Vikings Halt the Statesmen Reverse Sweep Attempt, Advancing to the Conference Championship in Parkville

Men’s Volleyball | Wed, Mar. 29, 2023 at 7:40 PM

Des Moines, IA – Grand View men’s volleyball traveled to 2nd-seeded William Penn for the semifinals of the Heart of America Athletic Conference tournament. The Statesmen who had swept the Vikings in their two previous meetings would face a hungry Vikings team that would pull of the thrilling 5-set victory with scores of, 25-23. 25-22. 25-14. 25-19 and 15-13. 

Set 1: Grand View University 25 | William Penn University 23 

The opening set for a highly anticipated match would not disappoint, The Vikings would outkill the Statesmen 15-13, 8 of which came from Bayron Valdez (JR/Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic). The Vikings however would squeak by with 5 errors compared to the Statesmen 3. The hitting percentage is all of the difference for the No. 9 Vikings as they would go for 38.5% to Penn’s 37. The Vikings would control a lead in set 1 until the Statesmen pulled ahead by 2, 16-14. A kill from Nickolas Lima (FR/Curitiba, Brazil ) would get the Vikings back within one. Another huge kill from Valdez followed by two in a row from Daniel Galili (SO/Shomrat, Israel) would put the Vikings up 23-22. Soon after the Vikings would grab set 1 form behind after another kill from Valdez and one from Daniel Wong (SR/Campbell, CA ) sealing it 25-23. 

Set 2: Grand View University 25 | William Penn University 22

A dominant second set would be had in the opening serves as the Vikings jumped out to an early lead. An ace from Zeo Meyer (JR/Wheaton, IL ) would tie things up as the statesmen went on a 3-0 run, 12-12. Three straight kills by Nickolas Lima would give the Vikings an 18-16 advantage. Another strong set by Valdez would allow him to give the Vikings some extra comfort as they finished set two with another kill, giving the team the 3-point advantage. An error by the Statesmen would finish set two in favor of the Vikings 25-22. 

Set 3: Grand View University 14 | William Penn University 25 

The third set would see fatigue out of the Vikings as the Statesmen jumped out to a large early lead after trailing much of the first two sets, 10-5. An ace from Galili would find life in the Vikings as they would only trail 10-8. A stretch of costly errors from the Vikings would further the deficit they had just cut, and the Statesmen would prevent the sweep by the Vikings as they dominated set 3, 25-14. 

Set 4: Grand View University 19 | William Penn University 25