Marshalltown, IA—With six sophomores playing in their final home regular season matches on Saturday, the Marshalltown Community College women's volleyball team scored two victories in a tri-match with Coe College JV and AIB JV. The Tigers swept AIB JV in the opening match 3-0 and defeated Coe College JV in a tight 3-2 battle in the nightcap.
Captains Ashley Salgado (Ottumwa, IA/Ottumwa), Alyssa Whitmore (Legrand, IA/East Marshall) and Katelyn Yauslin (Cedar Rapids, IA/Alburnett) joined fellow sophomores Rusty Henio (Tama, IA/South Tama), Amanda Keane (Morinville, Alberta/Morinville Community) and Mehlon Maxwell (Marshalltown, IA/Marshalltown) in a pre-match ceremony prior to the start of their final match at the Student Activity Center.
The Tigers opened up the day with a sweep of AIB JV, their second of the season over the Eagles. MCC won in straight sets 25-12, 25-21, 25-10. Miranda Smith (Albion, IA/Marshalltown) led the Tigers with nine kills while Yauslin and Reeba Box (Liscomb, IA/BCLUW) each had eight, including four apiece in the opening set. Smith also added a team-high three service aces and posted four total blocks.
Salgado paced the Tigers defensively with 13 digs. Whitmore, Box, and Sam Hinrichs (Ankeny, IA/Ankeny) each registered two service aces. Hinrichs posted 24 assists in the winning effort.
MCC's match against Coe JV proved to be more of a challenge for the Tigers. MCC scored a 25-13 victory in the opening set but the Kohawks battled back to take a 25-22 win in the second set. The Tigers endured a lengthy struggle in the third set until Meghann Cole (Des Moines, IA/West Des Moines Valley) closed out the game with back-to-back kills, giving MCC a 27-25 win and a 2-1 match advantage. Again, both sides went point for point in the fourth set, but the Kohawks were able to steal a 25-23 victory, setting up a fifth-set tiebreaker.
With the score tied at six, Yauslin came up with a kill to give the Tigers a one point advantage. Coe JV kept up with the Tigers though, eventually tying the set at 11. Yauslin, Cole, and Smith all posted kills down the stretch to hold off the Kohawks and lead MCC to a 15-13 victory.
Smith led the Tigers again offensively with 12 kills. Hinirchs provided a solid all-around performance, posting 10 kills, 28 assists and two service aces. Whitmore, Salgado, and Box all posted double-digit dig totals, coming up with 20, 16, and 11, respectively.
The Tigers will hit the road to take on Black Hawk College-Moline on Tuesday night for a 6:00 PM start.
