No. 5 Men's Volleyball Falls in Five Games to No. 1 Park in Heart Postseason Final

Parkville, Mo., (April 18, 2026)- The No. 5 Missouri Valley College men's volleyball team traveled to Parkville, Mo., to play No. 1 Park (Mo.) in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Postseason Championship final, Saturday afternoon.  The Vikings went to five games with the Pirates, but fell by scores of 19-25, 25-19, 25-22, 26-28, 15-17.

Missouri Valley went in front at the start of the first game, helped by one kill from Senior Opposite Luca Hasse and an ace by Freshman Outside Hitter Loan Fargier (Bordeaux, France) to put the team ahead, 3-0.  Park worked back, and eventually tied the score at 5-5.  The two teams traded the next several points, as Fargier landed two kills and Sophomore Setter Leonardo Goncalves (Ribierao Preto, Brazil) had one kill to keep the teams tied at 9-9.  The Pirates then won five of the next six points to move ahead at 14-10.  The Vikings gradually cut into their deficit, as Goncalves had a solo block, and Hasse added one kill to put the gap at 17-16.  Park gradually pulled away through the rest of the game, and claimed four of the final five points to finish out a 25-19 win.

Game two began with the teams trading points early.  Senior Middle Blocker Arthur Marteneli (Curitiba, Brazil) and Hasse teamed up on a block, and four other Park errors brought the teams into a 5-5 score.  The Pirates then won three-straight points, and eventually held a 13-9 advantage midway through the game.  Missouri Valley bounced back, and used one kill from Junior Outside Hitter Andrey Bastos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) to help the team win three-straight points.  Another three-point run included one kill from Fargier to send MVC back in front, 16-15.  The Vikings used an ace from Sophomore Bernardo Wolf Roese (Nova Petropolis, Brazil) and one kill apiece by Freshman Outside Hitter Bart Mulder (Hoogeveen, Netherlands) and Fargier to sit with a 22-18 advantage.  Missouri Valley closed out the game from there, winning three of the final four points.  Bastos and Marteneli teamed up on a block, and Hasse landed one kill to make it game-point.  Marteneli closed out the second game with one last kill, and the Vikings won, 25-19.

With the match tied at 1-1 in games, the two teams played close in game three.  Mulder had a pair of early kills, while Hasse, Fargier and Bastos each added one kill as the Vikings maintained a lead through the midway point of the game.  Park eventually came back, and a pair of Mulder kills helped MVC tie the score at 19-19.  Fargier landed a late kill, and Marteneli and Hasse teamed up on a block to give the Vikings a 22-21 advantage.  One more kill from Hasse made it game-point, and a Pirate error finished a 25-22 win for Missouri Valley, putting the team one game away from the tournament title.

The two teams traded points at the start of the fourth game.  Fargier put down two kills and landed one ace, while Hasse and Bastos each finished off one kill to help make it a 7-6 lead for Missouri Valley.  Park came back to win four of the next five points, and sit in front, 10-8.  Hasse had two kills, Fargier finished off one kill and the pair of Bastos and Sophomore Middle Blocker Martin Tseyera (Salta, Argentina) teamed up on a block to put MVC ahead, 13-12.  Four Park errors allowed the Vikings to hold a 17-15 lead, while one kill from Fargier and an ace by Wolf Roese made it a 19-16 score.  Two kills from both Bastos and Hasse created match-point for Missouri Valley, at 24-22.  The Pirates responded to win three-straight, and extend the game at 25-24.  Mulder and Tseyera teamed up on a block, and a Park error tied the score at 26-26.  However, the final two points were won by the Pirates to close at 28-26, and send the match into a fifth game.

Missouri Valley fell behind early, as Park eventually made it a 9-5 score.  Fargier added the next three kills for the Vikings, followed by a Bastos kill to cut the deficit down to 11-9.  The Pirates responded to win five of the next six points to sit ahead, 14-10.  The Vikings came back, as Bastos and Fargier added two kills, and the team won four-straight points to tie the teams at 14-14.  Another Park error made it a 15-15 score, but the final two points went to the Pirates to finish a 17-15 game.  Missouri Valley fell, 3-2, in the match.

Fargier led with a double-double of 20 kills, on a .471 hitting percentage, to go with 11 digs.  Hasse added 15 kills, and reached the 1000-kill mark in his career.  Hasse becomes just the second individual in program-history to reach 1,000 career kills (Simon Joly, 1,046 kills from 2019-22).  Goncalves had 37 assists and Freshman Setter Leonardo Poiatti (Sao Paulo, Brazil) had 17 assists.  Missouri Valley finished with 12 blocks and four aces as a team.

The loss drops Missouri Valley to 23-5 overall, while Park wins the Heart Postseason Championship and improves to 31-0.

Up next, the Viking men's volleyball team will learn of a possible at-large berth into the 2026 NAIA Men's Volleyball National Championship, which runs April 28-May 2 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  The 12-team field will be announced Tuesday at 11 a.m.

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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.