No. 3 Men's Volleyball Finishes Off Win at Graceland

Graceland, Iowa, (April 1, 2025)-The No. 3 Missouri Valley College men's volleyball team traveled to Lamoni, Iowa for a Heart of America Athletic Conference contest against Graceland (Iowa) Tuesday evening.  The Vikings went to four games with the Yellowjackets, but earned a win by scores of 25-16, 25-18, 22-25, 25-10.

The first game started with Missouri Valley going in front early, as one kill from Junior Opposite Samuel Essilfie (Tema, Ghana) and three Graceland errors made it a 4-2 score.  Junior Opposite Luca Hasse (Paderborn, Germany) added one kill and an ace to help the team win three-straight points and build a 9-4 advantage.  The teams traded points over the next stretch of play, as Hasse and Sophomore Middle Blocker Martin Tseyera (Sao Paulo, Brazil) had one kill each, and Senior Middle Blocker Arthur Martenelli (Curitiba, Brazil) finished off a solo block to stretch the lead out to 15-9.  The Vikings began to pull away from there, helped by one kill each from Hasse, Sophomore Outside Hitter Pierro Porras (Lima, Peru) and Freshman Outside Hitter Jackson Gonzalez to put the score at 22-14.  One kill by both Essilfie and Junior Opposite Vasil Stoimenov (Pazardzhik, Bulgaria) put the team at game-point, and Gonzalez ended the first game with an ace, 25-16.

Game two started with three-straight Yellowjacket errors, including one block each from Freshman Outside HItter Guilherme Lorenzini (Florianopolis, Brazil) and Gonzalez.  Another block from Gonzalez made it a 5-2 score, while Porras added back-to-back kills, followed by one kill from Tseyera to give MVC an 8-5 lead.  Graceland answered back, and eventually went in front, 11-10.  Two blocks from Lorenzini pushed the Vikings back in front, 13-12.  Missouri Valley then one four-straight points, as Gonzalez put down a block, and Lorenzini added an ace to give the team an 18-13 lead.  The two teams traded points from there, as Stoimenov had two-straight kills, followed by one kill each from Tseyera and Lorenzini to make it game-point.  One more kill from Stoimenov ended game two, 25-18, and the Vikings held a 2-0 advantage in the match.

The two teams traded points through much of the third game, as the score stayed tied at 9-9.  Graceland went on a run from there, taking seven of the next eight points to move ahead, 16-10.  The Yellowjackets eventually held a 20-13 advantage before Missouri Valley began to work back into the game.  Porras started a run with one kill, and Hasse added back-to-back kills.  Gonzalez put down a block, and MVC trailed, 21-18.  Lorenzini finished off two kills, and another Hasse kill brought the Vikings into a 23-22 deficit.  However, GU won the final two points to take game three, 25-22, and extend the match.

Missouri Valley gradually built up a lead at the start of the fourth game, which featured an ace from Freshman Setter Matheus Curi (Ribierao Preto, Brazil), one kill from both Hasse and Essilfie, along with a solo block from Hasse, to make it a 4-1 score.  Porras added two kills, to go with one kill each from Tseyera and Martenelli, to give the team an 8-3 advantage.  Graceland chipped away at its deficit, and trailed, 11-8.  The Vikings took over the game from there, and won eight-straight points.  Seven of those points came off GU errors, to go with one Essilfie kill, as the team sat in front, 19-8.  Missouri Valley closed the game on a five-point run, as Hasse and Martenelli each had one kill and one solo block, to go with one kill from Porras, to end game four, 25-10, and secure the victory, 3-1 in games.  The Vikings hit at a .476 percentage in the game, and limited GU to a -.250 average.

Porras led with a double-double of 11 kills and 10 digs.  Hassed added nine kills and Stoimenov ended with eight kills.  Curi had 27 assists, and Freshman Setter Bruno Olivera Mroczek (Curitiba, Brazil) added 18 assists.  Missouri Valley finished with 17 blocks and four aces, hitting at a .365 average.  Graceland was limited to a -.028 hitting percentage.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 17-2 on the season and 13-2 in the Heart.  Graceland drops to 2-21 overall and 1-16 in the Heart.

Up next, the Viking men's volleyball team will host Clarke (Iowa) in a Heart match, Friday at 7 p.m., inside the Burns Athletic Complex.

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About Missouri Valley College

Standing out as one of the most innovative and student-focused liberal arts colleges in the Midwest, Missouri Valley College (MVC) is committed to preparing students for success beyond the classroom. Through the Viking Voyage program, MVC prioritizes career readiness from day one, equipping students with the knowledge and skills needed to excel after graduation. Each of MVC's 30+ in-demand majors—including nursing, business, cybersecurity, computer science, criminal justice, and exercise science—integrates personal instruction, experiential learning, and professional opportunities to prepare graduates to thrive in a rapidly changing and globally connected world. At Missouri Valley College, higher education is more than earning a degree—it's a transformative journey that begins with the end.