Box Score GRINNELL, Iowa – Grinnell College nearly pulled out a thrilling comeback at its own tournament Friday night at Darby Gymnasium.
After falling 25-17 and 25-22 in the opening two sets to Rockford College, the Pioneers rolled back into contention with consecutive 25-23 victories. The fifth set went back and forth before the visitors eked out a 17-15 victory.
Rockford improved to 3-10 with the win, while the Pioneers fell to 2-12.
Michelle Briggs '13 had 11 kills for the Pioneers,
Cheyenne Hickox '15 tallied 10 and
Claire Weidman '15 and
Shelby Carroll '13 came up with nine apiece.
Briggs also had nine total blocks, including two solos, while
Bethine Moore '13 dished out 36 assists and Weidman served up two aces.
Five players had double-digit digs, led by
Lindsay Fujimoto '15 with 23. Weidman added 16,
Sydney McClendon '16 tallied 15, Moore contributed 14 and
Emma Knatterud-Johnson '15 had 11.
Things didn't look good for the Pioneers after they dropped the first two sets and trailed 17-14 in the third. However, Grinnell rallied to finally force a tie at 18-all. It was later 19-all when Knatterud-Johnson served up two points to put the Pioneers ahead 21-19. They never relinquished the lead and finished off the win with a kill by Weidman.
A three-point service run by Knatterud-Johnson and four-point spurt by Moore helped Grinnell build a 15-9 lead in the fourth set. Rockford gradually crept back and tied the contest at 23-all. However, consecutive attack errors by the Regents forced a fifth set.
Grinnell trailed 8-5 in the final set before Weidman had a kill and McClendon served three straight points, including an ace, to put the hosts ahead 9-8.
The teams went back and forth after that, as they were tied at 11, 12 and 13. Carroll's kill put the Pioneers at match point, but the visitors reeled off two points for a 15-14 lead.
Briggs extended life for Grinnell with a kill, but Rockford scored the next two points for the victory.
In the night's other match, Coe College beat Central College in three sets.
Action starts back up at 10 a.m. Saturday with Central facing Rockford, followed by a noon contest between Grinnell and Coe.
