Women’s Volleyball
Both the Missouri Valley and Central Methodist women went 3-0 at this weekend’s Viking Invitational in Marshall.
The host Vikings defeated William Penn (IA) in straight sets, with game scores of 25-18, 25-23, and 25-22, then rebounded from a first-game loss to take care of Graceland (IA) three games to one. The scores in the second match were 21-25, 25-15, 26-24, and 25-17. 18th ranked Central Methodist conceded no games in either of their victories Saturday, defeating Tabor (KS) 25-10, 25-13, and 25-17, then Graceland 25-19, 25-10, and 25-15. Both Valley and CMU had tough openers Friday, with the Vikings needing all five sets (23-25, 25-17, 25-23, 23-25, 15-10) to defeat Tabor while CMU dropped their opening game to William Penn 20-25 before rolling the rest of the way with scores of 25-19, 25-16, and 25-12.
The weekend’s contests against Graceland and William Penn will not count toward the Heart of America Athletic Conference standings.
The Vikings are now 6-3 on the season and will visit Harris-Stowe at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The Eagles open the season 3-0 and have until Sept. 5 to prepare for their home opener against Missouri Baptist.
Soccer
Missouri Valley split with Columbia College in a battle of ranked programs Saturday in Columbia.
Macie Lucas scored the only goal of the women’s match in the 70th minute to lead #12 Columbia College to a 1-0 victory over #24 Valley. The Vikings were dealt another blow shortly after conceding the goal, when Silvia Maldonado was sent off. The Viking women are 0-2 while the Cougars advance to 2-0 on the early season.
The #12 Valley men fared better against the #14 Cougars, as Sam Green netted two goals in as many minutes early in the second term to lead the Vikings to a 3-1 win. Green’s goals in the 49th and 50th minute opened the scoring, but Columbia fired back with Carter Redford’s goal three minutes later. Valley restored the two-goal margin in the 73rd minute with a goal from Yoshiki Igarashi. The Vikings start the season 1-0 while Columbia fall to 1-1.
Central Methodist posted a sweep of Kansas Wesleyan at Davis Field on Saturday. The #5 women prevailed 3-1 with goals from Kirstine Lykke in the first half and Andrea Jimenez and Lacey Ann Murray in the second. Precious Nwosu netted the season’s first goal against CMU in the 47th minute. The Eagles are now 3-0-0. CMU men opened their 2024 campaign with a 2-1 victory over Coyotes. Both CMU goals came before halftime by way of Guilherme Pereira and Angelo Estello DeLanney. Gerardo Garcia pulled one back for Kansas Wesleyan in the 67th minute.
CMU men travel to Central Baptist on Monday night, while the women wait until Aug. 30th to welcome Oklahoma Wesleyan.