Marshalltown, IA—The Marshalltown Community College women's volleyball team secured its first win over Iowa Central Community College since 2009 with a five-set thriller on Wednesday night at the Student Activity Center. The Tigers improve to 3-3 in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) with the win.
The Tigers got off to a strong start against the Tritons, taking game one 25-18. MCC used a late rally to take game two 26-24 before dropping the next two sets, sending the match into a fifth-set tiebreaker. The final set was a back and forth battle before Meghann Cole (Des Moines, IA/West Des Moines Valley) came up with one of her 17 kills on the night to give MCC a 9-8 lead. The Tigers cruised the rest of the way, taking the set 15-10 to earn their fourth win in their last six matches.
With the win, MCC brings its overall record back to an even .500 with a 12-12 record. The Tigers kept themselves in contention with the rest of the ICCAC with the win and are now just 2.5 games back from first place Kirkwood. Six different teams are within one game of each other in the league standings, including Iowa Central who suffered just their second conference loss of the year.
Cole's kill total led the Tigers while Miranda Smith (Albion, IA/Marshalltown) recorded 13. Reeba Box (Liscomb, IA/BCLUW) and Katelyn Yauslin (Cedar Rapids, IA/Alburnett) both chipped in eight kills. Sam Hinrichs (Ankeny, IA/Ankeny) registered 43 assists, the second-most assists for the freshman this year. Hinrichs also added six kills and two service aces.
Sophomore Ashley Salgado (Ottumwa, IA/Ottumwa) and Box both contributed two service aces as well for MCC. Salgado paced the Tigers with 32 digs on the night and Alyssa Whitmore (Legrand, IA/East Marshall) added 13.
Midway through the first set, the Tigers rattled off eight out of nine points to build a 17-10 lead. MCC closed out the set on a 6-3 run to give the Tigers their first set over Iowa Central since 2010. The Tritons had defeated MCC in straight sets in the last four meetings.
Game two saw the Tritons hold a 14-11 lead only to see the Tigers slowly claw their way back. MCC trailed 23-19 and 24-22 but forced Iowa Central into four straight errors to build a 2-0 lead.
The Tritons maintained a consistent lead throughout games three and four to even the series at two games apiece, setting the stage for the deciding set. Smith buried a kill to give MCC a 6-5 lead, forcing the Tritons into a timeout. The Tigers fed off of Cole's kill and used a 6-2 run to close things out.
"It's not how you get to the fifth set," said head coach Chris Brees. "It's what you do in the fifth set, and we made a statement in the fifth set. Tonight said a lot about our team and what we're capable of. I think tonight opened a lot of eyes on our team."
MCC will continue its busy week with a pair of games at Central College tomorrow evening. The Tigers will take on Central College JV at 4:00 PM and finish up the night with a 6:00 PM date against AIB JV. MCC will travel to North Iowa Area Community College on Saturday for a pair of games.
