Women's Volleyball Wins Twice at Phoenix Classic

Lebanon, Tenn., (August 17, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College women's volleyball team continued play at the Phoenix Classic in Lebanon, Tenn., Saturday.  The Vikings overcame an early deficit to top William Carey (Miss.) in five games, then defeated host Cumberland (Tenn.) in four games.

Missouri Valley trailed early in the first game against William Carey, by a 5-2 score.  Senior Outside Hitter Ana Oro (Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina) and Senior Right Side Bea Bartolome (Madrid, Spain) each put down one kill to help tie the teams at 5-5, but William Carey went back on top, and held a 15-9 lead.  One kill from Oro and a pair of aces from Junior Defensive Specialist Avery Crain (Shell Knob, Mo.) helped MVC work its deficit down to 15-14.  William Carey responded again, and pushed its advantage out to 21-16.  A block from Junior Setter Ana Santos (Curitiba, Brazil) and Junior Middle Hitter Kinga Ramonowicz (Krepiec, Poland), followed by another kill from Oro brought MVC to within a 24-22 score late in the game, but William Carey won the next point to take the opener, 25-22.

Game two featured William Carey taking control throughout, and winning by a 25-15 score.  Missouri Valley needed a win in the third game to extend the match, but fell into an early 6-1 deficit.  Senior Outside Hitter Angelique Morgan (Jupiter, Fla.) finished off a kill and Crain added an ace to bring the team back to a 6-5 score.  The Vikings won four of five points over a stretch of play, which included an ace from Senior Libero Momoko Yokoyama (Tokyo, Japan), followed by one kill and one ace from Senior Outside Hitter Ksenija Simun (Kotor, Montenegro) to eventually move in front, 10-9.  The two teams traded points until MVC gradually built up a lead, helped by one kill each from Morgan, Oro and Senior Middle Hitter Emma Schulte (Marshall, Mo.), followed by another ace from Crain to make it an 18-14 score.  William Carey trimmed down its deficit to 21-19, but Ramonowicz and Oro landed late kills, while a William Carey error made it game-point.  One final kill from Oro ended the third game, 25-20, and forced a fourth game.

The two teams traded points early in the fourth game, until a four-point run from Missouri Valley put the team in front, 10-5.  Ramonowicz had one kill during the stretch.  William Carey answered back and won four-straight points before tying the game at 13-13.  Missouri Valley eventually fell into a 17-15 deficit, but bounced back to win seven-straight.  Simun landed two kills, followed by one kill from Ramonowicz, who then teamed up on blocks with Santos and Simun, as the score sat at 22-17.  The final three points for MVC came off William Carey errors to win, 25-21, and send the match into a fifth game.

The Vikings won the opening four points of the final game, which included one kill from both Schulte and Oro.  Schulte and Barolome added one kill each, and Crain landed an ace, as MVC won five of six points over a run of play to make it a 9-3 score.  William Carey responded, and won five-straight points to tie the teams at 12-12.  The teams traded points late in the game, but one kill from Schulte moved Missouri Valley to game-point.  Crain added one final ace to end the game, and give MVC a 17-15 win to take the match.

Oro led with a double-double of 16 kills and 23 digs, while Simun added a double-double of 14 kills and 12 digs.  Schulte totaled eight digs, while Crain had seven aces.  Yokoyama had 15 digs, and Ana Franco finished with 11 digs.  Santos led with 26 assists, to go with seven digs, and Sophomore Setter Paige Siebert (St. Louis, Mo.) totaled 16 digs.

In the second match of the day, Missouri Valley fell into an early deficit in game one, as Cumberland led, 7-5.  One kill from Simun, and back-to-back aces from Yokoyama put the team in a 9-8 deficit.  Two kills from Oro helped tie the teams at 13-13, while one kill each from Ramonowicz and Morgan pushed MVC on top, 17-15.  Cumberland followed with five-straight points to pull in front, 20-17, and maintained an advantage from there, eventually winning the game, 25-22.

Game two started with the Phoenix moving in front, and making it a 9-4 score.  Simun landed two kills, to go with one kill from Oro, to help trim the deficit down to 11-10.  Cumberland stayed on top, and eventually made it a 17-15 score.  One kill from Schulte and a pair of Phoenix errors allowed MVC to win three-straight points and move on top, 21-19.  Schulte landed two late kills, and one final Cumberland error ended the game, 25-20, and brought the match into a tie at 1-1 in games won.

Missouri Valley jumped out to an early lead in the third game as Schulte put down three kills, then teamed up with Morgan and Oro on blocks.  Simun put down one kill and Junior Defensive Specialist Ana Franco (Cascais, Portugal) finished off one ace as MVC led, 8-1.  The Vikings held their lead through the rest of the game, as one kill from Simun and an ace from Yokoyama made it a 14-9 score.  Another kill from Simun, followed by an ace from Oro put the lead at 20-14.  Crain landed a late ace, and Simun finished off the final two kills for Missouri Valley to secure a 25-18 win.

Going for the win in the fourth game, the VIkings fell into an early 7-2 deficit.  A block from Schulte and Oro, followed by two-straight Oro aces brought MVC to within a 7-6 score.  Missouri Valley won five-straight points later in the game, as Yokoyama landed two aces, to go with two kills from Oro and one kill from Simun to put the team ahead, 14-12.  Another five-point run, featuring one kill from Simun, along with one kill from Ramonowicz who also landed a solo block to make it a 19-14 score.  Oro finished the game with three more late kills to secure a 25-16 win to take the match, 3-1.

Simun led with a double-double of 19 kills and 16 digs, while Oro had a double-double of 18 kills and 17 digs.  Schulte added 10 kills.  Franco led with 23 digs, while Santos had 24 assists.  Yokoyama finished with five aces and nine digs.

The pair of wins move Missouri Valley to 3-1 on the season.

Up next, Missouri Valley will play two matches in a triangular in Columbia, Mo., Tuesday.  First match against No.7 Columbia (Mo.) starts at 1 p.m., followed by a 3 p.m., match with No. 13 Oklahoma Wesleyan.

William Carey-Box Score

Cumberland-Box Score

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.