Women's Volleyball Opens Season With Pair of Wins at Central Baptist

Conway, Ark., (Aug. 19, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College women's volleyball team opened its season in Conway, Ark., Saturday afternoon, with two matches against Central Baptist (Ark.).  The Vikings swept to victory in the opener, then earned a win in four games to sweep the  non-conference doubleheader.

Game one started with Missouri Valley going on top early, as Sophomore Middle Blocker Nekane Parera (Barcelona, Spain) and Junior Outside Hitter Maria Bertholdo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) teamed up on a block, and Junior Outside Hitter Juliana Oliviera (Ribeirao Preto, Brazil) put down one kill to make it a 3-1 score.  The two teams traded points over the next stretch, which included one kill from Junior Outside Hitter Jisell Chumacero (Greeley, Colo.).  Central Baptist got to within a 6-5 deficit, but MVC followed with a run.  Oliviera and Junior Setter Lynsey Day (Kingman, Ariz.) finished off back-to-back kills, followed by two-straight CBC errors and an ace from Chumacero to cap a five-point run and put the advantage at 11-5.  The lead grew from there as Parera had one kill and Oliviera finished off two-straight kills to make it a 15-6 score.  Missouri Valley got out to a double-digit lead later in the game, at 19-9, and a Bertholdo kill made it 20-10.  Central Baptist tried to rally late, and trimmed its deficit to 23-16.  Chumacero got the team to game-point, and one more kill from Parera finished off a 25-17 win.  Central Baptist was held to a -.083 hitting percentage in the game.

The two teams traded points at the start of the second game.  Junior Outside Hitter Naomi Wiersma (Workum, The Netherlands) finished off the first kill of game two, while Bertholdo and Chumacero each added one kill over the next stretch of play.  Chumacero added one more kill, as did Parera and Oliviera to help keep the score tied at 9-9.  Missouri Valley went in front from there, as one kill from both Day and Bertholdo gave the team a 12-10 lead.  Central Baptist rallied to go on top, 15-14, and another two kills from Oliviera allowed MVC to go on top, 17-16.  The two teams stayed close through the next stretch of play, which included one kill from both Bertholdo and Oliviera to put the score at 20-19.  Central Baptist won two-straight to claim a 21-20 lead, but Missouri Valley took control of the game late.  Two CBC errors and one kill from Oliviera ended a three-point run to give the Vikings a 23-21 advantage.  Two late errors from Central Baptist finished out the game, and gave MVC a 25-22 win to lead 2-0 in the match.

Going for the sweep in game three, the Vikings traded points early with Central Baptist.  Parera put down the first kill, followed by an ace from Junior Defensive Specialist Momoko Yokoyama (Tokyo, Japan).  Two CBC errors allowed Missouri Valley to hold a 5-4 lead.  Central Baptist worked back, and eventually held a 9-7 advantage.  The Vikings answered with a run, winning four-straight points.  Senior Opposite Yoni Van Cleemput (Temse, Belgium) finished off two kills in the stretch, while both Parera and Day had one kill each to give the team an 11-9 advantage.  Missouri Valley began to pull away from there.  Parera and Van Cleemput teamed up on a block, then Van Cleemput joined Chumacero on another block.  Day and Bertholdo each finished off one kill, and the lead grew to 16-11.  Central Baptist won five of the next six points to trail 17-16, but one kill from both Chumacero and Oliviera, along with an ace from Bertholdo, kept MVC on top, 20-16.  Chumacero added one kill and an ace to put the score at 22-17, and the game ended on three-straight CBC errors to make it a 25-17 win for the Vikings, and a sweep in the match.

Chumacero totaled 10 kills, on a .409 hitting percentage, and added two aces.  Oliviera also had 10 kills to go with nine digs.  Parera totaled six kills and a hitting percentage of .857.  Day finished with a double-double of 27 assists and 12 digs.  The team finished with six blocks and five aces.

