Women's Volleyball Earns Home Win Over Baker

Marshall, Mo., (Oct. 19, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College women's volleyball team hosted Baker (Kan.) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference match Saturday evening inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  The Vikings finished out a four game win, by scores of 25-18, 21-25, 25-21, 27-25.

The first game started with the teams trading points through an 11-11 score.  Junior Middle Hitter Patrysia Uzoma (Moscow, Russia), Senior Middle Hitter Emma Schulte (Marshall, Mo.), Senior Outside Hitter Ksenija Simun (Kotor, Montenegro) and Junior Outside Hitter Blanca Arciniega Palma (El Paso, Texas) each had two kills during the stretch of play.  The Vikings won five-straight points, helped by an ace from Junior Defensive Specialist Avery Crain (Shell Knob, Mo.), followed by a block from Freshman Right Side Harper Herring (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Junior Middle Hitter Kinga Ramonowicz (Krepiec, Poland), along with one kill from Ramonowicz and Palma to stretch out a 16-12 advantage.  Baker answered with a four-point run to tie the teams at 16-16.  Missouri Valley came back to win six-straight points, as Palma had two kills, while Schulte finished off two blocks and one kill to make it a 22-16 score.  The Vikings closed out the game from there, featuring one kill from Uzoma and a game-ending ace by Junior Libero Ana Franco (Cascais, Portugal) to earn a 25-18 win.  The team hit at a match-high .400 percentage in the game.

The Wildcats opened the second game by building up an 8-3 advantage.  A four-point run for MVC, with one kill from Herring and one ace from Ramonowicz, closed the gap to 11-10.  Baker went back in front, 15-12, but a four-point run for the Vikings put the team on top.  Ramonowicz had Simun put down one kill each during the run to help make it an 18-16 advantage.  The Vikings held a 21-20 lead late in the game, off another kill from Herring, but BU took control from there.  Baker won the final five points to finish out a 25-21 game, and tie the teams at 1-1 in the match.

Missouri Valley used two kills from Schulte, one kill each from Simun and Sophomore Setter Paige Siebert (St. Louis, Mo.) and an Uzoma block to jump out to a 6-1 lead.  The advantage reached 12-6 after a block from Palma, which was lost quickly with a six-point Baker run to tie the teams at 12-12.  Both teams traded points through a 17-17 score, but MVC bounced back with a run.  Ramonowicz opened a five-point stretch with a kill, followed by two kills from Simun to give the team a 22-17 advantage.  The Wildcats won four of the next five points to trail, 23-21.  Herring ended the BU run with a kill to give the team game-point, and Ramonowicz finished off an ace to end the game, 25-21, in favor of the Vikings.

Needing a win in the fourth game to extend the match, Baker went on top early, through a 10-5 score.  Missouri Valley chipped away at the deficit, as Uzoma had two kills, and Siebert put down an ace to bring the gap down to 12-10.  The Wildcats continued to stay on in front, and eventually held a 22-15 lead.  The next seven points were won by the Vikings, as Siebert had two aces, Palma added one kill, and the pair of Uzoma and Schulte teamed up on a block to tie the score at 22-22.  The Wildcats won the next two points to hold game-point, 24-22.  Missouri Valley responded, and won five of the final six points played in the match.  Palma and Siebert added one kill apiece to eventually give the team set point.  Ramonowicz ended the match with one final kill, to earn a 27-25 win in the game, and a victory in the match.

Simun led with a double-double of 11 kills and a team-high 22 digs.  Ramonowicz added eight kills on a .438 hitting percentage.  Palma had eight kills, and both Schulte and Uzoma added six kills apiece.  Siebert led with 21 assists, to go with eight digs, and Senior Setter Mencia Medio (Gijon, Spain) had 16 assists.  Franco tied a team-high with 22 digs.  Missouri Valley finished with seven aces and nine blocks as a team.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 14-10 overall and 6-5 in the Heart.  Baker drops to 10-11 on the season and 3-9 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking women's volleyball team travels to Fayette, Mo., to play No. 21 Central Methodist (Mo.), 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.