LAMONI, IOWA – The Vikings traveled to Lamoni to take on Graceland in a Heart of America Conference matchup at the Morden Center on Saturday afternoon. Grand View swept the Crusaders in dominant fashion, 25-17, 25-14, 25-14, improving to 12-6 overall and 10-5 in Heart of America Conference play.

The opening set was a back-and-forth affair early on. Grand View jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind a service error and a kill from Jonathan Rzepa, but Graceland rallied to take a 5-6 advantage. The Vikings and Crusaders continued to trade points, tying the set at 6-6, 9-9, 10-10, 11-11, 12-12, and 13-13 before Grand View finally began to pull away. Andre Lucas Alves Leandro delivered a kill from Bernardo Luis Marostica to give the Vikings the lead for good at 13-13, and Marcus Taylor added back-to-back kills to push the advantage to 16-13, prompting a timeout from Graceland. Leandro continued to deliver, and Jake Winters added a service ace as Grand View stretched the lead to 19-14. Rzepa closed out the set in style, recording three consecutive kills to push the Vikings to match point, and Winters delivered the final blow with a kill from Marostica to secure a 25-17 victory.

The second set saw Grand View take control early and never look back. After falling behind 0-1, Rzepa responded with a service ace and a kill to give the Vikings a 3-1 lead. Leandro and Pietro Fadanelli combined for consecutive kills and blocks to push the advantage to 10-6, and Grand View continued to pour it on. Fadanelli delivered back-to-back kills, and Leandro and Cheikh Sou combined for a block to stretch the lead to 17-8. Graceland briefly made things interesting with a late run to trim the deficit to 23-14, but Marcus Taylor answered with a crucial kill and Sou and Rzepa combined for a block on Kalanikapu Aona to close out the set 25-14.

The third set was more of the same as Grand View wasted little time asserting its dominance. Rzepa opened with a kill and Sou followed to give the Vikings a 2-0 lead. The two teams traded points through the early stages, tying at 2-2, 3-3, and 4-4, before Grand View went on a decisive run. Leandro, Winters, and Fadanelli delivered consecutive kills to push the lead to 10-6, and the Vikings never looked back. Rzepa added another kill, and Taylor and Leandro combined for a block to extend the advantage to 17-10, prompting a timeout from Graceland. Winters and Taylor delivered back-to-back kills to push Grand View ahead 21-14, and Leandro closed it out with a pair of kills from Guilherme Domdei Goedert and Joshua Valencia, with Taylor sealing the sweep on a block of Kaden Joseph to secure the 25-14 victory.

GAME NOTES

• Andre Lucas Alves Leandro (13 kills, .611 hitting %, 1 ace, 2 digs, 2 blocks)
• Jonathan Rzepa (8 kills, .800 hitting %, 1 ace, 1 dig, 3 blocks)
• Marcus Taylor (8 kills, .286 hitting %, 2 digs, 1 block)
• Jake Winters (6 kills, .267 hitting %, 1 ace, 3 digs)
• Guilherme Domdei Goedert (15 assists, 4 digs)