Game two featured Missouri Valley building up a lead early in the first game.  Bertholdo and Freshman Outside Hitter Danica Velickovic (Pozarevac, Serbia) each had one kill, while Bertholdo teamed up with Chumacero on a block to make it a 3-1 score.  Bertholdo added two more kills, with another kill from Velickovic to stretch the advantage to 6-3.  The two teams traded points over the next stretch, which included one kill from Day, Oliviera and Chumacero to make it a 10-7 score.  The Vikings came through with a run, winning five-straight points.  Three Central Baptist errors, along with one kill from both Bertholdo and Velickovic, put the lead at 15-8.  Missouri Valley continued to pull away, and went out by double-digits at 20-10 on a kill from Parera.  Parera added another pair of kills late in the game, while a Bertholdo kill put the team at game-point.  Central Baptist committed another error to end the first game, 25-13, in favor of MVC.  Missouri Valley hit at a match-high .545 in the game.

Game two started with two early kills from Bertholdo, along with one kill from Parera, to put Missouri Valley on top, 4-3.  The two teams traded points through a 7-7 score.  Oliviera put down a kill to move MVC ahead, while one kill from Oliviera and two CBC errors put the advantage at 12-8.  Chumacero had the next kill for the Vikings, followed by an ace from Bertholdo to make it a 16-12 lead.  A four-point run for MVC late in the game featured one kill from both Oliviera and Chumacero, and an ace from Senior Libero Genevieve Hopkinson (Spanish Fork, Utah) to push the advantage to 21-14.  Chumacero and Oliviera each had one more kill to make it game-point, and Chumacero finished off another kill to end the game, 25-17, and put the Vikings in front, 2-0, in games won.  Central Baptist was limited to a -.077 hitting percentage in the game.

Missouri Valley held an early lead in the third game, helped by an ace from Freshman Setter Paige Siebert (Festus, Mo.) and one kill from both Chumacero and Velickovic to make it 3-1.  Central Baptist went in front, briefly, at 6-5, but an error and a kill from Oliviera allowed MVC to move ahead, 7-6.  Central Baptist worked back, and began to build up a lead.  The Vikings eventually trailed, 16-10, in the game.  Missouri Valley then won five of the next six points, featuring one kill from Chumacero, Bertholdo and Velickovic to pull back to a 17-15 deficit.  One kill from Parera and two kills from Oliviera got MVC to within a 20-19 score.  However, CBC pulled away from there and won five of the final six points to extend the match with a 25-20 score in the game.

Moving into the fourth game, Chumacero opened with two kills, followed by one kill from both Bertholdo and Parera.  Central Baptist kept the score tied at 4-4, but MVC answered with a run.  Velickovic put down one kill and an ace, while Day finished off one kill to help the team win four-straight and go in front, 8-4.  A six-point run followed, featuring three kills from Oliviera and an ace from Hopkinson to stretch the advantage out to 14-7.  The Vikings continued to pull away from there, and led by double-digits after a Chumacero kill made it a 17-7 score.  Bertholdo landed three-straight aces later in the game to set the advantage to 20-8.  Five of the final six points in the game were won by MVC, including two kills from Parera, who teamed up on a block with Bertholdo in the run.  Chumacero and Velickovic each had one kill late in the game, and Missouri Valley ended with a 25-10 victory to win the match, 3-1.  The Vikings hit at a .436 percentage in the game.

Bertholdo led with a double-double of 16 kills and 12 digs.  Oliviera also tallied a double-double of 13 kills and 11 digs, while Velickovic added a double-double of 10 kills and 13 digs.  Chumacero finished with 13 kills and a .591 hitting percentage.  Day had a double-double of 51 assists and 13 digs, and Hopkinson led with 18 digs.  Missouri Valley finished with four blocks and five aces, hitting at a .322 percentage as a team.

Missouri Valley improves to 2-0 on the season, while Central Baptist drops to 0-2.

Up next, the Vikings will play at home for the first time this season, Friday at 5 p.m., against Southwestern (Kan.).  The team will also host matches Saturday, at 11 a.m., against Tabor (Kan.) and 3 p.m., against Friends (Kan.).

Match One Box Score-Click Here

Match Two 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.

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