Women's Volleyball Drops Quarterfinal Match to Park

Parkville, Mo., (Nov. 4, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College women's volleyball team traveled to Parkville, Mo., for a Saturday quarterfinal match in the 2023 Heart of America Athletic Conference Postseason Tournament.  The No. 8 seeded Vikings fell in three games to No. 1 seed Park (Mo.) by scores of 21-25, 15-25, 17-25.

Missouri Valley used an early kill from Senior Outside Hitter Ksenija Simun (Kotor, Montenegro) and a block from Sophomore Nekane Parera (Barcelona, Spain) and Junior Outside Hitter Juliana Oliviera (Ribeirao Preto, Brazil) to stay within an 8-5 score.  Park added to its advantage over the next stretch of play, staying in front, 12-6.  Simun followed with three-straight kills and the Vikings won five-straight points to pull the deficit down to 12-11.  The Pirates responded and pushed its lead out to 16-12.  Missouri Valley rallied once again, as Parera put down two kills, followed by a block from Oliviera and an ace from Parera to tie the teams at 19-19.  The score stayed even at 20-20, but Park won five of the final six points to close out the first game with a win, 25-21.

Game two started with one kill from Simun to help tie the score at 3-3.  Park responded with four-straight points, and eventually built up a 12-5 lead.  Oliviera ended the MVC drought with a kill as the team won four-straight to trail, 12-9.  The Pirates again built up their advantage, making it a 19-12 score later in the game.  Park stayed ahead through the rest of the game, and finished out a 25-15 win.

Needing a win in the third game to extend the match, Simun finished off two kills early, followed by two more kills from Parera to keep the Vikings to within an 8-7 score.  Park began to pull away from there, going out to a 14-9 lead, then sitting on top, 19-12.  Oliviera and Simun each had one kill to put the score at 19-14.  Junior Setter Lynsey Day (Kingman, Ariz.) finished off a late kill while Oliviera and Junior Middle Blocker Emma Schulte (Marshall, Mo.) teamed up on a block, but Park won the third game, 25-17, to complete the sweep.

Simun led with a double-double of 12 kills and 10 digs, followed by six kills from Oliviera.  Day totaled 15 assists, and Senior Defensive Specialist Jeanie Palsis (Nanakuli, Hawaii) totaled 14 digs.  Missouri Valley had three blocks as a team.

The loss ends the season for Missouri Valley at 15-17, while Park improves to 28-2.

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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.