Women's Volleyball Opens Play at Labor Day Classic

Bellevue, Neb., (Sept. 1, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College women's volleyball team traveled to Bellevue, Neb., to open play at the Labor Day Classic hosted by Bellevue (Neb.), with two matches, Friday.  The Vikings lost the opener to Loyola (La.) in four games, and fell to No. 13 Bellevue (Neb.) in three games.

Missouri Valley fell into an early deficit in the first game, as Loyola opened with a 4-1 lead.  Two-straight aces from Junior Outside Hitter Juliana Oliviera (Ribeirao Preto, Brazil) helped to tie the score at 4-4.  Loyola responded with four-straight points, and eventually won eight of nine points to hold a 12-5 advantage.  The Vikings were unable to climb back into the first game, as Loyola started with a 25-13 win.

The second game featured another 4-1 early lead for Loyola.  Missouri Valley bounced back to win four of the next five points, helped by one kill from Junior Setter Lynsey Day (Kingman, Ariz.).  Oliviera followed with two kills, and Junior Outside Hitter Maria Bertholdo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) finished off one kill as the MVC went in front, 9-7.  The Vikings stayed on top, as Junior Outside Hitter Jisell Chumacero (Greely, Colo.) finished off one kill to put the score at 11-10.  Loyola responded by taking four of the next five points, and moving ahead, 14-12.  The teams traded points from there through the rest of the game.  A block from Chumacero and Bertholdo tied the teams at 20-20, and Bertholdo came back with one kill and an ace to put the team on top once again, this time at 22-21.  The Vikings reached game-point after a Sophomore Middle Blocker Nekane Parera (Barcelona, Spain) kill and a Loyola service error, while Chumacero finished out a 25-23 with one more kill to even the teams at 1-1 in the match.

Both teams traded points at the start of the third game, which included one kill from both Bertholdo and Senior Outside Hitter Ksenija Simun (Kotor, Montenegro), along with an ace from Chumacero to make it a 5-5 score.  Loyola began to build up an advantage from there, out to 11-8.  The Vikings were unable to make it back to a tie score over the next stretch of play.  Simun and Day both had one kill each, but the team trailed, 16-15.  Loyola began to separate over the final points of the game, and held a 24-19 lead.  Two-straight Oliviera kills put MVC in a 24-22 deficit, but Loyola finished out a 25-22 win.

Loyola started the fourth game by going in front, 5-2.  Chumacero put down an ace, while Parera finished off one kill and a block.  Bertholdo came through with another ace, and the teams were tied, 7-7.  Day and Bertholdo added one kill each over the next stretch to keep the score tied at 11-11.  Loyola answered back by winning five of the next six points.  The Vikings won three-straight points, helped by one kill from both Simun and Bertholdo, to go with an ace from Chumacero, closing the gap to 18-16.  Missouri Valley claimed four of five points in a late stretch, as Simun put down a pair of kills and Oliviera added on kill to make it a 21-20 deficit.  Loyola earned its first game point, but Chumacero and Simun came through with back-to-back kills to tie the teams at 24-24.  However, Loyola claimed three of the final four points played, and won, 27-25, to defeat the Vikings in four games.

Oliviera led with a double-double of 13 kills and 10 digs.  Simun totaled 13 kills and eight digs, while Bertholdo had 11 kills and seven digs.  Day finished with 42 assists, nine digs and five kills, and Senior Defensive Specialist Jeanie Palsis (Nanakuli, Hawaii led the team with 13 digs.  Missouri Valley had eight aces and two blocks as a team.

The Vikings fell into an early deficit in the first game against Bellevue, and were unable to work back, falling by a 25-11 score.  Game two opened with a 3-0 lead for MVC, helped by two kills from Chumacero and one kill from Simon.  The team stayed in front at 6-5 after Parera put down a kill, and an ace from Chumacero kept the score even at 8-8.  The Bruins pulled away from there, and won five of the next six points.  Another ace from Chumacero put the Missouri Valley deficit at 16-13, but a five-point run from Bellevue closed out the game at 25-16.  The third game featured another early run from the Bruins.  Oliviera, Bertholdo and Simun each had one kill, but the team trailed, 11-5.  The deficit continued to grow from there, and Missouri Valley fell in the final game, 25-11.

Simun led with eight kills and eight digs.  Day finished with 21 assists and nine digs, while Palsis totaled eight digs.  Missouri Valley had two aces as a team.

The pair of losses drops Missouri Valley to 5-2 on the season.

Up next, Missouri Valley plays two more matches at the Labor Day Classic, Saturday.  The first match takes place at 11:30 a.m., against McPherson (Kan.), followed by a 2 p.m., contest against Valley City State (N.D.).

Loyola Box Score-Click Here

Bellevue 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.