Rosemount, MN—Limited to just six healthy players on the roster, the Marshalltown Community College volleyball team walked out of the DCTC Tournament with a pair of wins on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers dropped Mesabi Range College 3-1 and Dakota County Technical College 3-2.
Multiple injuries throughout the lineup forced the Tigers to make adjustments on the court Saturday afternoon. Despite a series of position changes, the Tigers outlasted both of their opponents to improve to 9-15 on the year and have now won four of their last five contests.
MCC dropped Mesabi Range in the opener by set scores of 25-19, 25-16, 21-25, and 25-21. In its second match of the afternoon, the six Tigers put together one of its best performances of the season, given the circumstances of the roster limitations. The Tigers outlasted the Blue Knights 31-29, 25-27, 25-19, 22-25, and 15-8 in an epic five-set thriller.
"Coming into today with six girls didn't change our goals and expectations to pick up two wins," MCC head coach Justin Hoskins stated following Saturday's sweep. "While dealing with injuries, it was crucial that our girls be able to make adjustments on the fly today. Almost everybody was playing a role they're not used to, but they did a nice job of stepping up and getting the job done."
In the opener against Mesabi Range the Tigers were paced by the offensive duo of freshman Sara Bisbe (Barcelona, Spain/CV Saint Cugat) and sophomore Jordan Carter (Sigourney, IA/Sigourney). The two hitters combined for 23 kills and 10 service aces in the win. Bisbe posted four service aces alone in the second set win for the Tigers.
Routinely a libero for MCC, sophomore Rieley Rodman (Ankeny, IA/Grand View Christian) took over the setter duties on Saturday. Rodman contributed 31 assists in the victory over Mesabi Range.
The depleted roster had little time to recover as the Tigers went to extra points in each of its first two sets against Dakota County. Both sides went back and forth to force a fifth-set tiebraker, but it was Bisbe's five kills in the final frame that proved to be the difference maker for MCC.
In the nightcap victory, Bisbe, this week's Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Player of the Week posted 25 kills with 72 total attempts and 25 digs, all team-highs. Since returning from an injury, Bisbe has posted double-digit kill totals in eight of her last 10 matches for an average of 15.2 kills per match. The freshman ranks seventh in the nation with 316 total kills.
Paola Toledo (Boca Chica, Dominican Repbulic/San Rafael) put together one of her best performances of the season against Dakota County. The sophomore posted a career-best 16 kills to go along with a team-high .342 hitting percentage.
Rodman dished out 53 assists in the victory while DaNesha Cowley (Waterloo, IA/Waterloo West) tallied eight kills and a solo block. Nicole Montgomery (Beaman, IA/BCLUW) came up big at the net for the Tigers, totaling a pair of block assists in each match to go along with 10 kills and 16 digs in the afternoon sweep.
The Tigers have now played a total of 27 matches in their last six contests, having played five sets in four of those matches.
MCC will look to carry its momentum into a Monday night match at Ellsworth Community College. Game time is set for 7:00 PM.
