The MCC volleyball team hosted a triangular Friday afternoon that saw the Tigers compete against Dakota County Technical College and Southwestern Community College. The Tigers have defeated the Blue Knights of Dakota County twice this season and this would be the first competition between MCC and Southwestern.
The 4:00 match saw the Tigers take on the Blue Knights of Dakota County Technical College. The first set saw a strong start from the Tigers and they took the lead early and never took their foot off the gas winning the set 25-17. The second set saw the Tigers score points in bunches when they held a large lead early on but the Blue Knights surged to within five points late in the set. The Tigers would eventually rally and take the set 25-20. After losing the lead early in the third set, the Tigers battled for every point in a close set but dropped the third 25-27. The fourth set started fast for the Tigers as they took an early lead and never looked back eventually taking the set 25-20 and the match 3-1.
"I think we brought energy closer to the end of the match today and that allowed us to come out with a win." Stated freshman libero Celeste Barron- Nicoletti. "I think after dropping the third set we were able to regroup and refocus enough to take the fourth. If we minimize our errors, I think we can compete with the better teams in this conference."
The second match of the day saw the Tigers take on the 8-16 Spartans of Southwestern Community College in a five set thriller. In a first set that saw the Spartans dominate the first 15 points, the Tigers were able to rally in the middle of the set bringing them within three points, however it wouldn't be enough as the Spartans would take control in the final points and win the set 21-25. The Tigers were able to hold the lead multiple times in the second set and in the final points made the right adjustments to take the set 28-26. In an exciting back and forth that saw multiple lead changes the Tigers where able to score the last five points in the third set and take it 25-22. In the fourth set, the Tigers came out of the huddle flat allowing the Spartans were to take control, the Spartans won the set 21-25 and forced a critical fifth set. In the final set, the Tigers took control early and never looked back cruising to a 15-12 win and took the match 3-2.
"I'm so proud of this team for showing the grittiness and heart it took to finish this match in five sets," stated freshman outside hitter Jesenia Colbert, "moving forward if we can continue to play like we did tonight and play together as a team, I think the successes will add up here at the end of the season. I thought our determination to win tonight was the main factor in our success and we preach that every day in practice."
The Tigers are now 15-7 heading into an off weekend. The team will be back in action on Wednesday October 4 when they host #4 Iowa Western in an ICCAC matchup. The Tigers will look for revenge in this match as the Reivers defeated the Tigers 3-0 earlier in the season. The match will begin at 7:00 PM in the Student Activity Center on the Marshalltown Community College campus.
