Marshalltown, IA—Up two games to one, the Marshalltown Community College volleyball team faltered down the stretch as Grand View University JV dropped the Tigers 3-2 at the Student Activity Center on Tuesday night.
The Tigers looked in control early, taking a first set victory 25-14. Grand View came back to take game two, 25-23, before taking the Tigers to extra points in the third set, but MCC prevailed 28-26. A hard-fought match went to the Vikings in set four, 25-21, and Grand View JV held off the Tigers 15-7 in the decisive fifth set.
Jordan Carter (Sigourney, IA/Sigourney) posted a team-high 18 kills while freshman Nicole Montgomery (Beaman, IA/BCLUW) went for a career-best 16 kills, including eight in the first set. Lannie Dubberke (Cambridge, IA/Ballard) also added 11 kills.
Freshman libero Rieley Rodman (Ankeny, IA/Grand View Christian) racked up a personal-best 24 digs, joining Montgomery who added 21. Rodman's three service aces also led the way for the Tigers.
MCC was in full control in set one, easily handling the Vikings. Set two proved to be a different story. The Vikings jumped out to a 12-8 lead before MCC rallied as Rodman served up one of her aces to get the Tigers within one, 12-11. A one-point lead disappeared for the Tigers as Grand View JV evened the match at one.
Montgomery carried the Tigers in set three with five kills, all coming at critical points in the set. The Vikings pushed back, but a late timeout proved to be the turning point for MCC as the Tigers held on to go up 2-1.
Grand View JV's offense propelled the team past the Tigers in the next two sets as the Tigers fell flat to drop the match.
Next up for the Tigers is a home date with Iowa Western Community College at 7:00 PM on Friday night.
