No. 12 Men's Volleyball Drops Road Contest at No. 7 William Penn

Oskaloosa, Iowa, (March 22, 2024)- The No. 12 Missouri Valley College men's volleyball team traveled to Oskaloosa, Iowa, for a Friday evening Heart of America Athletic Conference match against No. 7 William Penn (Iowa).  The Vikings led early, but fell by scores of 25-23, 23-25, 24-26, 21-25.

Missouri Valley went on top at the start of the first game as Junior Setter Lucas Rodrigues (Balnelariu Cambriu, Brazil), Freshman Outside Hitter Davi Azevedo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Senior Middle Blocker Daniel Isernhagen (Curitiba, Brazil) all had one kill, while the pair of Azevedo and Isernhagen teamed up on a block to make it a 4-0 score.  Isernhagen, Freshman Outside Hitter Andrey Bastos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Sophomore Right Side Samuel Essilfie (Tema, Ghana) each had one kill, while Senior Middle Blocker Oscar Manana (The Bronx, N.Y.) teamed up with both Rodrigues and Bastos on a two blocks to stretch the lead out to 9-3.  The two teams traded points over the next stretch of play as MVC stayed on front, 16-11.  William Penn worked its deficit down to 17-15, but three errors from WPU helped MVC to a 20-16 advantage.  Isernhagen and Junior Libero Leonardo Leao (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) added the next pair of kills to put the score at 22-17.  The Statesmen then won five of the next six points to close the gap down to 23-22.  Bastos moved MVC to game-point with one kill, and Essilfie won the first game, 25-23, with one more kill.

The two teams traded points through much of early play in the second game.  Bastos had three kills early in the game, while a block from Isernhagen and Rodrigues put the Vikings in a 9-8 deficit.  The WPU lead grew to 14-11, but back-to-back errors by the Statesmen and one kill from Essilfie tied the teams at 14-14.  An Azevedo kill kept the teams even, at 15-15.  William Penn then won three-straight points, while two kills from Azevedo and one kill from Bastos helped make it a 20-20 score.  The Vikings were unable to pull ahead late in the game, and William Penn finished out a 25-23 win to tie the match at 1-1 in games won.

The Statesmen went on top early in the third game, at 6-2, and Missouri Valley eventually trailed, 10-5.  Azevedo and Isernhagen had one kill, while Isernhagen added a block with Rodrigues to help the team win four of five points and close the gap to 13-11.  The two teams traded points through much of play, and WPU eventually created its first game-point, 24-22.  An error extended the game, and a block from Rodrigues and Isernhagen tied the teams 24-24.  However, William Penn won the next two points to end game three, 26-24, and hold a 2-1 advantage in games won.

Game four featured the Statesmen holding an early 7-4 lead.  Two-straight kills from Essilfie and a block from Bastos and Freshman Middle Blocker Samuel Stafford (Taringa, Australia) tied the teams at 7-7, while an ace from Leao put MVC on top, 9-8.  Essilfie landed three kills over the next stretch, while Isernhagen and Rodrigues added one kill each to keep the Vikings in front, 15-13.  A block from Bastos and Isernhagen helped Missouri Valley to an 18-17 lead, but William Penn followed with five-straight points.  One kill from both Isernhagen and Essilfie brought MVC back to a 22-20 deficit late in the game.  However, the Statesmen closed out with winning three of the final four points to win, 25-21 and take the match, 3-1 in games.

Essilfie had 13 kills and six digs, while Bastos added 13 kills.  Azevedo had 12 kills and five digs, and Isernhagen added nine kills.  Rodrigues finished with a double-double of 47 assists and 10 digs, while Leao had 15 digs.  Missouri Valley totaled nine blocks in the match.

Missouri Valley falls to 13-4 overall and 7-4 in the Heart.  William Penn improves to 16-3 on the season and 9-2 in the conference.  Missouri Valley won the previous meeting between the two teams, by scores of 19-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-23, 15-8, back on Feb. 23.

Up next, the Viking men's volleyball team goes to Des Moines, Iowa for a 1 p.m., match, Saturday, against No. 4 Grand View (Iowa).

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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.