MVC Round-up: Griffin wins ITA regional tourney

Sophomore Jason Rolle won one singles match and two doubles contests for the Vikings at the ITA regional meet. (Chris Allen/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

KANSAS CITY -- Missouri Valley College's Elanqua Griffin won the women's division of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association West Central Regional Tournament last weekend at Kansas City.

The sophomore from Nassau, The Bahamas, won three matches in straight sets before meeting William Jewell senior Nikki Chambers for the title. After beating Chambers in the NAIA fall tourney finals, Griffin lost the first set, 6-4, and was down 4-1 in the second before rallying to win that frame by tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-2), and claiming the final set 6-0.

"They were having rallies of 20-plus balls," remarked MVC coach Ryan Carney. "I knew that if Elanqua could get the second set she would have a great chance of winning the match because toward the middle and late part of the first set you could tell that Chambers was getting worn down."

Griffin becomes the first Lady Viking to win the ITA meet and is one of eight NAIA players to qualify for the National Small College Championships, Oct. 15-18 at Mobile, Ala.

The teams of Griffin and freshman Nicola Kortus and junior Shruti Bedi and sophomore Tershelle Burrows each won one match in the doubles bracket.

Three Valley men -- junior Derek Gillilan, sophomore Jason Rolle and freshman Hector Rivas - won one singles match before being eliminated. Rolle and sophomore Alvar Ribalta took two doubles matches, while Rivas and sophomore Alain Antoine won one.

Volleyball

The Valley women's volleyball team split four matches over the weekend in the Quad Cities Classic at Davenport, Iowa, defeating Dubuque (Iowa) (25-16, 25-21, 25-19) and St. Mary (Kan.) (26-24, 29-27, 25-11) and losing to Peru State (Neb.) (17-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-22, 18-16) and Concordia (Neb.) (25-20, 17-25, 25-18, 25-18).

Senior Tricia Mowatt had three matches of 15 or more kills to be named to the all-tournament team.

The Lady Vikings returned home Tuesday for a Heart of America Conference clash with 20th-ranked Lindenwood, falling 23-25, 25-14, 25-18, 25-23. Mowatt knocked down 17 shots, but the Lady Lions (15-6, 4-0 HAAC) got 17 each from junior Krista Yoder and sophomore Kelsey Jo Vogler.

On Thursday, Mowatt had 20 spikes and 19 digs during a 25-23, 23-25, 25-19, 25-18 non-conference home loss to Missouri Baptist. Senior Amanda Wolf led the Lady Spartans (9-9) with 14 kills, 15 saves and two aces.

Valley (8-10, 2-3) hosts league foe MidAmerica Nazarene on Tuesday.

Men's Soccer

KANSAS CITY -- Sophomore Eduardo Da Silva's goal in the eighth minute of the second half proved decisive Saturday during a 3-2 victory by the Valley men's soccer team at Avila to begin Heart of America Conference play.

The Vikings never trailed in the match, getting scores from two Scots, freshman Lewis Walker of Dumfries and Ryan Pow of Edinburgh. The Eagles (3-6-1, 0-1-1 HAAC) evened matters twice, but didn't answer Da Silva's goal.

Senior Igor Lima made seven saves for Valley (5-2-2, 1-0), which Saturday entertains Graceland.

Women's Soccer

KANSAS CITY -- Avila's three first-half goals were too much for the Lady Vikings to overcome Saturday during a 4-3 Heart of America Conference loss.

Seniors Hillary Kerschbaum and Rachelle Luster each scored twice to give the Lady Eagles (5-5, 1-1 HAAC) a 4-1 lead with 33 minutes remaining. Junior Jessica Yach converted a penalty kick and junior Samantha Lang connected with four minutes left, but Valley couldn't pull even.

Senior Nicki Erickson of Marshall scored the first goal for the Lady Vikings (2-6, 0-1), who are at home Saturday against No. 19 Graceland.

Men's Golf

ST. CHARLES -- The Missouri Valley men's golf team finished 14th out of 20 schools entered in the Lindenwood Fall Invitational, Monday and Tuesday at St. Charles.

Senior Tyler Kasubek had the Vikings' top score with a 24-over-par 240 to tie for 47th place in the field of 119 golfers. Valley tallied 969 points over three rounds at Crescent Farms Golf Course, with Grand View (Iowa) the winner with a 908.

The Vikings will host the MVC Fall Invitational, Oct. 19-20 at Indian Foothills Golf Course.