points with two errors by MNU and a kill from Simun making it a 7-6 score. Points were traded over the next stretch where MidAmerica Nazarene built up a 10-8 lead, and then began to pull away from there winning eight of the next ten points to eventually make it a 17-10 score. Missouri Valley closed their deficit to 19-15 with back-to-back kills from Oro, Santos and Best teamed up on a block, and Simun added a kill. Missouri Valley was unable to climb into the game, as MNU won the final game, 25-17, to sweep the match.

Oro led with 11 kills, two aces and 14 digs. Simun followed with nine kills, while Best had six kills. Santos finished with 24 assists and Junior Defensive Specialist Ana Franco (Cascais, Portugal) also had 14 digs. Missouri Valley had a total of six blocks and four aces.

Missouri Valley falls to 10-6 overall and 2-1 in the Heart. MidAmerica Nazarene improves to 9-7 on the season and 3-1 in the conference.

Up next, the Vikings women's volleyball team will host No. 18 Central Methodist (Mo.) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference match, Friday at 7 p.m., inside the Burns Athletic Complex.

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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.