No. 5 Men's Volleyball Earns Road Sweep Over Health Sciences & Pharmacy

St. Louis, Mo., (March 3, 2026)- The No. 5 Missouri Valley College men's volleyball team traveled to St. Louis, Mo., for a Tuesday evening Heart of America Athletic Conference match against Health Sciences & Pharmacy (Mo.).  The Vikings swept to victory by scores of 25-22, 25-22, 25-17.

Health Sciences & Pharmacy got out to an early 5-2 lead to start the first game.  Missouri Valley followed with a four-point run, as Freshman Bart Mulder (Hoogeveen, Netherlands) put down one kill, and the pair of Sophomore Middle Blocker Martin Tseyera (Salta, Argentina) and Freshman Setter Leonardo Poiatti (Sao Paulo, Brazil) teamed up on a block to help send the team on top, 6-5.  The Vikings won three of four points over a stretch, as Freshman Outside Hitter Loan Fargier and Senior Middle Blocker Arthur Martenelli (Curitiba, Brazil) came together for a block and Mulder added another kill to make it a 10-8 advantage.  The two teams traded points until UHSP moved ahead at a 14-13 score.  Poiatti landed a kill, then teamed up on a block with Tseyera, while Junior Outside Hitter Pierro Porras (Lima, Peru) landed an ace to give Missouri Valley a 16-14 lead.  The Vikings maintained their advantage, helped by two kills from Martenelli, and one kill by both Fargier and Mulder as the score sat at 20-17.  Health Sciences & Pharmacy came back to tie the teams at 20-20, but one kill from Mulder, who then teamed up with Tseyera on a block, along with another block from Tseyera and Porras gave MVC a 23-20 lead.  The gap shrunk to one point late in the game, but two final kills from Mulder brought a 25-22 win for Missouri Valley.

The two teams traded points at the start of the second game, as Fargier finished off an ace and Porras put down one kill as the score sat at 5-5.  Missouri Valley then won five-straight points, featuring one kill by both Porras and Fargier, while Poiatti and Tseyera added one block to put the team ahead, 10-5.  The Vikings won four of the next five points to extend the advantage out to 14-7.  Tseyera and Mulder each had one kill, and Martenelli finished off a solo block during the stretch of play.  Health Sciences & Pharmacy won the next four points to cut its deficit down to 14-11, while Martenelli finished off one kill and teamed up with Porras on a block to make it a 17-11 game.  The Vikings advantage was chipped down by UHSP, as the score sat at 20-19.  One kill apiece from Senior Opposite Luca Hasse (Paderborn, Germany), Fargier and Martenelli allowed MVC to lead, 23-19.  Another kill from Hasse moved the Vikings to game-point, and Mulder ended another game with a final kill to finish at 25-22, and give Missouri Valley a 2-0 lead in the match.  The Vikings hit at a match-high .348 percentage in the game.

Needing a win in the third game to extend the match, Health Sciences & Pharmacy kept the teams close through an 8-8 score.  The Vikings won three-straight points, helped by a Mulder kill, with a block from Martenelli and Mulder moving the team to an 11-8 lead.  Another three-point run for MVC included one kill from both Junior Outside Hitter Frederico Baptista (Esmoriz, Portugal) and Hasse as the advantage grew to 15-11.  Missouri Valley continued to gradually add to the lead, as Hasse and Freshman Outside Hitter Timothee Carpentier (Sao Paulo, Brazil) had one kill each, and Sophomore Setter Leonardo Goncalves (Ribierao Preto, Brazil) and Martenelli made it a 21-14 score.  One more kill from Martenelli and three UHSP errors gave the Vikings match-point.  A final error from Health Sciences & Pharmacy ended the game at 25-17, and allowed Missouri Valley to sweep the match.

Mulder led with 14 kills on a .310 hitting percentage.  Martenelli added six kills.  Poiatti led with 26 assists and Junior Libero Thales Thomas (Sao Paulo, Brazil) had eight digs.  Missouri Valley totaled 10 blocks as a team to go with two aces.  

Missouri Valley improves to 12-1 on the season and 5-1 in the Heart.  Health Sciences & Pharmacy falls to 6-8 overall and 3-5 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking men's volleyball team will host No. 5 William Penn (Iowa) in a Heart contest, Friday at 7 p.m.  The match will be played at Marshall (Mo.) High School, and has been selected as the Heart Game of the Week, presented by Olathe Chamber of Commerce.

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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.