Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 GRINNELL, Iowa – Grinnell College dominated one opponent and lost to another in a five-set thriller Saturday at Darby Gymnasium.

The Pioneers swept past Midwest Conference opponent Knox College 25-11, 25-20 and 25-22 to start the day as they improved to 1-1 in the league.

Grinnell had a .414 attack percentage in the match, the highest for a Pioneer team since hitting .436 against Robert Morris in 2008. Claire Weidman '15 led the way with 13 kills and a .619 efficiency, while Michelle Briggs '13 pounded down 11 kills and hit .579.

Erica Tharp '13 dished out 25 assists and Bethine Moore '13 had 11. Sydney McClendon '16 and Emma Knatterud-Johnson '15 had two aces each, Lindsay Fujimoto '15 came up with nine digs and Briggs tallied three blocks.

The first set was close before a nine-point run that featured eight service points by Knatterud-Johnson put the hosts up 19-7. They never looked back after that.

Grinnell rode a four-point service run by McClendon to open up the second set before hanging on to win 25-20. The third set was close the whole way and tied 22-all before Briggs had a kill, Knox had an attack error and Natalie Duncombe '15 recorded a kill to secure the win.

Grinnell then battled Simpson College to five sets, with the visitors winning 26-38, 23-25, 25-19, 25-12 and 20-18.

In the match, Cheyenne Hickox '15 and Briggs each had 12 kills and Weidman 11. Moore tallied 38 assists, 11 digs and four aces, while McClendon and Fujimoto each had two aces.

Fujimoto also had 19 digs and Weidman 12. Hickox and Duncombe had six and four blocks, respectively.

The first set was tied multiple times down the stretch, the last at 26-all before Briggs had a kill and Fujimoto an ace to get the win.

Grinnell broke out to a 15-8 lead in the second set with the aid of a three-point service run by Fujimoto. It was later 24-17 before Simpson made things interesting, coming within 24-23 when Weidman recorded a kill on Moore's assist for the victory.

Simpson led most of the third set en route to victory and easily won the fourth to set up the decisive fifth stanza. With the help of Moore's four-point service run and a two-point spurt by McClendon, the Pioneers opened up an 11-5 lead. Briggs also had two kills in that span.

However, Simpson rallied and eventually tied things at 13-all. After several ties, Grinnell was at match point when Moore's ace serve made it 18-17. However, the Storm came back with three consecutive points to earn the match victory.

Grinnell, 3-16 overall, plays Cornell College Tuesday at Mount Vernon. Match time is 7 p.m.