No. 12 Men's Volleyball Sweeps Past Graceland

Marshall, Mo., (March 8, 2024)- The No. 12 Missouri Valley College men's volleyball team hosted Graceland (Iowa) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference match Friday evening inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  The Vikings earned the victory in a sweep by scores of 25-15, 25-19, 25-17.

The first game started with the two teams trading points through a 3-3 score.  Three-straight Graceland errors helped Missouri Valley move ahead, 6-3, while a block from Junior Setter Lucas Rodrigues (Balnelariu Cambriu, Brazil) and Senior Middle Blocker Daniel Isernhagen (Curitiba, Brazil), along with one kill from Freshman Outside Hitter Andrey Bastos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) pushed the advantage out to 10-6.  The Yellowjackets worked back to a 12-10 deficit, but MVC began to pull away from there.  MissourI Valley won six-straight points as Sophomore Right Side Luca Hasse (Paderborn, Germany) landed two kills and Isernhagen finished off a block to make it an 18-10 lead.  Freshman Outside Hitter Davi Azevedo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Isernhagen added one kill each over the next stretch of play, while two-straight kills from Junior Outside Hitter Georgi Vlahov (Sofia, Bulgaria) moved the team to game-point.  Vlahov added his third kill late in the game to seal a 25-15 win.

Points were traded to open the second game through an 8-8 score.  Senior Outside Hitter Oscar Manana (The Bronx, N.Y.) put down one kill, while Rodrigues finished off an ace to give MVC an 11-8 lead.  The Vikings won four-straight, which started one a kill from Freshman Outside Hitter Benjamin Webb (Auckland, New Zealand).  Manana teamed up with Hasse on a block, then Manana put down a solo block to make it a 14-10 lead.  Graceland worked back later in the game, and trailed, 19-17.  Another kill from Webb, followed by one kill from Hasse gave Missouri Valley a 23-19 advantage.  Manana and Hasse teamed up on a block to make it game-point, and Hasse ended the game with a solo block to finish out a 25-19 win.

Missouri Valley gradually built up an advantage through the third game, as Vlahov and Webb each had one kill, and Freshman Middle Blocker Samuel Stafford (Taringa, Australia) finished off a solo block to help the team win four-straight and lead, 9-4.  Another four-point run, helped by one kill from Freshman Middle Blocker Luiz Marinelo (Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil) and a block from Webb set the advantage at 13-5.  The Vikings continued to stay in front, and used one kill and one ace from Hasse to make it a 21-12 score.  Stafford landed two more late kills, while Marinelo had one block.  One more kill from Marinelo ended the game, 25-17, and earned MVC the sweep.

Hasse led with nine kills and added nine digs with six assists.  Webb and Vlahov each had five kills.  Rodrigues led with 20 assists.  Missouri Valley totaled nine blocks and five aces, while limiting Graceland to a .000 hitting percentage.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 10-2 overall and 5-2 in the Heart.  Graceland falls to 2-11 on the season and 0-7 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking men's volleyball team hosts No. 3 Park (Mo.) in a Heart match, Saturday at 2 p.m., inside the 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.