Women's Volleyball Overcomes Early Deficit in Win Over Harris-Stowe

St. Louis, Mo., (August 27, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College women's volleyball team traveled to St. Louis, Mo., for a non-conference match against Harris-Stowe State (Mo.), Tuesday evening.  The Vikings fell into an early deficit, but came back to win by scores of 15-25, 25-13, 25-14, 25-16.

The opening game started with Harris-Stowe going in front early, and taking control with an 8-0 lead.  Sophomore Setter Paige Siebert (St. Louis, Mo.) came back with an ace, while Senior Middle Hitter Alanah Best (Lima, Ohio) put down one kill.  A four-point run, featuring one kill and one block from Best, along with one kill from Senior Outside Hitter Ksenija Simun (Kotor, Montenegro) chipped the deficit down to 10-7.  Harris-Stowe responded, and eventually pushed its advantage out to 21-10.  The Vikings were unable to work back into the game, with a final score of 25-15.

Harris-Stowe again jumped on top early in the second game, by a 4-1 score.  Missouri Valley countered by winning ten of the next eleven points.  Senior Middle Hitter Emma Schulte (Marshall, Mo.) put down one kill, then teamed up with Senior Outside Hitter Angelique Morgan (Jupiter, Fla.) on a block.  Junior Setter Ana Santos (Curitiba, Brazil) added an ace and a kill, while Morgan landed a pair of kills and Schulte finished off a solo block to make it an 11-5 score.  The Vikings then won six-straight points, featuring one kill each from Senior Outside Hitter Ana Oro (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina), Simun and Junior Middle Hitter Kinga Ramonowicz (Krepiec, Poland), to go with one ace from Senior Libero Momoko Yokoyama (Tokyo, Japan) to make it an 18-7 score.  Ramonowicz landed another kill, while Junior Outside Hitter Blanca Palma (El Paso, Texas) had an ace, as the lead grew to 21-8.  Oro moved MVC to game-point, and Santos ended the game with an ace to give the team a 25-13 win, and tie the match at 1-1 in games won.  Harris-Stowe was limited to a -.065 percentage in the game.

Missouri Valley gradually built up a lead in the third game, as Oro took charge with six kills to help make it a 10-5 score.  Ramonowicz put down a solo block, then added one kill, while Santos finished off a solo block and Oro added a kill to push the advantage to 19-10.  A five-point run, including one kill from Oro, Santos and Simun, along with an ace from Junior Defensive Specialist Ana Franco (Cascais, Portugal), put the team at game-point.  Santos had one final kill to end a 25-14 win.  The Vikings hit at a match-high .345 percentage in the game.

Looking for the win in game four, Missouri Valley fell into a 7-5 deficit.  Harris-Stowe still held a lead at 10-9, but MVC followed with a run.  Six of the next seven points were won by the Vikings, as a Best kill and five HSSU errors put Missouri Valley on top, 15-11.  The two teams traded points through a 19-15 score, including one kill from both Oro and Simun.  A block from Best gave MVC a 22-16 lead, and Simun finished the contest off with two late kills to seal a 25-16 win in the fourth game, and a victory in the match, 3-1 in games.

Oro led with 15 kills and nine digs, while Simun had 10 kills and seven digs.  Santos totaled 28 assists, while Franco led with 24 digs.  Missouri Valley had seven blocks and six aces as a team.

Missouri Valley improves to 7-3 on the season, while Harris-Stowe falls to 0-3.

Up next, the women's volleyball team hosts Mission (Mo.) in a non-conference contest, Tuesday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m., inside the Burns Athletic Complex.

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.

013