GRINNELL, Iowa – Saturday afternoon turned out to be twice as nice for the Grinnell College volleyball team.
 
The Pioneers won both their matches at Darby Gymnasium, a 3-1 decision over Ripon College and a three-set sweep of North Central University.
 
The Pioneers hit an electric .396 in the win over North Central, the fifth-best efficiency rate in school history.
 
Grinnell defeated Ripon 25-22, 25-22, 19-25 and 25-18 to start the day on its way to evening its Midwest Conference record at 1-1. The victory was the Pioneers' first over Ripon since the 2012 campaign.
 
Olivia Fromm '17 had 17 kills and hit .385 in the win, while Evelyn Weidman '17 added 11 kills and hit .360. Margaret Giles '18 added 37 assists.
 
Three players had double-digit digs, led by Sydney Vrecenar's '18 total of 23. Fromm added 17 and Giles 13. Ariel Lepito '17 had five block assists.
 
The first set was tight the whole way before Grinnell used a key three-point run to turn a 19-all tie into a 22-19 lead. Fromm and Emma Willhardt '19 had kills in that run as Grinnell went on to win by three.
 
It was more of the same in the second set. With the score tied at 21-all, Weidman had a kill and teamed with Friedman for a block for a 23-21 edge as Grinnell went on to again win by three.
 
After Ripon took the third set, Grinnell showed it meant business in the fourth. Leading 9-5, the Pioneers reeled off eight of the next 10 points to take command. Vrecenar served four points in that span as the Pioneers went on to win with ease.
 
Grinnell then defeated North Central 25-11, 25-17 and 25-12. Weidman and Fromm each had eight kills and Giles 28 assists. Vrecenar served up six aces and had 12 digs, while Weidman added two solo blocks and two assists.
 
The Pioneers used a big run in the first set to turn an 8-4 lead into a 20-7 edge. Weidman served five points in that span and Deanna Taylor '18 four.
 
The second set was closer, with Grinnell leading just 19-15 before closing the set with six of the next eight points. Friedman served four of those.
 
The Pioneers bolted out to a 13-2 lead in the third set and never looked back. Madison Smith '20 served five of those points and Friedman four.
 
Later in the set, Vrecenar whipped off four consecutive ace serves to help the Pioneers finish off the win.
 
Grinnell is now 8-8 overall.