No. 6 Men's Volleyball Sweeps No. 4 Mount Mercy on the Road

Dubuque, Iowa, (April 3, 2026)- The No. 6 Missouri Valley College men's volleyball team went to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a Heart of America Athletic Conference contest with No. 4 Mount Mercy (Iowa), Saturday afternoon.  The Vikings swept the top ten contest by scores of 33-31, 25-19, 25-20.

Mount Mercy went in front early in the first game, holding a 9-7 advantage.  Missouri Valley worked back with one kill from Freshman Outside Hitter Loan Fargier to tie the score at 9-9, but MMU countered with three-straight points to go back on top, 12-9.  Senior Middle Blocker Arthur Martenelli (Curitiba, Brazil), Senior Opposite Luca Hasse (Paderborn, Germany) and Junior Outside Hitter Frederico Baptista (Esmoriz, Portugal) each landed one kill to help MVC stay within a 14-13 deficit.  The Mustangs came back to win four-straight points, and extend their lead out to 18-13.  The Vikings won the next five points, helped by a block from Junior Middle Blocker Joao Taveres (Parana, Brazil) and Sophomore Setter Leonardo Goncalves (Ribierao Preto, Brazil), while Goncalves put down one kill to tied the score at 18-18.  The teams traded points over the next stretch of play.  Hasse had two kills and Tavares added one kill to help MVC reach its first game-point, 24-23.  The Mustangs extended the game, and both teams earned several game points, as the score eventually reached 30-30.  Mount Mercy held its final game-point at 31-30, but committed three-straight errors to end the game, as the Vikings came back to win the opener, 33-31.

The two teams traded points to begin play in game two, which featured one kill from Hasse, one block from Baptista and Martenelli and six more MMU errors to help Missouri Valley hold an 8-7 lead.  The Mustangs then won six-straight points to move ahead, and put the score at 13-8.  The Vikings followed with a run of their own, taking eight of nine points in a stretch midway through the game.  Baptista and Tavares each landed two kills, and Hasse put down one kill to go with a block from Baptista as the team moved in front, 17-15.  Mount Mercy came back to tie the score at 18-18, while another MMU error, one kill from Goncalves, and an ace by Sophomore Libero Bernardo Wolf Roese (Nova Petropolis, Brazil) allowed MVC to hold a 21-18 advantage.  The Mustangs won the next point, while Missouri Valley closed out the game with four-straight points won, including one kill apiece from Fargier and Hasse, as the Vikings took game two, 25-19.

Going for the sweep in game three, Missouri Valley gradually built up an early lead.  Baptista had three kills, Martenelli added one kill and Hasse put down an ace as the team went ahead, 7-3.  A block from Tavares and Goncalves made it a 9-4 score, and the two teams traded points over a long stretch of play in the game.  Hasse, Baptista and Fargier each had two kills to eventually put the Viking lead at 19-16.  A late three-point run, helped by an ace from Hasse and one kill by Baptista, put the score at 23-18.  The final two points for MVC came on Fargier kills, and the Vikings closed out a 25-20 win in the game to sweep the match.

Baptista led with 11 kills, on a .320 hitting percentage, while Fargier had 10 kills and seven digs.  Hasse added nine kills and 10 digs.  Goncalves led with 36 assists, and added nine digs.  Missouri Valley finished with seven blocks and four aces as a team.

Missouri Valley improves to 20-4 overall and 14-4 in the Heart.  Mount Mercy drops to 20-3 on the season and 15-3 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking men's volleyball team will close out its regular season with a road contest at Ottawa (Kan.), Tuesday at 7 p.m., in Ottawa, Kan.

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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.