Marshalltown, IA—The Marshalltown Community College women's volleyball team endured a five-set battle with Grand View JV on Thursday night, taking a 3-2 victory over the visiting Vikings. Ashley Salgado (Ottumwa, IA/Ottumwa) recorded a career-high 77 digs on the night.
Hosting their first home game of the 2013 season, the Tigers dropped a back-and-forth struggle in the first set, but rallied to take the next two sets, 26-24 and 25-21. MCC made a valiant comeback in the fourth set, only to fall to the Vikings 26-24, setting up a fifth-set tiebreaker.
MCC controlled the final set from the start, dominating the Vikings en route to a 15-8 victory.
Salgado's 77 kills gives her 211 on the year for an average of 12.41 kills per set which currently ranks first among all NJCAA Division II participants. Sophomore Alyssa Whitmore (Legrand, IA/East Marshall) added 40 digs while freshman Reeba Box (Liscomb, IA/BCLUW) totaled 42.
Box contributed a team-high 13 kills while Meghann Cole (Des Moines, IA/West Des Moines Valley) reached double-digit kills for the third time season with 11. Sam Hinrichs (Ankeny, IA/Ankeny) recorded a career-high 47 assists to lead the Tigers.
After falling in the first set, the Tigers held off a late rally in game two to even the series at one apiece. Both sides continued to battle for control in the third set with the game knotted at 12. MCC rattled off three straight points, and eight of the next 12 to pull ahead and take a 2-1 lead.
The two teams fought to an 18-all tie in game four until Grand View slowly built a lead. With the Vikings holding a 24-22 lead, MCC made a late push to take the match in four. Whitmore provided a service ace followed by a kill from Cole to even the score once again, only to see the Vikings score the next two points and send the match into a fifth-set tiebreaker.
The Tigers proved to be much more durable in the final set, pulling away with a convincing 15-8 victory and a 3-2 win, moving to 3-2 on the year.
The Tigers will enjoy a week-long break before getting back into action on September 6-7 at the Central Nebraska Invitational in Columbus, NE.
