Women's Volleyball Falls to Benedictine, Earns Heart Postseason Tournament Berth

Atchison, Kan., (Nov. 5, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College women's volleyball team traveled to Atchison, Kan., for a Heart of America Athletic Conference match with Benedictine (Kan.) to close the regular season.  The Vikings fell in three games by scores of 19-25, 17-25, 23-25, but earned a berth into the Heart Postseason Tournament.

The two teams traded points through a stretch of play at the start of the first game.  Three-straight service aces from Junior Libero Ana Franco (Cascais, Portugal) put Missouri Valley in front, 4-3.  The first kill of the game for MVC came from Junior Middle Hitter Kinga Ramonowicz (Krepiec, Poland), who teamed up with Senior Outside Hitter Ana Oro (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina) to tie the teams at 6-6.  Senior Middle Hitter Alanah Best (Lima, Ohio) put down the next kill for the Vikings, while Ramonowicz teamed up with Junior Outside Hitter Blanca Arciniega Palma (El Paso, Texas) on a block to keep the score tied at 13-13.  One kill apiece from Senior Outside Hitter Ksenjia Simun (Kotor, Montenegro) and Palma made it a 16-16 score.  Benedictine followed with three-straight points, to move in front, 19-16.  Best added a pair of late kills for Missouri Valley, but BC pulled away late to win the opening game, 25-19.

Missouri Valley used an early kill from Simun to take a 2-0 lead at the start of the second game.  The Ravens responded, and won 12 of the next 13 points to pull in front, 12-3.  Oro ended the MVC drought with a kill, but Benedictine stayed on top by double-digits through much of the game.  A block from Senior Middle Hitter Emma Schulte (Marshall, Mo.) and Best, followed by an ace from Senior Defensive Specialist Momoko Yokyama (Tokyo, Japan) and one kill from Schulte pulled MVC into an 18-10 deficit.  Another kill from Schulte and two-straight aces from Junior Setter Ana Franco (Curitiba, Brazil) brought the gap down to 19-13.  Missouri Valley was unable to work any closer late in the game, and the Ravens won by a 25-17 score to hold a 2-0 lead in the match.

Needing a win in the third game, Missouri Valley moved on top early, as Santos and Simun landed kills and Senior Setter Mencia Medio (Gijon, Spain) added an ace to make it a 3-1 score.  Schulte came back with one kill, then teamed up with Best on a block to put the advantage at 5-3.  Benedictine trimmed down its deficit, then moved ahead, 12-9.  The teams traded points over the next stretch of play, as Oro finished off two kills, and Simun put down one kill to help the team sit in a 16-14 deficit.  An ace from Santos and another kill by Oro tied the game at 17-17.  The Ravens responded to win four of the next five points and go on top, 21-18.  Benedictine eventually held match-point, 24-21, but Simun and Schulte each had one kill to extend the game.  The next point was taken by the Ravens to finish a 25-23 game and sweep the match.

Oro led with eight kills and added eight digs.  Simun had six kills.  Medio led with 15 assists and had six digs.  Franco led with 18 digs.  Missouri Valley totaled five blocks and eight aces as a team.

Missouri Valley finishes the regular season at 16-15 overall and 7-10 in the Heart.  Benedictine improves to 22-7 on the season and 13-4 in the conference.

The Vikings clinched a berth into the Heart Postseason Tournament and will be the No. 7 seed.  The team will travel back to Atchison, Kan., for a quarterfinal match with No. 2 seed Benedictine, Saturday at 7 p.m.  The teams split the regular season meetings with MVC winning by sweep at home, back on Oct. 5.

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.