Marshalltown, IA—Late rallies from the Marshalltown Community College volleyball team were not enough as the Tigers dropped their first two matches of the 2015 Tiger Invitational. MCC dropped the opening match to Southwestern Community College 3-1 and fell in the nightcap to Graceland University JV 3-1.
The Tigers (0-5) fell by scores of 12-25, 26-24, 22-25, and 23-25 to Southwestern. Graceland stole the first two sets from the Tigers, 25-17 and 25-12 before MCC rebounded for a 25-20 victory in set three. The Tigers led late in set four, but dropped the final set 25-20 to the Yellowjackets.
Freshman Jordan Carter (Sigourney, IA/Sigourney), this week's Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Division I Player of the Week, posted 26 total kills on the day, including 14 against Graceland JV. In the opening match of the day, Carter recorded six service aces while sophomore Raini Hilmer (Dysart, IA/Union) added five. The two lead MCC with 12 service aces on the year.
Hilmer recorded 69 total assists throughout the day for the Tigers. Libero Rieley Rodman (Ankeny, IA/Grand View Christian) totaled 43 digs on Friday.
An early loss in the first set to Southwestern did not deter the Tigers as MCC bounced back for a hard-fought 26-24 win. The Tigers warded off the Spartans down the stretch to gain momentum. In the third set MCC held a late lead at 16-15 but the Spartans scored the final three points of the match to go up two games to one. Southwestern provided a spurt of their own late in set four, scoring five straight and held on for the narrow two point victory, giving them the opening match.
MCC got off to a slow start in the first two sets against Graceland, but came alive in the third set behind a vocal student section. The Tigers led by as many as six down the stretch to cut the Yellowjackets' match-lead in half. The two teams traded points midway through set four, but Graceland JV prevailed and held on for their first win of the weekend.
The Tiger Invitational concludes Saturday with an onslaught of games throughout the afternoon. MCC's first match is set to tip-off at 12:00 PM against Lincoln Land Community College, a team that swept the day against both Graceland JV and Southeast Community College. The Tigers wrap up the invite at 2:00 PM against Southeast. The Storm dropped both of their matches Friday, falling in five sets to Fort Scott Community College before faltering in straight sets against Lincoln Land.
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