Men's Volleyball Falls to Grand View in Semifinal Match

Grand View, Iowa, (April 17, 2024)- The No. 11 Missouri Valley College men's volleyball team traveled to Des Moines, Iowa for a Heart of America Athletic Conference Postseason Championship semifinal match with No. 5 Grand View (Iowa), Wednesday evening.  Missouri Valley extended the match with a win in game three, but fell by scores of 22-25, 18-25, 29-27, 22-25.

The first game opened with Missouri Valley moving in front early, as Junior Setter Lucas Rodrigues (Balnelriu Cambriu, Brazil), Freshman Outside Hitter Andrey Bastos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Sophomore Right Side Luca Hasse (Paderborn, Germany) each landed one kill to make it a 4-2 score.  Grand View responded with four-straight points, and eventually sat on top, 8-6.  Missouri Valley answered with four-point run, featuring one kill from Freshman Outside Hitter Davi Azevedo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and a block from Rodrigues and Senior Middle Blocker Daniel Isernhagen (Curitiba, Brazil) to move ahead once again, at 10-8.  The teams traded points over the next stretch of play, and MVC held a 20-19 advantage.  The next four points were won by GVU, which closed out the game with a 25-22 win.

Missouri Valley started game two with another early lead, helped by one kill from Bastos and a block from Senior Middle Blocker Oscar Manana (The Bronx, N.Y.) and Hasse to make it 4-2.  Grand View responded by winning eight of the next nine points to pull ahead, 10-5.  The MVC deficit grew to 13-6.  Grand View maintained its advantage through much of the game.  Missouri Valley won four of five points late, including a block from Rodrigues and Junior Outside Hitter Georgi Vlahov (Sofia, Bulgaria) and one kill from Sophomore Right Side Samuel Essilfie (Tema, Ghana) to trail, 23-18.  Grand View won the next two points and earned a 25-18 victory in the game to sit with a 2-0 lead in the match.

Needing a win in the third game, Missouri Valley had two early kills from Bastos, one kill from Essilfie and a block from Hasse and Isernhagen to sit with a 5-4 lead.  The team won four of five points over a stretch of play, including one kill from both Essilfie and Bastos, along with Isernhagen putting down a solo block and teaming up with Rodrigues on a block, to make it a 9-7 advantage.  Grand View came back with a four-point run, and gradually built up its lead through a 21-17 score.  Hasse and Azevedo answered with one kill apiece, while Isernhagen teamed up with both Rodrigues and Azevedo on a pair of blocks to tie the teams at 23-23.  Isernhagen landed one kill, and a GVU error made it game-point, 25-24.  Grand View extended the game, but two late errors helped MVC win, 29-27, and push the match to a game four.

The fourth game started with the two teams trading points early, as Hasse, Manana and Azevedo each landed one kill through a 5-5 score.  The teams stayed tied at 9-9 as Azevedo and Isernhagen each put down one more kill.  Missouri Valley won four-straight points later in the game, as Manana and Hasse had one kill, while Manana teamed up with Azevedo on a block to give the team a 14-12 advantage.  Hasse, Azevedo and Rodrigues each added one more kill, and the pair of Rodrigues and Isernhagen finished off a block to stay in front, 19-17.  Grand View followed by taking four of the next five points to move ahead, 20-19.  Hasse finished off another kill as the teams were tied once again, 21-21.  However, four of the final five points were won by GVU to finish game four, 25-22, and hand Missouri Valley a loss in the match, 3-1 in games.

Azevedo had nine kills and seven digs, while Bastos added nine kills.  Hasse finished with eight kills and seven digs.  Rodrigues totaled 36 assists and Junior Libero Leonardo Leao (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) led with nine digs.  Isnerhagen was involved in 10 total blocks.  Missouri Valley had 14 blocks as a team.

Missouri Valley falls to 21-6 on the season, while Grand View advances to the tournament final with a 21-6 record.

Missouri Valley will now wait on a possible at-large bid into the 2024 NAIA Men's Volleyball National Championship, with the field announced Monday by the NAIA.

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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.