Grinnell, IA-- The Marshalltown Community College volleyball team provided plenty of excitement against Grinnell College on Saturday, going five sets against the Pioneers but came up just short, falling 3-2 on the road. Jordan Carter (Sigourney, IA/Sigourney) led the Tigers with 19 kills on the day.
Early on MCC and Grinnell found themselves in a back-and-forth battle as the two sides traded the first two sets. The Tigers took the Pioneers to extra points in the first two frames, but fell 28-26 in the opener before rallying for a 26-24 second set victory. Grinnell pulled away late for a 25-19 third set win, only to see the Tigers respond with a 25-22 win in the fourth to set up a decisive fifth set. MCC jumped out early, but the Pioneers rallied down the stretch for a 15-11 victory to steal the match.
In just her third-career match, Carter posted 19 kills on 51 attempts, totaling 12 kills in the first two sets alone. The freshman also added 27 digs and four service aces. Nicole Montgomery (Beaman, IA/BCLUW) added 13 kills and 24 digs. Freshman Paola Toledo (Boca Chica, Dominican Republic/San Rafael) led MCC with 32 digs. Setter Raini Hilmer (Dysart, IA/Union) recorded 19 assists in the loss.
At the net, Lannie Dubberke (Cambridge, IA/Ballard) posted four block assists as the Tigers totaled 12 block assists in all.
Grinnell powered its way to a nine-point advantage in the opening set, but the Tigers used the strength of Carter to regain momentum. The freshman served up a flurry of kills to give MCC a 22-21 lead, but the Pioneers answered down the stretch to take the opening frame.
Neither side led by more than one in the opening volleys of the second set, but Grinnell eventually jumped ahead 10-8. Tied at 18, the Tigers scored seven of the next 11 points, including four straight to even the match at one.
Trailing 3-0 in the third set, Carter sparked the Tiger offense with back-to-back aces. The Pioneers maintained composure and eventually held off the Tigers to pull away down the stretch to take a 2-1 edge.
Dubberke proved to be the driving force to open the fourth set as MCC grabbed a quick 5-1 lead. After four straight points from Grinnell, Dubberke, the lone healthy sophomore on the team, drilled two straight kills. Montgomery powered a kill of her own to force a Pioneer timeout as MCC led 10-5. Grinnell stayed within range of the Tigers, but Carter was too much for the Pioneers, scoring the final two points to force the fifth set tiebreaker.
In the closing frame, it was all MCC early on. The Tigers used a quick 5-2 spurt and pulled ahead 10-5. It was the Pioneers that prevailed though, scoring the final six points of the set to drop MCC.
Next up for MCC will be the 2015 Tiger Invitational at the Student Activity Center. The Tigers host Southwestern Community College at 4:00 PM and Graceland JV at 6:00 PM on Friday. MCC closes out the weekend with a match against Lincoln Land Community College at 12:00 PM on Saturday followed by a 2:00 PM date with Southeast Community College.
