Marshalltown, IA – Five set thriller! The Tigers hosted the Lakers of Iowa Lakes Community College on Monday, September 10 in the Student Activity Center and gave those in attendance a show. Five sets of back and forth action capped off with a 17-15 fifth set to give the Tigers their ninth win in ten matches.
The Tigers seemed to make error after error in the opening set but managed to keep it close, falling 25-23. Play went from bad to worse in the second set falling 25-18. After the five minute break between sets the Tigers left the locker room a determined team ready to deliver an amazing five set comeback. The team took control in the third and hammered home a 25-17 set win and handled the Lakers in the fourth 25-16. The MCC student section came alive, pouring energy back into the exhausted players for the crucial fifth set. Down early, the Tigers fought back from an 8-4 deficit to tie it up at 11 and then again at 14. The Tigers edged out a 16-15 lead with the ball and Marija Egic brought home the victory with the final kill of the night.
"Tonight showed a lot of grit and toughness," stated Head Coach Justin Hoskins. "A win is a win, but there's something special about winning in five after being down 0-2. It was a lot of fun doing it at home and I want to thank our student section for being loud and having an impact on the match."
Like most Tiger volleyball matches this year, one player did not dominate but multiple solid performances contributed to the victory. Four Tigers ended the night with 10 or more kills and sophomore setter Jelena Dukic recorded 42 assists, and Halee Pedro lead the team with 21 digs. Down the stretch, multiple players made big plays to keep the team alive, including Marija Egic's seven kills in the final two sets and a great ball by Elena Yee to tie up the fifth set, which fired up the crowd propelling the team in the final minutes.
The Tigers showed the ability to dig themselves out of a hole against a team that was not going to give up. After last Friday's 3-0 loss to the Red Tails of Hawkeye Community College, the team needed that spark to get them back in win column and move ahead to their biggest test of the year, Iowa Western.
The Reivers are currently the #2 team in the NJCAA and host some of the best players in the country in Irina Alekseeva and Hina Pua'a. The Tigers and Reivers will square off in the Student Activity Center on Wednesday, September 12 at 7:00 PM. For more information on the MCC volleyball team, follow @tigervb_mcc on twitter.
