DES MOINES, IOWA – The Vikings hosted Missouri Baptist on Saturday afternoon in a Heart of America Conference matchup. After dropping the opening set, Grand View rallied to claim a four-set victory, 24-26, 26-24, 27-25, 27-25. The Vikings improved to 10-6 overall and 9-5 in Heart of America Conference play.

The opening set saw Missouri Baptist strike first, rattling off a 6-1 run to open the match behind a pair of service aces from Isaac Allgeyer. Grand View began to chip away, with Cheikh Sou delivering a service ace and Andre Lucas Alves Leandro recording a block to pull the Vikings within 6-4. The two teams traded points through the middle of the set, exchanging leads multiple times before Grand View took a 13-14 edge. Leandro and Marcus Taylor combined for a block to push the advantage to 13-15, but Missouri Baptist responded and clawed back to retake the lead. The Spartans surged ahead with four consecutive points to lead 20-17, prompting back-to-back timeouts from Grand View. Missouri Baptist extended the run to 24-17, seemingly in control, but the Vikings refused to fold. Pietro Fadanelli and Sou sparked a stunning seven-point rally, with Bernardo Luis Marostica contributing a service ace to pull Grand View within 24-23. Missouri Baptist staved off the comeback, closing out the set 26-24.

The second set was a tightly contested battle from start to finish. Missouri Baptist jumped ahead early, but Grand View kept pace and the two teams found themselves tied at 11-11. Sou delivered a kill from Marostica to level it at 12-12, and the lead continued to change hands through the middle portion of the set. Trailing 19-18, Jake Winters delivered a crucial kill from Marostica to tie it at 19-19. Missouri Baptist edged ahead 24-23 before Grand View mounted another comeback. Leandro delivered a kill from Marcus Taylor to tie it at 24-24, and Taylor followed with another kill to give the Vikings set point. Leandro closed it out by blocking Luka Stepanovic to secure the set 26-24 and even the match at one set apiece.

The third set followed a similar pattern of back-and-forth play. Missouri Baptist built a 4-1 lead before Grand View began to rally. Leandro and Taylor combined for a block to pull the Vikings within 14-12, and Grand View continued to fight back. Trailing 20-17, Grand View went on a dominant run, with Taylor delivering back-to-back kills and Leandro recording a block to reel off six consecutive points and take a 20-22 lead. Missouri Baptist responded to tie it at 22-22 and later 24-24, but Leandro came up clutch again, recording kills on back-to-back points to give Grand View a 24-25 edge. After Missouri Baptist tied it again at 25-25, Fadanelli closed the set with a kill from Marostica to secure a 27-25 victory and give the Vikings a 2-1 series lead.

The fourth set saw Missouri Baptist open with a 2-0 advantage before Grand View stormed back with four consecutive points, capped by a block from Sou and Jonathan Rzepa. The Spartans tied it at 4-4, but Fadanelli put Grand View back in front with a kill and a service ace. The two teams traded the lead through the middle stages before Sou delivered back-to-back kills and a block to give the Vikings a commanding 7-11 edge. Missouri Baptist rallied to tie it at 24-24, but Taylor delivered the go-ahead kill from Guilherme Domdei Goedert to push Grand View ahead 25-25. Sou then recorded a key block on Allgeyer to give the Vikings match point, and Rzepa closed out the victory with a kill from Marostica, securing a 27-25 win and the match.

GAME NOTES

• Andre Lucas Alves Leandro (12 kills, .385 hitting %, 2 digs, 3 blocks, 1 ace)
• Pietro Fadanelli (12 kills, 5 digs, 2 blocks, 1 ace)
• Cheikh Sou (9 kills, 1 dig, 3 blocks)
• Bernardo Luis Marostica (20 assists, 7 digs)
• Marcus Taylor (8 kills, 3 digs, 3 blocks)