Women's Volleyball Drops Pair of Matches to Ranked Opponents

Columbia, Mo., (August 20, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College women's volleyball team traveled to Columbia, Mo., for a pair of non-conference matches Tuesday afternoon against Nationally ranked opponents.  The Vikings battled with No. 7 Columbia (Mo.), but fell in four games, then lost in three games to No. 13 Oklahoma Wesleyan.

Missouri Valley went in front at the start of the first game, as a block from Senior Outside Hitter Ana Oro (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Junior Middle Hitter Kinga Ramonowicz (Krepiec, Poland), along with an ace from Senior Outside Hitter Ksenija Simun (Kotor, Montenegro) made it a 3-0 score.  The next kill for MVC came from Oro, followed by an ace from Sophomore Setter Paige Siebert (St. Louis, Mo.) to put the lead at 8-4.  The Vikings won four of five points in a stretch, which included one kill each from Senior Outside Hitter Angelique Morgan (Jupiter, Fla.) and Simun, to go with one ace each from Junior Defensive Specialist Ana Franco (Cascais, Portugal and Senior Libero Momoko Yokoyama (Tokyo, Japan) to stretch the advantage out to 13-7.  Columbia answered back, and closed the gap to 14-12.  Ramonowicz and Junior Setter Ana Santos (Curitiba, Brazil) teamed up on a block, while another CC error made it a 16-12 score.  The Cougars followed with four-straight points to tie the teams at 16-16.  Points were traded, until back-to-back kills from Simun pushed MVC on top once again, 21-19.  Ramonowicz and Oro each landed one kill to give the Vikings their first game-point, 24-23.  Columbia answered, and held game-point twice, including at a 26-25 score.  After the two teams were tied at 27-27, A Cougar service error allowed Missouri Valley to hold a third game-point, and Franco finished off an ace to end the game, 29-27, and give MVC an early advantage in the match.  Missouri Valley hit at a match-high .346 percentage in the game.

Columbia took an early lead in the second game, while one kill and one ace from Oro to go with one kill from Morgan brought the Vikings into an 8-6 deficit.  The Cougars continued to build on their advantage from there, and put MVC in a double-digit gap at 18-8.  Missouri Valley was unable to work back, and Columbia won, 25-13.  The third game featured CC moving in front, 4-1, early in play.  One kill from Ramonowicz, along with a block from Oro and Senior Middle Hitter Emma Schulte (Marshall, Mo.) helped tie the teams at 4-4.  Columbia went in front from there, and MVC was unable to work back into the game.  The Cougars gradually added to their lead as the third game played on, and won by a 25-17 score to go on top, 2-1, in games won.

The fourth game started with the two teams trading points through a 3-3 score.  Simun and Oro responded by each landing back-to-back kills to help MVC take four-straight points and move ahead, 7-3.  Columbia worked back, and tied the teams at 9-9, before eventually holding a 12-11 lead.  The Vikings responded with a quick run, as one kill from Oro and Morgan allowed the team to win three-straight points and climb back on top, 14-12.  Another kill from Simun made it a 16-13 score, but Columbia answered with five-straight points to put MVC in an 18-16 deficit.  Trailing 20-17, Missouri Valley used an ace from Junior Defensive Specialist Avery Crain (Shell Knob, Mo.), along with one kill from both Senior Middle Hitter Alanah Best (Lima, Ohio) and Oro to win four-straight points and reclaim the lead, at 22-20.  After the Cougars briefly tied the score at 23-23, a CC error gave the Vikings game-point, 24-23.  Columbia extended the game, and MVC held another game-point, 25-24, after a block from Simun and Best.  However, the final three points of the game were won by the Cougars.  Missouri Valley fell by a 27-25 score in the game, and lost the match, 3-1.

Oro led with a double-double of 16 kills and 10 digs, while Simun added a double-double of 10 kills and 11 digs.  Santos had 19 assists, and Siebert came in with 18 assists.  Franco led with 14 digs.  Missouri Valley totaled seven blocks and nine aces as a team.

The second contest of the day started with Oklahoma Wesleyan going in front early, 6-2.  Missouri Valley used one kill each from Oro, Morgan and Ramonowicz, along with a block from Santos to trim the deficit to 10-7.  The Vikings then won four of five points midway through the game, helped by one kill from both Ramonowicz and Oro, plus an ace from Franco, to tie the teams at 12-12.  Oklahoma Wesleyan quickly reclaimed the lead, and gradually built up its advantage to 20-16.  Santos put down one kill, while Oro handled a solo block and the pair of Best and Santos finished off another block to close the deficit down to 21-20.  However, four of the final five points were won by OKWU to close out a 25-21 score in the opening game.

After trading points early in the second game through a 3-3 score, Oklahoma Wesleyan began to build up a lead at 11-7.  Missouri Valley came back by taking four of the next five points, including one kill from both Ramonowicz and Oro, to go with an ace from Franco to tie the teams at 12-12.  Oklahoma Wesleyan responded, and won six of the following seven points to build up an 18-13 advantage.  Crain put down an ace and Ramonowicz added one kill to cut the deficit to 19-16.  Two-straight blocks, one from Oro and another from the pair of Best and Santos, got the Vikings to within a 21-20 score.  However, four of the final five points were won by OKWU to finish game two, 25-21.

Needing a win in the third game to extend the match, Missouri Valley fell behind early.  Oro and Best each had one kill, but the team trailed, 5-4.  Oklahoma Wesleyan held a 10-7 lead, while Santos, Sophomore Outside Hitter Danica Velickovic (Pozarevac, Serbia) and Oro each landed one kill to make it 11-10.  The Vikings continued to pressure OKWU, and used one kill from Best, who then teamed up with Simun on a block, while Simun landed two-straight kills to put MVC ahead.  Simun came through with another block, and an error allowed Missouri Valley to hold a 16-13 lead.  Oklahoma Wesleyan responded by winning six-straight points to make it a 19-16 score.  Freshman Right Side Harper Herring (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Ramonowicz responded with back-to-back kills to cut the deficit to 19-18.  That's as close as the team could get late in the game, as OKWU finished out a 25-21 win to sweep the match.

Oro led with nine kills and nine digs, while Best added six kills.  Siebert totaled 13 assists and four digs, while Santos had 12 assists.  Missouri Valley finished with seven blocks and five aces as a team.

The pair of losses drop the team to 3-3 on the season.

Up next, the Viking women's volleyball team will host the two-day Viking Invitational, inside the Burns Athletic Complex, Friday and Saturday.  The team's first game will be Friday at 5 p.m., against Tabor (Kan.).  Missouri Valley will play two matches, Saturday, beginning with a 9 a.m., game against William Penn (Iowa), and a 3 p.m., game against Graceland (Iowa).  Both Saturday matches will not count towards the overall conference records for any of the teams.

Columbia Box Score-Click Here

Oklahoma Wesleyan 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.

007