No. 10 Men's Volleyball Wins Twice at Jamestown Invitational

Jamestown, N.D., (Feb. 7, 2025)- The No. 10 Missouri Valley College men's volleyball team continued play at the Jamestown (N.D.) Invitational with two matches Friday.  The Vikings opened the day with a four-game win over No. 7 Benedictine-Mesa (Ariz.), followed by a sweep of host-school Jamestown.

Game one against Benedictine-Mesa opened with Sophomore Outside Hitter Davi Azevedo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) putting down a kill and teaming up with Sophomore Middle Blocker Joao Tavares (Sao Paulo, Brazil) to help Missouri Valley hold a 3-2 lead.  The teams traded points through much of the first game, as both Junior Opposite Samuel Essilfie (Tema, Ghana) and Azevedo added two kills each, while Senior Setter Lucas Rodrigues (Balnelariu Cambriu, Brazil) and Sophomore Outside Hitter Andrey Bustos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) had one kill apiece through an 11-11 score.  Benedictine-Mesa built up a lead from there, out to 16-13.  Essilfie came back with one kill, and the pair of Azevedo and Tavares teamed up on another block to cut the gap down to 16-15.  The deficit grew from there through the rest of the game for MVC, as the Red Hawks eventually won the opener, 25-21.

Missouri Valley jumped out to an early lead in the second game, as one kill from both Azevedo and Bastos gave the team a 4-2 advantage.  The Vikings won four of five points during a stretch, helped by a block from Freshman Middle Blocker Martin Tseyera (Salta, Argentina) and Essilifie, followed by one kill from Azevedo, to keep the team on top, 9-5.  Benedictine-Mesa was unable to work back into the game, after one kill from Azevedo, Tavares and Bastos made it a 16-8 score.  A late run for Missouri Valley, taking seven of eight points, put the game away.  Tseyera was part of four blocks during the run, including three blocks with Azevedo and another with Essilfie, to move the team to game-point.  Essilfie ended the game with one more kill, to make it a 25-14 score.  Missouri Valley hit at a .550 percentage, and limited Benedictine-Mesa to a -.100 percentage.

Game three started with the Vikings building up another early lead, as Azevedo started with back-to-back kills, and was followed by an ace from Essilfie.  Tavares teamed up with Rodrigues on a block, then landed one kill to make it a 6-1 score.  Benedictine-Mesa chipped away at its deficit, eventually trailing, 11-9.  Missouri Valley responded to take four of the next five points, as Tavares and Rodrigues earned a block, with Rodrigues finishing off one kill to help make it a 16-11 advantage.  The Red Hawks again trimmed down the gap, winning six of seven points later in the game, to trail 19-18.  Essilfie and Azevedo increased the lead to 21-18 after one kill each, and MVC pulled away from there.  Two more kills from Essilfie and one kill by Bastos sealed a win in game two, 25-20, and move the Vikings ahead in games won, 2-1.

Needing a win in game four to extend the match, Benedictine-Mesa jumped out to a 4-1 lead.  Missouri Valley trailed through a 7-5 score, but followed with a run to take control of the game.  Six-straight points were won by MVC, which featured a total of five blocks, to go along with a Rodrigues kill to send the team ahead, 11-7.  A five-point run later in the game, which included one kill from Azevedo, one block from Tavares and Bastos, and three Red Hawks errors, stretched the advantage to 17-10.  The two teams traded the next several points, , but MVC eventually held a double-digit lead after Tseyera landed a block, and teamed up with Essilfie on a block, to help make it a 23-13 score.  One kill apiece from Azevedo and Bastos helped the Vikings to match-point, and Essilfie put down the final kill to end a 25-17 win in the game, a victory in the match.  The Red Hawks were limited to a -.100 hitting percentage in the game.

Essilfie led with 16 kills to go with eight digs.  Azevedo had 14 kills on a .393 hitting percentage, and Bastos totaled nine kills.  Rodrigues finished with a double-double of 38 assists and 10 digs.  Missouri Valley totaled 17 blocks in the game, and limited Benedictine-Mesa to a .043 hitting percentage.

The first game against Jamestown started with Missouri Valley falling into a 6-4 deficit.  The Vikings responded and won nine of ten points over a stretch of play.  Azevedo put down two kills, while Bastos added one kill and a block with Tavares during the run, as MVC eventually moved in front, 13-7.  Jamestown answered back, and worked its deficit down to 15-13.  The teams traded the next several points, which featured one kill from Leao, Essilfie and Tavares to make it a 19-14 score.  Missouri Valley won four-straight late in the game, as Bastos landed two kills, Tavares added one kill and Azevedo had an ace to put the lead at 23-15.  A Jimmies service error made it game-point, but Jamestown cut its gap down to 24-22.  The final point of the game came on a block from Bastos and Tseyera to close out a 25-22 win.

The two teams traded points through an 8-8 score at the start of the second game.  Bastos put down two-straight kills, while Junior Opposite Luca Hasse (Paderborn, Germany) had two kills and a block with Tavares to close out a five-point run and move Missouri Valley ahead, 12-8.  The teams continued to trade points through much of the game, which included two kills from both Hasse and Bastos, along with one kill from Azevedo to make it a 20-16 score.  Hasse put down an ace, while one kill each from Tysera and Azevedo made it game-point.  Jamestown got to within a 24-23 deficit, but one more kill from Tavares closed out the game, 25-23, for Missouri Valley.

Working towards a sweep in the third game, The Vikings had one kill each, early in the game, from Hasse and Tavares to hold a 4-2 lead.  Hasse came through with an ace, then used one kill from Tseyera to stretch the advantage out to 8-3.  A kill from Bastos made it a 12-7 score, but Jamestown began to chip away at its deficit.  The Jimmies worked back to a tie score, 13-13. Another three-straight points later in the game, helped by a block from Essilfie and Tysera put the Vikings ahead, 19-15.  The game was closed out by one kill from Hasse and Tavares to put the contest at match-point, and one more kill from Hasse ended the game at 25-20 for the Viking sweep.

Hasse finished with nine kills on a .533 hitting percentage, while Bastos also had nine kills.  Azevedo finished with seven kills.  Freshman Setter Matheus Curi (Ribiearo Preto, Brazil) led with 18 assists, to go with seven digs, while Rodrigues added 11 assists.  Leao led with nine digs.  Missouri Valley totaled three aces and seven blocks.

The pair of wins move Missouri Valley to 3-0 on the season.

Up next, the Viking men's volleyball team finishes play at the Jamestown Invitational, with a match against Viterbo (Wisc.), Saturday at 11 a.m.

Benedictine Mesa Box Score-Click Here

Jamestown 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.