Marshalltown, IA—Despite a strong start on Wednesday night, the Marshalltown Community College Volleyball team could not outlast Iowa Central Community College as the Tigers fell at home to the Tritons 3-1. MCC fell by set scores of 25-21, 28-30, 23-25, and 18-25.
MCC suffered a 3-0 setback to the Tritons in the season opener on August 24, but the Tigers proved to be a different team on Wednesday night. Riding a two game winning streak, MCC led throughout most of the first set and battled with the Tritons in set two. Iowa Central's depth carried the opposition to victories in the final two sets to take the match.
Returning from an injury that sidelined her for the last three matches, freshman Sara Bisbe (Barcelona, Spain/CV Saint Cugat) led the Tigers with 16 kills and added 17 digs. Sophomore Rieley Rodman (Ankeny, IA/Grand View Christian) posted a team-high 18 digs while Jordan Carter (Sigourney, IA/Sigourney) added eight kills and 12 digs. DaNesha Cowley (Waterloo, IA/Waterloo West) and Paola Toledo (Boca Chica, Dominican Republic/San Rafael) each had two block assists on the night.
Bisbe opened up the night with a pair of early kills to set the tone for the Tigers. Iowa Central pulled within one, 10-9, but Cowley sent home a kill to regain the MCC momentum. In front of a loud MCC student section, the Tigers pulled away to take the opening set.
Set two proved to be a back-and-forth battle between the two sides as neither team held a convincing lead. Trailing 10-6, MCC came out of a timeout and scored seven of the next nine points to regain the lead. The Tritons trimmed the lead and tied the game at 25-all to force a win-by-two set. The Tigers had a chance to put Iowa Central away after Carter buried a kill for a 26-25 lead, but the Tritons rallied and stole the set from the home team.
Both sides traded points throughout most of set three with multiple ties, including a 20-20 deadlock. Leading 21-20, Iowa Central responded with four straight points and took the 2-1 match lead. The Tritons finished off MCC in the final set to take the season series from the Tigers.
Bisbe has now posted six matches with double digit kills for the Tigers.
MCC travels to Norfolk, NE to take on Northeast Community College at 4:00 PM on Sept. 24.
