No. 12 Men's Volleyball Drops Home Game to Missouri Baptist

Marshall, Mo., (March 12, 2024)- The No. 12 Missouri Valley College men's volleyball team hosted Missouri Baptist in a Heart of America Athletic Conference match Tuesday evening inside the Burns Athletic Complex. The Vikings dropped the match by scores of 23-25, 19-25, 33-35.

The first game started with Missouri Baptist moving out front to a 4-1 score.  Missouri Valley won three of the next four points, helped by one kill each from Sophomore Right Side Samuel Essilfie (Tema, Ghana) and Freshman Outside Hitter Davi Azevedo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).  Azevedo teamed up with Senior Middle Blocker Daniel Isernhagen (Curitiba, Brazil) during the stretch on a block to help cut the deficit to 5-4.  The Spartans stayed in front, and led 10-7, but MVC responded with three-straight points, including one ace from Freshman Outside Hitter Andrey Bastos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) to tie the teams at 10-10.  The Vikings eventually went on top for the first time, using one kill from Senior Middle Blocker Oscar Manana (The Bronx, N.Y.) and a block from Isernhagen and Essilfie to make it a 12-11 score.  Missouri Baptist recovered, and eventually went back in front, 16-14.  Missouri Valley then won four-straight points, including one kill from both Manana and Bastos, along with a block from Junior Setter Lucas Rodrigues (Balnelariu Cambriu, Brazil) and Manana to give the team an 18-16 lead.  The Spartans the won four of the next five points to pull ahead, 22-20.  Azevedo and Essilfie put down back-to-back kills to tie the score at 22-22, but MBU eventually held game-point.  Essilfie landed one more kill before Missouri Baptist finished out a 25-23 win.

The two teams played close at the start of the second game, featuring three early kills from Azevedo, along with one kill from Essilfie and Isernhagen, to give Missouri Valley a 6-4 advantage.  The Spartans countered by taking four of the next five points to pull in front, 8-7.  The MVC deficit grew from there, out to 14-9.  Essilfie and Azevedo added one kill each over the next stretch, but the gap sat at 17-13.  The Vikings were unable to work back to less than a four-point deficit throughout the rest of the game, and MBU closed out a 25-19 win to hold a 2-0 advantage in the match.

Game three started with the teams playing to a 5-5 tie.  Manana put down one block, while Essilfie added two kills and Azevedo finished off one kill during the stretch.  The Vikings were unable to grab a lead, as Missouri Baptist moved ahead, 10-8.  Essilfie and Manana put down one kill apiece to tie the teams at 11-11.  The Spartans responded by taking five of the next six points to build up a 16-12 advantage.  The teams traded points over much of play throughout the game, but Missouri Baptist held its first match-point at 24-22.  A service error from MBU and one kill by Bastos extended the game at 24-24 score.  The Spartans held match-point again, at 25-24, then committed two-straight errors, which included a block from Essilfie and Manana to put MVC on top, and at game-point, 26-25.  The teams traded chances to end the game, as MBU held an additional three match-points, and Missouri Valley had four game-points, the last at 33-32.  The Spartans responded and won three-straight points to move ahead in the third game, 35-33, and sweep the match.

Azevedo led with a season-high 14 kills, on a .360 hitting percentage.  Essilfie had 12 kills and Bastos added seven kills.  Rodrigues finished with 37 assists and six digs, while Sophomore Libero Ruben Baquero (Madrid, Spain) led with seven digs.  Missouri Valley totaled seven blocks in the match.

Missouri Valley drops to 11-3 overall and 6-3 in the Heart.  Missouri Baptist moves to 16-4 on the season and 5-4 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking men's volleyball team hosts Kansas Wesleyan in a non-conference match, Friday at 7 p.m., inside the Burns Athletic Complex.

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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.