No. 10 Men's Volleyball Falls on the Road to No. 6 Park

Parkville, Mo., (Feb. 15, 2025)- The No. 10 Missouri Valley College men's volleyball team traveled to Parkville, Mo., for a Heart of America Athletic Conference match with No. 6 Park (Mo.), Saturday evening.  The Vikings went to four games and fell by scores of 18-5, 26-28, 25-21, 17-25.

The first game started with Park moving in front, 4-1.  Junior Opposite Samuel Essilfie (Tema, Ghana) put down the first kill of the game for Missouri Valley, but the team eventually sat in a 9-5 deficit.  The Vikings were unable to trim down the gap, and eventually trailed, 20-13.  Junior Opposite Luca Hasse (Paderborn, Germany) and Senior Setter Lucas Rodrigues (Balnelariu Cambriu, Brazil) each had one late kill, and Sophomore Middle Blocker Joao Tavares (Sao Paulo, Brazil) added an ace, but Park won the first game, 25-18.

The two teams traded points to begin play in the second game, as Hasse finished off two kills and both Essilfie and Freshman Outside Hitter Tymoteusz Zadeberny (Gliwice, Poland) added one kill through a 5-4 score.  The Vikings gradually added to their lead, as Hasse put down two kills and one ace, while Essilfie landed one kill to make it a 12-8 advantage.  The two teams continued to trade points, and Hasse had one more kill to keep MVC on top, 17-14.  Park responded, and won seven of the next eight points to claim a 21-18 lead.  Tavares came back with one kill, while Senior Middle Blocker Arthur Martenelli (Curitiba, Brazil) and Rodrigues teamed up on a block, and two-straight Park errors brought the teams into a 23-23 tie.  Another kill from Hasse kept the score tied at 25-25, but the Pirates won three of the final four points to take the game, 28-26.

Needing a win in the third game to extend the match, Missouri Valley took control early, as Sophomore Outside Hitter Davi Azevedo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Martenelli each had one kill, while Martenelli and Rodrigues teamed up on a block to put the team in front, 7-1.  The two teams traded points over the next stretch, while included one kill from Martenelli, Azevedo and Hasse to make it a 14-7 score.  Essilfie had one kill, and errors by Park kept Missouri Valley ahead, 19-13.  The Pirates began to chip away at their deficit, and eventually trailed, 23-20.  However, two final Park errors closed out the game, 25-21 in favor of the Vikings, extending the contest into a fourth game.

Game four started with the two teams trading points, as two kills from Essilfie, along with one kill each by Azevedo and Senior Leonardo Leao (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) kept the score tied at 5-5.  Park followed with a run, taking six-straight points.  Missouri Valley chipped away at its deficit from there, using one kill and one ace from Hasse, along with one kill by Martenelli, who teamed up on a block with Rodrigues to bring the deficit down to 14-13.  Another kill from Essilfie tied the game, at 15-15, but the Pirates followed by winning six of the next seven points.  Hasse stopped the Park run with one more kill, however the final four points wen to Park to close out a 25-17 score.

Essilfie finished with 14 kills and eight digs, while Hasse had 14 kills and six digs.  Leao led with 11 digs, while Rodrigues finished with a team-high 18 assists, and Freshman Setter Matheus Curi (Ribierao Preto, Brazil) added 16 assists.  The Vikings finished with four aces in the match.

Missouri Valley drops to 5-1 overall and 0-2 in the Heart.  Park improves to 7-1 on the season and 3-0 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking men's volleyball team travels to Canton, Mo., for a Heart match with Culver-Stockton (Mo.), Tuesday 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.