No. 6 Men's Volleyball Sweeps Graceland on Senior Night

Marshall, Mo., (March 31, 2026)- The No. 6 Missouri Valley College men's volleyball team hosted Graceland (Iowa) on Senior Night in a Heart of America Athletic Conference match inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  The Vikings pulled away from the Yellowjackets in a sweep by scores of 26-24, 25-13, 25-14.

Game one started with Graceland going in front early, taking three of the opening four points in the contest.  Missouri Valley won three-straight points, featuring one kill from Senior Middle Blocker Arthur Martenelli (Curitiba, Brazil) and one block by Senior Middle Blocker Pedro Berti (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) to tie the game at 6-6.  The two teams traded points over the next stretch, through a 10-10 score.  The Yellowjackets then won four of the next five points to hold a 14-11 advantage.  Junior Outside Hitter Federico Baptista (Esmoriz, Portugal), Freshman Outside Hitter Bart Mulder (Hoogeveen, Netherlands) and Freshman Outside Hitter Loan Fargier each landed one kill to help MVC tie the score once again, at 16-16.  The Vikings eventually went in front, 19-18, on an ace from Martenelli, while a kill from Senior Opposite Luca Hasse (Paderborn, Germany) kept Missouri Valley ahead, 20-19.  The two teams traded points late, until another kill from Hasse made it game-point, 24-22.  Graceland answered to win the next two points, and extend the game at 24-24.  The following two points came on MVC kills, from Martenelli and Hasse to close the game, 26-24, in favor of the Vikings.

Missouri Valley went out to an early lead in the second game, winning eight of the nine points to begin play.  Fargier and Hasse each had two kills apiece, while Fargier added one ace.  Martenelli put down one kill to help make it an 8-1 score.  Points were traded over the next stretch of play, as the Vikings stayed on top, 13-5.  Missouri Valley won four-straight midway through the game, featuring two kills from Fargier and one kill each by Martenelli and Hasse, as the lead grew to 17-6.  Hasse finished off two kills, while Fargier and Baptista each added one kill through a 21-12 score.  The Vikings won four-straight points to close the game, which included one kill from Berti and three GU errors, as the score finished at 25-13.  Missouri Valley hit at a match-high .464 percentage in the game.

Going for the sweep in game three, Missouri Valley won the first three points, as Hasse and Martenelli each put down one kill, then teamed up on a block.  The advantage stretched out to 10-4, after two kill from both Berti and Baptista, to go with one kill from Hasse and a block from Fargier and Martenelli.  Another four-point run for MVC included one kill by both Fargier and Hasse as the advantage sat at 14-5.  Missouri Valley gradually added to its lead, using two kills from Freshman Outside Hitter Timothee Carpentier (Aix-en-Provence, France), one kill by Sophomore Libero Bernardo Wolf Roese (Nova Petropolis, Brazil) and an ace from Martenelli to put the score at 21-8.  Graceland won four of five points over the next stretch of play, to cut the gap down to 22-13.  Three GU errors followed, including a block by Senior Opposite Vasil Stoimenov (Pazardzhik, Bulgaria) and Martenelli, clinched the sweep for Missouri Valley with a 25-14 win in the game.

Hasse led with 15 kills, while Fargier and Martenelli each had eight kills.  Fargier finished with a .571 hitting percentage and Martenelli had a .636 percentage.  Sophomore Setter Leonardo Goncalves (Ribierao Preto, Brazil) led with 28 assists, and added six digs, while Freshman Setter Alberto Fontanabona added 13 assists.  Missouri Valley totaled five blocks and three aces as a team, and hit at a .365 percentage.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 18-4 overall and 12-4 in the Heart.  Graceland drops to 2-24 on the season and 1-15 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking men's volleyball team goes to Dubuque, Iowa for a Heart contest with Clarke (Iowa), Friday at 7 p.m.

Box Score-Click Here

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.