Men's Volleyball Falls in Five Games to No. 9 Grand View

Marshall, Mo., (Feb. 24, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's volleyball team hosted No. 9 Grand View (Iowa) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference match Saturday afternoon inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  The two teams went to five games, but Missouri Valley fell by scores of 25-20, 16-25, 25-19, 21-25, 12-15.

The first game opened with Missouri Valley using one kill from both Freshman Outside Hitter Davi Azevedo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Sophomore Right Side Samuel Essilfie (Tema, Ghana), along with two Grand View errors, to go in front, 4-2.  The two teams traded points until another Essilfie kept MVC on top, 6-5.  Grand View responded with four-straight points to pull ahead, 9-6.  Missouri Valley came back with a six-point run, which included two kills from Azevedo, one kill each from Freshman Outside Hitter Andrey Bastos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Essilfie and one block from Senior Middle Blocker Daniel Isernhagen (Curitiba, Brazil) to reclaim the lead at 12-9.  The teams traded the next several points, and two-straight GVU errors kept Missouri Valley on top, 19-16.  Grand View got to within a 20-19 score late in the game, but two kills from Azevedo opened a 23-19 advantage.  Essilfie moved the team to game-point with a kill, and Bastos ended the game at 25-20 with one final kill for Missouri Valley.

Play in the second game started with one kill and one ace from Senior Outside Hitter Oscar Manana (The Bronx, N.Y.), along with two kills from Essilfie to give MVC a 5-2 advantage.  Grand View came back to win five-straight, and go in front, 7-5.  Bastos and Manana had the next two kills for Missouri Valley, but the team trailed, 10-8.  The deficit grew as the game went on, and eventually sat at 22-12.  Late kills came from Isernhagen and Junior Outside Hitter Georgi Vlahov (Sofia, Bulgaria), but Grand View won the second game, 25-16, to tie the teams at 1-1 in the match.

The teams traded points early in the third game, as Azevedo landed two kills, and both Isernhagen and Manana had one kill each to put the team on top, 6-5.  A six-point run for MVC featured back-to-back kills from Bastos and four-straight GVU errors to build up an 11-7 lead.  Bastos put down another kill, then teamed up with Isernhagen on a block, while Azevedo finished off one kill to make it a 15-9 score.  Three-straight Grand View errors pushed the advantage out to 18-10.  Grand View chipped away at its deficit, and eventually trailed, 21-16.  Bastos came back with one kill, and Manana finished off one ace to reach game-point.  Essilfie ended the third game with one more kill and gave MVC a 25-19 win.

Going for the match in game four, Missouri Valley went into an early 7-2 deficit.  The teams traded points through a 12-7 score.  Isernhagen answered with three kills, while Azevedo landed one kill to shrink the gap to 14-13.  Two-straight GVU errors brought the teams into a 15-15 tie.  Grand View responded by taking four of the next five points to pull ahead, 19-16.  Back-to-back kills from Essilfie and Bastos allowed MVC to trail, 20-19, while a block from Isernhagen and Bastos made it a 21-20 score.  Grand View pulled away from there to win, 25-21, and send the contest into a fifth game.

Points were traded at the start of the fifth game, as Essilfie put down two kills and both Manana and Bastos landed one kill each to put MVC in a 6-5 deficit.  Missouri Valley was unable to bring about a tie score throughout the rest of the game, as the two teams went back-and-forth with points.  Another Essilfie kill made it 12-11, but GVU won three of the final four points to take the game, 15-12, and claim victory in the match.

Essilfie led with 15 kills.  Azevedo totaled 12 kills and five digs, while Bastos had 10 kills and eight digs.  Junior Setter Lucas Rodrigues (Balnelariu, Cambriu, Brazil) led with 42 assists, and added six digs.  Junior Libero Leonardo Leao (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) led the team with 14 digs.  Missouri Valley totaled five blocks in the game, and finished off three aces.

The loss drops Missouri Valley to 7-1 overall and 2-1 in the Heart.  Grand View improves to 9-2 on the season and 3-0 in the conference.

Up next, the Missouri Valley men's volleyball team travels to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for a Heart match with No. 15 Mount Mercy (Iowa), Friday 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.