Women's Volleyball Sweeps William Penn at Home

Marshall, Mo., (Sept. 15, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College women's volleyball team hosted William Penn (Iowa) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference match Friday evening inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  The Vikings swept to victory by scores of 25-17, 25-21, 25-22.

The first game started with William Penn jumping out early to get in front, 3-1.  Junior Outside Hitter Jisell Chumacero (Greeley, Colo.) and Junior Outside Hitter Juliana Oliviera (Ribeirao Preto, Brazil) followed up with one kill each, while Chumacero added a block to give the Vikings a lead, at 4-3.  The two teams traded the next series of points as Senior Opposite Yoni Van Cleemput (Temse, Belgium) had two kills, with Senior Outside Hitter Ksenija Simun (Kotor, Montenegro) adding one kill and Oliviera putting down an ace to keep the team in front, 10-9.  The Vikings added to their lead, with one kill from Chumacero to eventually make it a 13-9 score.  Junior Setter Lynsey Day (Kingman, Ariz.), Junior Outside Hitter Maria Bertholdo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Oliviera each had one kill to increase the advantage out to 17-11.  Missouri Valley continued to stay in front later in the game.  Junior Opposite Emma Schulte (Marshall, Mo.) added back-to-back kills, while Van Cleemput and Bertholdo had one kill apiece to move the team to game-point.  Chumacero ended the game with one more kill, and MVC won the opener, 25-17.  William Penn was limited to a .032 hitting percentage in the game.

The two teams traded points early in the second game, which included one kill from Bertholdo, Chumacero, Oliviera, Schulte and Simun, along with an ace from Oliviera to keep the score tied at 6-6.  Van Cleemput then put down three-straight kills as Missouri Valley went in front, 10-6.  William Penn began to chip away at its deficit, and got to within a 15-14 score.  Oliviera responded with two-straight kills, and the advantage sat at 17-14.  William Penn again came back, and won five of the next six points to pull ahead, 19-18.  The Vikings took control from there, and won six of the next seven points.  Oliviera and Simun had two kills each, while Sophomore Middle Blocker Nekane Parera (Barcelona, Spain) and Bertholdo added one kill to bring MVC to game-point.  Simun landed the last kill of the game, and the Vikings won, 25-21.

Going for the sweep in the third game, Missouri Valley started with two kills from Bertholdo, one kill and an ace from Simun and one ace from Day to build up a 6-2 lead.  The Vikings gradually built up their advantage over the next stretch of play, which included three kills from Oliviera, two kills from Simun and one kill from Bertholdo to help make it a 13-7 score.  Another kill from Simun kept MVC on top by a 16-11 score.  William Penn worked down its deficit, and eventually trailed, 18-17.  The next five points went to Missouri Valley, which included two kills from Simun and one kill from Oliviera.  Match-point was reached on a WPU error, and Bertholdo held off a late rally attempt from William Penn to put down one final kill and give the Vikings a 25-22 win in the game, and a sweep in the match.

Oliviera led with a double-double of 14 kills, on a .385 hitting percentage, and 10 digs.  Simun also had a double-double, of 11 kills and a team-high 16 digs.  Bertholdo totaled nine kills and eight digs.  Day finished with 29 assists and six digs, while Junior Defensive Specialist Momoko Yokoyama (Tokyo, Japan) had 12 digs.  MissourI Valley finished with five aces and two blocks as a team.

Missouri Valley improves to 6-7 overall and 1-1 in the Heart.  William Penn drops to 7-8 on the season and 1-1 in conference play.

Up next, the Viking women's volleyball team hosts Grand View (Iowa) in a Heart match, Saturday at 2 p.m., inside the Burns Athletic Complex for Luau Day.

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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.