DES MOINES, IOWA – The Vikings hosted Dordt in a Heart of America Conference matchup on Thursday evening. Grand View and Dordt both stood at 11-6 in conference play before the night began. GV swept the Defenders in three competitive sets, 26-24, 25-19, 25-22, improving to 13-7 overall and 12-6 in Heart of America Conference play.

The opening set was the most dramatic of the night, with the two teams trading leads throughout. Grand View fell behind early before rallying, with Cheikh Sou recording back-to-back blocks to give the Vikings a 11-13 advantage. Dordt clawed back to lead 23-21 before Grand View called timeout and responded. Sou delivered a crucial kill to tie it at 23-23, and after Dordt retook the lead at 24-23, Sou and Jonathan Rzepa combined for a block to give Grand View set point at 24-25. Rzepa closed it out with a kill to secure the thrilling 26-24 victory.

The second set saw Grand View take control with a dominant middle stretch. After trading points early, Jake Winters delivered a service ace and the Vikings rattled off several consecutive points to surge ahead 6-10. Sou and Andre Lucas Alves Leandro delivered key kills to push the lead to 8-13, and despite a brief Dordt rally, Grand View stayed in control. Winters and Rzepa closed out the set with back-to-back kills to secure a 25-19 victory.

The third set saw Dordt jump ahead 9-5 before Grand View called timeout and began to chip away. Fadanelli, Rzepa, and Leandro delivered key kills to pull the Vikings back within striking distance. With the set tied at 19-19, Sou took over, delivering three consecutive kills, including one unassisted and Joshua Valencia added a service ace to push Grand View ahead 19-22. Dordt rallied to pull within 22-24, but a service error from Cade Schmidt handed Grand View the set and the match 25-22.

GAME NOTES

• Cheikh Sou (11 kills, 2 digs, 1 block)
• Bernardo Luis Marostica (20 assists, 3 digs)
• Pietro Fadanelli (5 digs, 8 kills, 1 block)
• Andre Lucas Alves Leandro (10 kills, 1 ace, 6 digs)
• Jonathan Rzepa (5 kills, 1 ace, 1 dig, 2 blocks)