Womens' Volleyball Closes Home Invitational With Two Sweeps

Marshall, Mo., (Aug. 26, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College women's volleyball team finished play at the Viking Invitational inside the Burns Athletic Complex with two matches Saturday.  The team opened with a sweep of Tabor (Kan.), followed by a sweep of Friends (Kan.) to win all three matches played at the event.

The opening game against Tabor featured the two teams trading points early.  Junior Outside Hitter Jisell Chumacero (Greeley, Colo.) and Senior Outside Hitter Ksenija Simun (Kotor, Montenegro) each put down one kill to start the contest, while Chumacero added another kill and an ace to help the Vikings to a 4-2 advantage.  Sophomore Middle Blcoker Nekane Parera (Barcelona, Spain) finished off her first kill, while another Chumacero kill made it a 10-9 MVC lead.  Missouri Valley began to pull away from there, as Junior Outside Hitter Maria Bertholdo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) had one kill and an ace.  Simun added another ace, with two-straight kills coming from Junior Outside Hitter Juliana Oliviera (Ribeirao Preto, Brazil) and Parera to move the score out to 18-12.  Chumacero and Junior Setter Lynsey Day (Kingman, Ariz.) teamed up on a block, and another kill from Chumacero kept Missouri Valley on top, 23-18.  Two final errors committed by Tabor brought the first game to an end, 25-20, in favor of Missouri Valley.

The Bluejays took control early in the second game, jumping out to a 10-3 advantage.  The lead stretched out to 14-6 before Missouri Valley began to chip away at the deficit.  Senior Libero Jeanie Palsis (Nanakuli, Hawaii) had one kill to start a run that allowed MVC to win six of seven points.  Chumacero added three kills during the run, and Oliviera put down another kill to bring the team into a 15-12 score.  Tabor won three-straight, but the Vikings used one kill from both Oliviera and Chumacero to counter with three-straight points.  The Bluejays stayed on top, 19-15, but the next four points were won by Missouri Valley.  Chumacero and Bertholdo teamed up on a block, while two aces followed from Chumacero set up a tie score, 19-19.  The Vikings eventually went in front after a block from Parera and Simun made it 21-20.  Tabor responded and eventually held multiple game-points, including at 25-24.  Oliviera extended the game with two-straight kills, and gave MVC its first game-point.  Chumacero put down one more kill to finish off the second game, 25-27, and give Missouri Valley a 2-0 lead in the match.

The two teams traded points at the start of the third game, which featured two kills from Bertholdo, one kill from Chumacero and one ace from Oliviera to help MVC hold a 5-4 lead.  The next five points went to the Vikings, including one kill from each of Parera, Chumacero, Oliviera and Simun to make it a 10-4 score.  Missouri Valley continued to increase its lead from there, and got in front by double-digits for the first time at 18-8 on a kill from Parera.  Tabor was unable to work back into the game late.  Simun put the team at match-point with a late kill, and Chumacero added one more kill to bring a 25-17 win in the game and a sweep for the Vikings.

Chumacero led with 12 kills and a .455 hitting percentage.  Oliviera had nine kills and nine digs.  Parera totaled seven kills and a .545 hitting percentage, while Simun added seven kills and a team-high 12 digs.  Day had 37 assists and nine digs, while Palsis added 10 digs.  Missouri Valley had nine aces as a team.

Game two of the day started with Missouri Valley building up an early lead, helped by two kills from Bertholdo to sit on top, 4-0.  One kill from Simun and an ace from Chumacero pushed the advantage out to 6-1.  Friends answered back with five-straight points to tie the teams at 6-6.  Sumin ended the MVC drought with a kill, and Parera sent down back-to-back blocks to put the score at 9-6.  The Falcons got to within a 9-8 deficit, but Missouri Valley responded with a run, taking eight of the next nine points.  Oliviera had two-straight kills in the stretch, while Parera finished off a kill and Simun added an ace.  Oliviera capped the run with one more kill, and the lead sat at 17-8.  The Vikings continued to pull away late in the game, as one kill from Chumacero, Bertholdo and Oliviera kept the team in front by double-digits, out to 23-11.  Another Oliviera kill put the team at game-point, and a final Friends error capped scoring at 25-14.  Friends was limited to a -.148 hitting percentage in the game.

Missouri Valley gradually built up a lead to begin the second game.  Oliviera had an early kill, while Bertholdo and Parera also added one kill each.  Day finished off two-straight kills, and a Simun kill put the MVC advantage at 10-5.  Missouri Valley won four of five points in a stretch midway through the game, which featured one kill from both Chumacero and Simun to make it a 14-7 score.  The lead topped out at 19-10 after another Simun kill.  The Vikings held Friends from building a comeback, as Oliviera had two kills, while Chumacero and Senior Opposite Yoni Van Cleemput (Temse, Belgium) each added one kill to make it game-point.  Simun added one more kill to close the game, 25-17, and give MVC a 2-0 advantage in the match.  The Vikings hit at a match-high .429 percentage in the game.

The two teams traded points at the start of the third game, at a 3-3 score.  Missouri Valley then won four-straight, helped by two kills from Simun and one kill from Parera, to move ahead, 7-3.  The Vikings began to pull away over the next stretch, taking seven of eight points.  Simun, Oliviera and Chumacero each had one kill, and Palsis ended the run with an ace to put the advantage out to 14-6.  Missouri Valley reached a double-digit lead for the first time at 19-9 after an ace from Chumacero, then held a 22-11 lead after a kill from Junior Middle Blocker Esther Muhingira (Nairobi, Kenya) and an ace from Freshman Outside Hitter Danica Velickovic (Pozarevac, Serbia).  Late kills from Parera and Chumacero moved the team to game-point, and one more error by Friends ended the game, 25-14, for the sweep.

Oliviera led with 12 kills, on a .345 hitting percentage, and added eight digs.  Simun had 10 kills and seven digs.  Day totaled a double-double of 34 assists and 12 digs.  Missouri Valley totaled seven aces and four blocks as a team.

Missouri Valley sits at 5-0 on the season.  This is the best start for the program since beginning the 2017 season with 10-straight wins.

Saturday Viking Invitational Results:

Tabor (Kan.) defeated Clarke (Iowa): 13-25, 25-21, 30-28, 25-21.

Friends (Kan.) defeated Clarke (Iowa): 21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-20.

Southwestern (Kan.) defeated Graceland (Iowa): 21-25, 21-25, 25-16, 25-6, 15-13.

Viking Invitational All-Tournament Team

MVP-Ksenija Simun-Missouri Valley

Up next, the Vikings play four matches next weekend at the Bellevue (Neb.) Invitational in Bellevue, Neb.  The team opens with two matches Friday.  The first match at 11:30 a.m., against Loyola (La.), followed by a 4:30 p.m., match against No. 17 Bellevue (Neb.).  Saturday, the team plays McPherson (Kan.) at 11:30 a.m., followed by a 2 p.m., match against Valley City State (N.D.).

Tabor Box Score-Click Here

Friends 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.