The Missouri Valley Vikings men’s volleyball team have advanced to the national semifinals for the second straight year, but this year a familiar foe is in their way to becoming a national finalist.

The fourth-seeded Vikings punched their ticket to the semis Thursday, Apr. 30 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa by sweeping fifth-seed Cumberlands of Kentucky 25-18, 25-22, 25-23. The Vikings rallied to score the final four points of the third set, ensuring they would advance out of pool play without dropping a set. Luca Hasse led the Vikings with a double-double of 18 kills on a .389 hitting percentage, and ten digs. Loan Fargier also posted a double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs, while Leonardo Goncalves provided 36 assists and seven digs.

The Vikings are now 25-5 and will play conference rivals Park in the first semifinal of the NAIA Men’s Volleyball National Championship on Friday afternoon. The Pirates remain undefeated on the season, having defeated Valley twice in the regular season and needing all five sets to claim the conference tournament title match earlier this month. The other semifinal is a rematch of last year’s title game, with defending champions The Master’s of California facing St Xavier of Illinois.