Iowa Falls, IA—The Marshalltown Community College volleyball team pulled off another epic five-set victory on Monday night as the Tigers defeated Ellsworth Community College 3-2 on the road. The win is the team's fifth victory in their last six matches.
The Tigers found themselves in familiar territory late in the match on Monday night. Tied at two games apiece, MCC went to a fifth-set tiebreaker for the fifth time in the team's last seven contests. Trailing 12-11 in the final frame, MCC rattled off four of the next five points to come from behind yet again and pick up the team's third consecutive win.
The Tigers held on to an early lead in the first set to take a 25-20 victory, but fell in the second set 25-18. MCC built off of a 15-8 lead in the third set for a 25-17 victory. The home team once again evened the match up with a 25-21 win in set four to force the deciding frame.
MCC (10-15) has now played 32 sets in their last seven matches. Having not taken part in a five-set match all season until Oct. 1, the team has won four of their five five-set matches over the last 10 days.
Sophomore DaNesha Cowley (Waterloo, IA/Waterloo West) sparked the Tiger offense with a career-high 18 kills on the night, including three in the final set. Cowley hit into just three errors in 31 attempts for a personal-best .484 hitting percentage.
Fellow sophomore Jordan Carter (Sigourney, IA/Sigourney) posted 15 kills on the night, her 25th career match of double-digit kills. Sophomore Paola Toledo (Boca Chica, Dominican Republic/San Rafael) and freshman Sara Bisbe (Barcelona, Spain/CV Saint Cugat) each added 10 kills.
Setter Nina Bales (Lacona, IA/Southeast Warren) returned from an injury to corral the offense, totaling 52 assists on the night. Rieley Rodman (Ankeny, IA/Grand View Christian) teamed up with Bisbe to each collected a team-high 15 digs against Ellsworth (8-19).
On the defensive end, the Tigers collected 10 block assists on the night, led by sophomore Nicole Montgomery's (Beaman, IA/BCLUW) four stops. Montgomery also added six kills in the win.
The Tigers have more than doubled the team's win total from 2015 where MCC went 4-21. With Monday's win, the Tigers swept the Panthers this season, taking all three matches, including a 3-2 victory on Oct. 1 at the NIACC Tournament.
MCC travels to William Penn University JV for a 7:00 PM matchup on Thursday night before the Tigers open up a grueling home-stand on Friday that consists of five matches in seven days at the Student Activity Center.
