Women's Volleyball Falls at Home to No. 7 Park University

Marshall, Mo., (Oct. 27, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College women's volleyball team welcomed No. 7 Park (Mo.) into the Burns Athletic Complex in a Heart of America Athletic Conference match Friday evening. The Vikings fell in three games, by scores of 11-25, 17-25, 19-25.

The first game opened with Park building up a 13-1 lead. Sophomore Middle Blocker Nekane Parera (Barcelona, Spain) got the first kill for the Vikings and Sophomore Setter Ana Carolina Santos (Curitiba, Brazil) had back to back service aces to end Park's run, 15-5. Missouri Valley won four of the next seven points, but MVC was unable to rally late and Park won the opener, 25-11. 

Game two started with Park winning the first three points. Senior Libero Jeanie Palsis (Nanakuli, Hawaii) put down an ace, and Senior Outside Hitter Ksenija Simun (Kotor, Montenegro) added a kill to bring MVC into a 6-3 deficit. PU won four of the next six points to put the score at 10-5. The two teams traded points over the next stretch, as Parera had two kills and Simun added an ace, to keep the scoreboard close, 19-15. The Pirates responded to close out, winning six of the final seven points to take game two, 25-17.

Needing a win in the third game to extend the match, Junior Outside Hitter Juliana Oliviera (Ribeirao Preto, Brazil) started with a solo block but the Vikings fell behind, 5-1, early. Missouri Valley answered by winning the next three points to close the gap, 6-4. Park responded and won four-straight points to sit in front, 14-7. Both teams traded points through a 17-9 score. MVC won the next four points where Oliviera added a kill, and the Pirates had three errors, as the score sat at 18-13. Park eventually worked out a 24-14 advantage, and MVC tried to rally late as Santos and Parera featured two kills each, followed by a kill from Simun, as the team trailed 24-19. The Pirates finished out the game, 25-19, for the sweep.

Simun led with 10 kills and ten digs. Oliviera had 6 kills and two block solos, while Parera finished with 9 kills. Missouri Valley totaled four aces as a team.

The loss drops Missouri Valley to 15-15 overall and 7-9 in the Heart, while Park (Mo.) improves to 26-2 on the season, and 15-0 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking women's volleyball team will host Benedictine (Kan.) for Senior Night, Tuesday at 7 p.m., inside Burns Athletic Complex.

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.