No. 5 Men's Volleyball Opens Home Invitational with a Five Game Win Over Ottawa-Arizona

Marshall, Mo., (Jan. 29, 2026)- The No. 5 Missouri Valley College men's volleyball team opened the Missouri Valley Invitational with a non-conference match against Ottawa (Ariz.), Thursday evening inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  The two teams went to five games, with the Vikings earning a win by scores of 16-25, 25-16, 22-25, 31-29, 15-12.

The first game opened with Ottawa going in front early, 7-3.  Freshman Outside Hitter Loan Fargier and Junior Middle Blocker Joao Tavares (Parana, Brazil) both had a kill each to cut the deficit to 9-6.  The two teams traded points over the next stretch of play, featuring two kills from Senior Middle Blocker Arthur Martenelli (Curitiba, Brazil), but Ottawa held a 16-10 advantage.  Missouri Valley used two Ottawa errors, and one kill each from Freshman Outside Hitter Bart Mulder (Hoogeveen, Netherlands) and Junior Outside Hitter Andrey Bastos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) to close the gap down to 19-14.  However, OUAZ won six of the final eight points to take game one by a 25-16 score.

Game two started with Missouri Valley winning five-straight points, as Mulder had a kill and teamed up with Martenelli on a block, and Bastos landed two aces to make it a 5-1 score.  Both teams traded points over the next stretch, but the Vikings eventually had a four-point run with a kill from Bastos, a solo block from Martenelli, and an ace from Tavares to stretch the advantage out to 12-6.  Missouri Valley continued to increase their lead, winning seven of the next nine points, as both Martenelli and Tavares added a kill each, and Fargier had a kill and an ace to hold a 21-12 advantage.  The two teams traded points through the rest of the game, but back-to-back kills from Martenelli ended game two, 25-16, to tie the match 1-1 in games.

The Vikings led early in game three, as both Bastos and Sophomore Setter Leonardo Goncalves (Ribierao Preto, Brazil) added a kill each, and Mulder put down two kills to make it a 5-3 score.  Missouri Valley used three OUAZ errors and an ace from Fargier to hold a 9-4 lead, but Ottawa answered back winning seven of the next ten points to cut its deficit to 12-11.  Teams traded points through the next several points, featuring three kills from Bastos, and a solo block each from Tavares and Martenelli.  However, Ottawa worked back to tie the game and eventually take the lead 21-20.  The Vikings used two errors from OUAZ to reclaim the lead, but the Fangs won the final four points to take the game, 25-22, taking a 2-1 lead in the match.

The fourth game started with both teams trading points through a 9-9 score, where Bastos landed two kills, Tavares had a kill and a solo block, and Goncalves and Martenelli teamed up on a block during the run.  Missouri Valley won seven of the next ten points, with a kill each from Bastos and Mulder, a solo block from Martenelli, and two kills from Junior Outside Hitter Pierro Porras (Lima, Peru) to move in front 15-12.  Ottawa had a run winning five-straight points to claim the lead 17-15, but MVC used a kill from Senior Opposite Luca Hasse (Paderborn, Germany) and three Fang errors to tie the game 20-20.  The teams traded points through the rest of the game to a 29-29 score, featuring four Ottawa errors, three kills from Bastos, a kill each from Tavares and Porras.  Missouri Valley used two attack errors from OUAZ to win the fourth game, 31-29, to force a fifth game in the match.

The final game started with Ottawa winning the first three points, but back-to-back kills from Mulder and a kill from Martenelli tied the score at 4-4.  Missouri Valley eventually took the lead, winning the next three points with two kills from Tavares, 7-5.  OUAZ then worked back to tie the game 10-10, and teams continued to trade points through the rest of the game, but Missouri Valley used a kill each from Mulder and Martenelli to send the Vikings ahead, 13-11.  A final solo block from Tavares closed out the game for Missouri Valley, 15-12. The Vikings won the match, 3-2.

Bastos led with 14 kills, nine digs and two aces.  Mulder followed with 11 kills, while Martenelli had seven kills and five solo blocks.  Tavares had seven kills and Goncalves led with 42 assists and six digs.  Missouri Valley finished with 13 blocks in the match and put down seven aces.

Missouri Valley improves to 3-0 on the season, while Ottawa drops to 0-1.

Up next, the Viking men's volleyball team continues play at the MVC Invitational with a match against Central Christian (Kan.) tomorrow, Friday, at 1 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.