Women's Volleyball Sweeps Past No. 25 Benedictine at Home

Marshall, Mo., (Oct. 5, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College women's volleyball team hosted Benedictine (Kan.) inside the Burns Athletic Complex Saturday afternoon in a Heart of America Athletic Conference match.  The Vikings battled back from deficits in the first two games, and swept the Ravens by scores of 25-22, 26-24, 25-15.

The first game started with Benedictine winning the opening three points.  Missouri Valley answered back, and used one kill from Junior Outside Hitter Blanca Arciniega Palma (El Paso, Texas), Senior Outside Hitter Ksenija Simun (Kotor, Montenegro) and Sophomore Setter Paige Siebert (St. Louis, Mo.), to go with a block from Simun and Junior Middle Hitter Patrysia Uzoma (Moscow, Russia) to move the team in front, 4-3.  The two teams traded points over the next stretch, as Palma and Junior Middle Hitter Kinga Ramonowicz (Krepiec, Poland) each had one kill to tie the score at 9-9.  Benedictine gradually built up a lead from there, and sat on top, 18-15.  Palma answered with a kill, while Junior Defensive Specialist Avery Crain (Shell Knob, Mo.) landed an ace to tie the teams at 20-20.  Simun finished off a late kill, and Senior Middle Hitter Emma Schulte (Marshall, Mo.) put down one kill to help MVC hold a 23-21 advantage.  The final two kills for the game came from Senior Outside Hitter Ana Oro (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina) to close out a 25-22 win for the Vikings.

Game two opened with the Ravens going on top early, and building up an 11-3 lead.  Oro came back with one kill and one ace, followed by one kill from Simun to put the team's deficit at 13-9.  Palma and Uzoma each added one kill over the next stretch of play to make it a 17-13 score.  Missouri Valley then won four-straight points, as Oro and Uzoma teamed up on a block, and Simun had one kill to put the team in an 18-17 deficit.  Benedictine followed with four-straight points to push its lead out to 23-18.  The Vikings took control from there, answering with another four-point run.  Ramonowicz and Oro teamed up on a block, and both Palma and Junior Libero Ana Franco (Cascais, Portugal) landed one kill each to cut the gap to 23-22.  The Ravens held game-point, but MVC closed out the game by winning the final four points.  Ramonowicz put down two kills, and Oro ended the rally with one kill and one ace to give Missouri Valley a 26-24 win.

Going for the sweep in the third game, Missouri Valley jumped out to a 5-1 advantage after one kill from Uzoma, who teamed up on a block with Schulte.  Simun also had one kill during the stretch.  The Vikings gradually added to their lead, which was helped by three kills from Oro, and one kill each from Simun and Palma through a 12-5 score.  Benedictine was unable to cut down its deficit any lower than four points through the rest of the game.  Four-straight points won by MVC included one kill from Palma and an ace from Junior Setter Ana Santos (Curitiba, Brazil) to stretch the lead to 21-12.  Palma and Simun both put down late kills to give the team match-point, and one final BC error ended the game, 25-15, and gave Missouri Valley the sweep.

Oro finished with a double-double of 12 kills and 21 digs.  Palma came through with nine kills, and Simun had eight kills.  Santos led with 21 assists, and Siebert had 16 assists and nine digs.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 12-8 overall and 4-3 in the Heart.  Benedictine drops to 15-4 overall and 6-1 in the Heart.

Up next, the Viking women's volleyball team travels to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a Heart match with Mount Mercy (Iowa), Tuesday at 7 p.m.

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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.