Women's Volleyball Falls in the Quarterfinal Match to Benedictine on the Road

Atchison, Kan., (Nov. 9, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College women's volleyball team traveled to Atchison, Kan., for a Saturday quarterfinal match in the 2024 Heart of America Athletic Conference Postseason Tournament. The No. 7 seeded Vikings fell in three games to No. 2 seed Benedictine (Kan.) by scores of 25-13, 25-16, 25-21.

The opening game started with teams trading points through a 3-3 score with a kill each from Senior Defensive Specialist Momoko Yokoyama (Tokyo, Japan), Senior Outside Hitter Ana Oro (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Junior Middle Hitter Kinga Ramonowicz (Krepiec, Poland). Benedictine then won six-straight points to take the lead, 9-3. The Vikings took four of the next six points as Senior Outside Hitter Ksenija Simun (Kotor, Montenegro) had back-to-back kills and Senior Middle Hitter Emma Schulte (Marshall, Mo.) added another kill making it an 11-7 score. The Ravens responded with five-straight points and took control of the game from there, and MVC trailed, 16-7. Junior Outside Hitter Blanca Arciniega Palma (El Paso, Texas) and Oro had a kill each late in the game but Missouri Valley was unable to work back, and Benedictine finished off the opening game, 25-13.

Game two started with Missouri Valley going on top early, using a kill each from Senior Middle Hitter Alanah Best (Lima, Ohio) and Oro, two kills from Ramonowicz, and three attack errors from the Ravens to hold a 7-5 lead. BC answered back winning four-straight points to eventually take the lead, 10-9. The Ravens then followed with a run, winning ten of the next thirteen points to sit on top, 20-12. Best had a solo block and a late kill for the Vikings, but Benedictine won the second game by a 25-16 score. 

With MVC needing a win in the third game, the teams traded points through a 10-10 score, featuring three kills from Oro, who also teamed up with Best on a block, two kills from Palma and three BC errors. Benedictine moved in front, taking five of the next eight points to claim a 15-13 lead, where Senior Outside Hitter Ksenija Simun (Kotor, Montenegro) had two kills. Teams exchanged points over the next stretch of play, and then the Vikings worked back to tie the game at 20-20, using two attack errors from Benedictine, an ace from both Junior Defensive Specialist Ana Franco (Cascais, Portugal) and Junior Setter Ana Santos (Curitiba, Brazil), and a kill each from Oro and Ramonowicz. The Ravens won five of the last six points to close out a 25-21 win and sweep the match.

Oro led the team with 10 kills and seven digs, while Palma and Ramonowicz followed with five kills each. Simun had four kills and Schulte added three kills. Santos led with 13 assists and five digs, and Senior Setter Mencia Medio (Gijon, Spain) also had 10 assists. Missouri Valley had a total of five blocks and three aces.

The loss ends the season for Missouri Valley at 15-16, while Benedictine improves to 23-7.

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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.